Whatever you think about the internet, it does bring one great benefit to mankind the gradual death of the old-fashioned estate agent. Those are the opening words of an article in the influential right-wing magazine The Spectator.
The piece, by Harry Mount and in this weekend's edition of the magazine, predicts that the current 5.5 per cent of homes sold through online agents will rise to 50 per cent as soon as 2018 and to as much as 70 per cent by 2020.
The article, which is also posted online, canters through now-familiar price comparisons between online and traditional agents, although it does not cover the ground of explaining how current high street agents typically include hands on' services which only some online agents provide.
Why pay someone £20,000 to sell a million-pound house in London but £2,000 to sell you a similar £100,000 house in Burnley asks Mount.
It's not like you're paying for much expertise no qualifications are needed to become an estate agent. You could set yourself up as one tomorrow. They're certainly no better at valuing your house than you are. Thanks to the internet, I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of house prices in my street over the past decade he says.
One interesting aspect of this is that much of the media criticism of traditional estate agency in recent years has come from the consumer press, simply contrasting prices and suggesting online agents offer better value for money.
The Spectator is first and foremost a political publication with readers in the upper reaches of the government: it annually interviews David Cameron, who says he is a regular reader. The magazine is usually advocating deeply conservative policies that support the status quo - but not in this case.
It concludes with this: In the old days, you were essentially paying for a less efficient property advertisement service from the traditional agents. In return for trousering that stonking two per cent of the house price, they'd kindly stick a photo of your house in their front window. These days, the old-fashioned estate agents are online, too, but they're still charging you two per cent for a service that should cost a tiny fraction of that.
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Comments
Oh gosh - I should be SOOO bothered.
Wonder why I'm not.
It wasn't me that deleted it, just like it won't be me who deletes your account
The latest comment from Mr Shinerock:
"What exactly is your point If you don't like EAT or LAT why bother coming here, or is the other pub a bit boring these days When you talk about the massive reduction in comments do you mean the dominant opinionated Trolls have gone away..."
- which he then saw fit to delete (as no doubt he will have THIS one eradicated as well...) - but can be seen on the 'Trending' panel opposite...
No, Mr Shinerock - I suspect that like me, they HAVEN'T "gone away", they simply choose not to post here any more.
Leaving the floor open for the new breed of dominant, opinionated troll that this site now panders to.
For further information, check mirror.
I post now simply as a response to your deleted statement, which was directed at one of the loyal readers of this publication.
YOUR way or the highway I, like many others, chose the latter.
Re-Tw@tter THAT.
How about that Another media attack on agents with "facts" pulled out of thin air from people who understand nothing of the industry or the work that agents do. The internet is great and more agents are reaping the benefits of "getting online" but there will always be a need for traditional estate agents. The reason online agencies can afford to charge less is because they don't have the offices and let's face it, they do less work. Most online agencies don't cover every aspect of the property sale, it's more for people who are equipped to handle a lot of the responsibility themselves. It's good because it means there's something out there for everybody. Agents are used to competition but the need for a personal touch that can only be gained from a traditional agency will never die.
'the voice of the industry' I don't think so - more 'the voice of an easy headline media'!
EAT & LAT have you not noticed the massive reduction in the number of comments from those actually on the 'coal face' of the industry You have become just a web based 'red top' newspaper.
Can I suggest estate agent today give some consideration to posting positive news about the industry, relevant property news, and less advertorials.
Not a slight on you personally Graham, but this newsletter overall has gone massively downhill since the turn of the year. "Voice of the industry" needs removing from the header on this page I think.
Unsubscriber next week, London
This is just plain nonsense. From 5.5% to 50% in just four years, I severely doubt it. Once again, estate agents are an easy target to bash and the ignorance on display from Mount is astounding. No qualifications are needed to become an estate agentwhat an incredibly smug and snobby thing to say. If people think being an estate agent is a walk in the park, they can come and do my job for the day and have their eyes well and truly opened!
More "agent-hating" news... roll on the weekend please!
Will the sale of Hanes manuals increase over the same period so that people start servicing their own car to avoid rip-off garages Will Tesco go out of business because everyone is going to grow their own vegetables I think not. But what do I know, I'm just an estate agent.
Once again agents are subjected to comments by the writers in the media who have no real in depth knowledge of agency. Much like the majority of the current bunch of politicians.