Online vs High Street Estate Agent? No contest…
Our Sales Director, Nathan, demonstrates how CPS Homes' selling package blows that of online estate agents' out of the water...
These days, going ‘online or offline’ is one of the fundamental decisions you’ll have to make when choosing the right estate agent for you, with the relatively new influx of online agents giving you even more options to consider.
Having chatted to multiple vendors who went down the online route before working with us, our digital counterparts' biggest selling point is most definitely their shiny ‘low-cost’ packages. Understandably enticing at a time where everybody’s looking to save the pennies in any way possible, are those perceived savings all they seem to be?
Perhaps I’m coming at it from a biased angle, but in my eyes, selling through an online agent means compromising on the expertise and experience your independent, local agent will provide. So before making a decision, make sure you have the facts right.
You get what you pay for
With numerous costs that really do add up, there’s no denying that moving house is expensive. Cheap deals promoted by online agents might sound like a way to cut some of them, but watch out for those hidden “extras” that crop up further down the line, meaning you end up paying a lot more than the advertised price.
Most online agencies charge a lower fee than what you'd pay CPS Homes, which can be appealing, but bear in mind that most of the time you pay that fee regardless of whether they sell your home or not. So, any incentive to sell your property often just isn’t there when they’ve already got their fee in their pocket from day one. Compare that to agents like us: if we don’t perform, we don’t get paid – which is an undeniably significant motivation for us to do our very best!
The basic online data online agents use to value your home can be extremely out of date, so please be wary! If you’re lead to market with an incorrect asking price, you could end up wasting time and missing out. If overvalued, the property will sit around garnering little interest, whilst similar properties – those valued correctly – will go quickly. If undervalued, you could be leaving money on the table.
Like all reputable agents, we'll attend in person and evaluate more than just price comparables. For example, we'll assess internal improvements and modifications, all whilst taking into account our unique knowledge of known interest in similar properties from our database of prospective buyers. This means our valuation will reflect the accurate value of your home in current market conditions.
Do you really want to do everything yourself?
With an online agent, be prepared to do most of the legwork yourself... to the point where it will feel like you have a part-time job as an Estate Agent! That upfront fee they require may not include many of the things we consider absolute staples of the selling service: a board outside your home, conducting viewings, qualifying offers and progressing a sale through to completion. Very often, you'll have to pay extra for all these things. So, some questions you really need to ask yourself as a vendor are:
Do you have the negotiation skills and market knowledge to personally ensure the price you're accepting is top dollar (well, pounds)? Selling a property is easy, but selling it quickly for the highest possible price is not.
How are you going to know which buyers are in the best position and who will be checking their credentials?Online agents won’t sort your hot buyers from your lukewarm (or even cold) buyers. This means they're not checking their offers are built on solid foundations, which increases the chance of the sale falling through.
Have you got time to organise and carry out all of the viewings yourself? A good estate agent will bring a fresh pair of eyes and enthusiasm for highlighting features and quirks you might not think to mention. Not to mention the fact we’re salespeople, so building a rapport with people is our bread and butter! We’ll know exactly how to answer any tricky questions; supporting our answers with local knowledge and insight into the wider property market.
Marketing that works
If you go online, you’re going at it alone with your marketing. It’s unlikely you’ll have access to a professional photographer, videographer and editor, nor social media channels with thousands of engaged local followers, nor the funds to boost those posts so they’re advertised to targeted demographics in the local area… the list goes on!
There’s just so much that online agents can’t compete with when it comes to that passion and commitment to working for you and helping you achieve your sales goals with strong, effective, bespoke marketing and home staging expertise. Without a dedicated team behind you, a substandard listing with low quality imagery might get your property sold, but with rising interest rates and a cost of living crisis going on, is it really going to achieve the best possible price?
And, going back to basics, the amount of people who stop and look in our office window is vast! We have our strong online presence (not just Rightmove and Zoopla, but our own website and multiple social media channels) PLUS our bricks and mortar. With high street agents, you get the best of both worlds.
Value for money
If you're happy to sacrifice your weekends and evenings to closely monitor your sale through to completion, content with perhaps not getting the most bang for your buck in terms of the price you achieve, then going for the low-cost packages offered by online agents may well be the best choice for you. As someone leading a sales team who have real passion for matching people with their homes, I remain confident that nothing beats working with a proactive, local estate agent where the team have that hunger to generate more viewings, more offers and get you the very best result.
If you're thinking of dipping your toe into the water, why not schedule a call with me? You can reach me for a chat on 02920 454555 and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Alternatively, if you want to jump straight in with a market appraisal (no obligations), you can book easily via our online form cpshomes.co.uk/free-valuation.aspx or e-mail nathan.walker@cpshomes.co.uk.
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
