The cost of selling a home through a high street estate agent could vary by as much as 261% depending on your postcode, according to exclusive research by GetAgent for Which? Money.
GetAgent, an estate agent comparison service, analysed quotes from 40,000 estate agent branches covering over 2,400 areas.
It found the average estate agent fee quoted for selling a home in England and Wales is 1.53% (including VAT) of the property sales price – but it can be as high as 3.07% in the most expensive areas.
Find out what the average quoted estate agent fee is in your local area and how to cut back on the costs of selling a home.
How much are estate agent fees?
GetAgent looked at the fees quoted by agents offering a no sale, no fee service across England and Wales in the past six months.
The data is based on a combination of publicly advertised estate agent fees and rates supplied to GetAgent for its comparison tool.
The analysis covered more than 40,000 branches operating in more than 2,400 postcode districts.
It found that if you’re selling in the CT11 area of Ramsgate in Kent, the typical fee quoted by local agents is 3.07%. This could mean handing over £7,425, based on the average property listing price of £241,849 for branches in the area.
In contrast, sellers in NE67 or Benthall in Northumberland typically get quoted a 0.85% fee. That equates to £2,771 for an average property worth £326,000 listed with branches in the area.
You can search for the average quoted estate agent fee in your area using the first part of your postcode, in the table below.
Average estate fees by postcode
How to pick the best estate agent
To find the right agent for you, make sure you compare the stats and look at which estate agent is selling property like yours most quickly and for the highest amounts in your local area.
Which? has teamed up with GetAgent to provide sellers with a way to compare high street estate agents based on past performance. You can use the tool for free to help pinpoint the best agent operating in your area.
Make a shortlist and invite three estate agents to value your property and provide you with a quote for their services.
Estate agent fees used to be quoted ‘plus VAT’ (meaning you had to add 20% on top of your quote). Since October 2016 the rules state that quotes should now always include VAT. If your quote doesn’t make it clear either way, it’s worth double-checking.
Can you negotiate estate agent fees?
Estate agent fees will make up a large percentage of the cost of selling your home, so it’s important to get a good deal.
Agents won’t want to lose your business, so you are often able to negotiate on the fee or other aspects of the service, such as the tie-in period.
If the estate agent you want to use won’t lower their fee, see if it will compromise by offering a sliding scale, where you pay different rates of commission based on how much it gets for your property.
How to cut the cost of selling your home
Moving home can be expensive. On top of agency fees, there are mortgage fees, conveyancing, the cost of getting an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and removal costs to factor in.
If estate agent fees are too high in your area you might want to consider selling your home privately, through a property auction or through an online estate agent.
You should check if it’s worth porting your mortgage rather than remortgaging to a new deal. Just make sure you weigh up the potential savings remortgaging can offer you over the long term.
This article was edited on 31 October to explain how Get Agent sourced its data and on 12 November to make it clear that research relates to quoted fees rather than fees actually charged by an agent.
