However, according to the analysis, in some parts of England and Wales, nearly 10% of home sellers are choosing the new generation of online estates agents to handle what is likely to be the biggest financial transaction in their lives.
Online agents are most popular in areas where the success rate of selling is higher than the national average. Dudley, Lincoln and Wolverhampton are the parts of country with the highest percentage of properties advertised only using leading agents without high-street offices, with between 8 and 10% market share. Full figures are below.
Nine out of the top 10 areas boast above-average successful sales rates [ranging from 55-66%] — the number of properties advertised which subsequently go ‘under offer’ — suggesting that online agents are faring best in the most buoyant sections of the property market. Across all of England and Wales the average success rate is 51.9%.
But adoption of non-traditional agents is slower in parts of the South and the North, with three postcode areas inside the M25 amongst the parts of the country with the lowest adoption rates — North West London (2.4% market share), West of London (2.5%) and Harrow (2.6%). Use of online agents is also lower in Darlington, Durham and Wigan.
Adopting this new way of selling a home means that vendors can potentially save thousands of pounds in agents’ fees. But they often have to pay a flat fee whether the property is sold or not, and may have to conduct their own viewings. Industry experts believe this may be because in more buoyant markets people are more confident to try and sell their homes themselves, via an online agent.
The authoritative research harnesses the HomeOwners Alliance EstateAgent4Me tool, which uses details from the sales of tens of thousands of recent properties. The data also shows how the market is split between online and traditional estate agents across 100 postcode areas in England and Wales.
Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said: “The digital revolution has already transformed the way we communicate, manage our finances and buy countless goods and services. Even though we may find our next property and do our research online, we seem to be slow adopters when it comes to the way we sell our homes.
Our research shows that online agents are having more penetration where the market is hotter. Where homes are harder to sell, it’s possible homeowners may prefer the presence of high-street premises and a professional agent on hand to show potential buyers around.
Our free website lets anyone selling their home to see which estate agents in their local area have the best track records, be they online or a long-established local firm — showing which agents are selling homes most quickly and closest to the initial asking price. We also review the online firms so you can rank and shop around all in one place.”
