An online estate agent has forecast that more than one-third of home owners are ‘very likely’ to use a low-cost business like his next time they sell.
But while Graham Lock, of House Network, is predicting a rise in online estate agents’ market share,he does not believe that the forthcoming change to the Estate Agents Act will encourage more private sales via ‘passive intermediaries’.
He said: “Portals like Rightmove do not allow private sellers, and as long as that continues, I cannot see private sales taking off.”
However, Lock conceded that it is irritating that there remains confusion between sites such as his, which are estate agents, and sites such as Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo.
He said: “There is a real difference between us. We have never handled private sales in the eight years we have been going, and we never will. Unfortunately, people see the word ‘online’ and assume we are all the same.”
A new survey of home owners commissioned by House Network found that 35% are highly like to use a low-cost online agent when they next sell. The survey of 230 home owners was carried out by an independent third party, says Lock, and none of House Network's own customers were contacted. Currently, Lock estimates that online estate agents account for around 1% of property sales in the UK, with the vast majority of sellers using a traditional high street agent.
However, he says this could change. He points out that it is now the norm for people to start property searching online, making an online agency a viable alternative.
When asked about the major influence in choosing how they would sell their property next time, 41% of respondents said marketing their property to a wide audience through online property portals such as Rightmove was most important, and 35% said it was the cost of agency fees.
A further 17% indicated expert help and guidance in marketing the property was their key influence, but only 3% said accompanied viewings was a key decider.
House Network charges a flat £495 plus VAT, and Lock said: “It’s important that house sellers understand that using an online agent at a reduced cost does not mean they will receive an inferior service.
“Coming from a high street agency background myself has meant that I can cut out what I believe to be the worst parts of estate agency and focus on the best parts. This ethos has helped us to gain over 680 customer testimonials.”
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Since being launched in 2004, the business claims to have sold around 6,500 properties, saving consumers over £19m.
www.housenetwork.co.uk
Comments
Peter Jones said:
'Online Agency is not and should not be a threat...'
The reality:
Our business has doubled in size twice in the last 12 months. We now list close to 2000 properties for sale each year across the UK and have a sold to for sale ratio of 28% against a national average across traditional agents of just 23%(according to the RICS). Our online estate agent competitors are also growing in volume of business terms and in terms of the sheer number of online players overall.
Yet Ordinance Survey says that 2000 traditional estate agency branch offices have closed since 2008.
So the 'threat' is evident and its not the 'fault' of the existence of online estate agents. It's the fact that the house selling public quite like the value alternative that online agents offer and in ever growing number.
The fact that the mainstream industry deny this, is just fine by us :-)
Apologies W,
"Thanks but no thanks" seemed to want to make it personal and got the level of effort that sort of poster deserves.
Online Agency is not and should not be a threat and sharing my thoughts shouldn't have rattled his cage quite so much, I can't un-post anything I have posted so it is really down to him to post why my opinion isn't valid rather than suggest I think everyone else is ignorant.
Peter - try and show us which bits you're quoting from previous posts, and which you're writing yourself, will you? Don't assume we've all read the post you're responding to in full - example ;
"Quote from previous post"
Your response
"Second quote"
Your response to second quote.
PJ the self appointed guardian of our Industry No an opinion expressed on a trade forum.
here to show us the error of our ways and motivate us into action, no that is your opinion not mine but probably explains your embarrassment
Clearly you have no shame in your sweeping assessment of the supposed ignorance & apathy of your fellow colleagues let alone online agents, again that is your opinion and one designed to discredit my opinion.
sadly I'm embarrassed for you. don't be I'm not , I am happy that I have an opinion and if it doesn't fit with the way you want to go about things so be it.
Like you we're well aware of the online threat, it isn't a threat it is an opportunity clearly one you have not understood.
If I wanted attention I doubt I would do it on an EA forum and do so with a false name.
You're not alone in the crusade to crush the competition but what goes on inside your head is all on you. I am not sure you thought that sentance through but thank you.
PJ the self appointed guardian of our Industry, here to show us the error of our ways and motivate us into action - give me a break!
Clearly you have no shame in your sweeping assessment of the supposed ignorance & apathy of your fellow colleagues let alone online agents, sadly I'm embarrassed for you.
Like you we're well aware of the online threat, unlike you we're not foaming at the mouth saying whatever comes into our head just to get attention.
You're not alone in the crusade to crush the competition but what goes on inside your head is all on you.
I doubt the postcard would get delivered!
It isn't vitriol and to suggest it is is wrong. I have just shown the less positive side of all the hype and boasting to show that complacancy by traditional agents will be bad for their financial health.
Me havinga go and I admit trolling the online agents should give the smarter traditional Agents the motivation to do something and an insight to how they work.
The bit that is embarrassing is both traditional Agents and online Agents are not actually recognising what is happening to them and that the legislation change last week was the last barrier to entry for Tesco, Rightmove and DPG to become the "Agent" with All you boys and girls feeding them instrucions. You carry on complying with the legislation and doing the difficult bits while they end up taking your money and making big profits.
Slowly by slowly they will sdtart employing staff to visit properties and you folk will be able to look forward to an Employee of the month badge, perhaps if you are good you will get a gold star for your lapel.
Wake up and understand what I am getting trying to do.
I want to help Estate Agents and I would like to see that Passive intermediaries are as succesful as the poll tax.
Having read the comments with interest over the last few days with regards online estate agents it's quite frankly embarrassing some of the vitriol aimed their way.
Stats and figures are manipulated in different ways for different agendas. I don't see many of the traditional agents posting their own figures on here for success/failure of their own offices. As far as I see it's a level playing field these days if your marketed on the portals and at the right price. And who sets the price? As an ex estate agent I would give guidance based on local comparables but ultimately the owner would set the asking price. Anyone who says different is kidding themselves.
All the online guys are doing is offering a service there is a demand for. If there wasn't a demand they wouldn't be in business and there seems to be plenty of them around. Come on guys and girls if the onliners are so poor up your game and wipe them out. Shouldn't be too hard...
There seems to be a little envy on here towards them. Why is that? Competition a little too close on your home patch or bitterness you haven't come up with the idea first. Answers on a postcard please Peter Jones
"there's a wind of change coming, and it's blowing a hurricane"
I can do what I want thank you, yesterday Hatched gave me a detailed breakdown of what he does and I picked the bones out of it.
Not so much on line Estate Agencies but the PIs will come and go and will have no substance or presence.
There is no need to be nice to online Agents, who wihout the investment in premises can be as transient as travellers. That doesn't offer their staff any sort of security they can simply switch off the website and fold. Sure there are people happy to pay for that level of service and quite frankly the two are a perfect match.
My advice to copy the competition isn't some sort of flattery and isn't a lack of focus, it is a ruthless assult on their business model and their businesses.
There in lies your contradiction. You can't slaughter them and define them as without substance or presence and then say copy them, as you now profess 'because they have merit'. Focus geezer!
Just an after thought but copying isn't the answer, it's a bit more involved than that and due consideration must be given to the effects on the business as a whole. Your image and revenue are paramount, just ask Nokia & Blackberry who copied the iPhone, even Samsung are getting it in the neck right now....
Innovate not replicate.
Remedial lesson after school, nice simple words.
If your competition changes, look at what they are doing, assess it and;
If it has merit, copy it.
If it is what your customers want, offer it
Whatever you do, do something.
If you do not control your competition they will control you.
Your world changed last week and you need to change with it.
PJ he could sit there all day and like me not have a clue what you're going on about. Try proof reading before posting because you're all over the shop guvnor!
Jonnie hand over the frazzles!!
Marry me Roz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you find the top of your tongue dries out when you sit there not understanding how to deal with competition?
Laugh or Cry if you are an Agent sit there and work out why I am suggesting that.
If you are inbetweener sit there and worry that someone is telling your competition how to see you out of business.
Just like Tesco put all the Dairies out of business whichever you are, traditional agent or inbetweener RM,FindaZoolocation and tesco are going to squeeze you till it really hurts.
Sorry Sir, you only get plain its extra for cheese and onion
Sign me up fella, now wheres my cheese n onion!
This just sounds like HN want some discussion to compete with hatched, sadists.
@Order, Order
Okay – in the spirit of the article let’s do a survey…………………..
Dear Members of the Public,
As readers of EAT do you like reading the posts and articles here or find it all a bit offensive?
All respondents get a free bag of crisps when you sell through an online estate agent.
Jonnie
Hey Jonnie nothing wrong with a PR machine christ knows we need it! I read it too and think its more about the vitriole than public image. Just my 2 cents.
@Blue.
Not sure if we are in agreement or not, or if you just don’t like my opinion that this has a whole in it like a hippo’s yawn
Anyway, we will let them have the benefit of the doubt and believe what they say is all copper bottomed, straight up stuff; 1% of the market is currently via online agents but 33% of it will be pretty soon, in fact the next time people move.
Sound about right?
Jonnie
Peter Jones - "there is no substance or presence to a virtual agency" but lets copy them anyway?
"quickly learn and adapt their services to suit a changing market" - Absolutely, so whats your recommendation - plagiarism.
You identify a distinction between Estate Agents, Online Agents and Inbetweeners and yet you advocate we become all of them?
A Jack of all trades based on contradiction, lack of imagination and zero business sense. The Master of none is not for me....
Johnnie , not really.
230 is not a particularly large sample. A pre-qualifying question, "are you a home owner ? quickly gets rid of the inapplicables. A couple of surveyors would manage 230 between them in a day, no problem. Surveys are about asking questions not engaging strangers to a brand, that is something different entirely.
Were I to have a beef with his survey it would be the size of the sample and in which town ?
Come on, HN.
Publish details of who carried out the survey, and the wording of it.
@Blue – if I dint make an assumption I couldn’t form and opinion or open it all up for a chat about where his survey results some from, if he’s sat on a ton of historic data of happy punters who’ve just moved and he’s got their name, address, email and phone numbers do you think he employed a third party to ignore all that and stop people in the street? Plus its home owners so allowing for renters, council house owners and so on I reckon you’d have to engage a lot of strangers to your ‘brand’ just to get them to respond to the question at all then filter out non homeowners to get you 230…………………..is my assumption a fair one based on this?
@deal with better…………….. – This view has come up before but if we all bimble away on here in a manner that we think might give the public a nice view of us all then it wont be a forum it will be a PR machine for the industry and with 300 people on line right now its hardly going to be an effective one even if they were all ‘the public’
Jonnie
Whilst he is an irritant, like thrush, Jonnie, in this instance he is correct of course, a survey paid for by one organisation is going favour them.
Anyone who posts it is independent is a lair or fool too or just attention seeking, anyone with one GCSE will appreciate it is how the question is asked that gets the answer required to create a PR story.
Bet muppet Baracus baby will post some twaddle soon to out do Slappy!
Jonnie the article says " The survey of 230 home owners was carried out by an independent third party, says Lock, and none of House Network's own customers were contacted."
You say " I assume the survey was his own customers".
Why do you ?
Deal with.....better on 2012-09-19 11:38:14
It's an open internet forum. There's no guarantee that anyone posting here is within your industry. None at all.
Most everyone here could well be 'the general public' to which you refer......
WOW, the mere mention of 'Online Agent'.....
Some valid argument but mostly the usual suspects coughing up phlegm.
We can't wrap this up in a nice little bow because these guys are here and their growing.
Like dysfunctional parents arguing in front of the kids, do you not realise that the general public also read this. You and your business might remain anonymous but these posts reflect on our Industry as a whole.
Jeez, show some class
Jonnie...yes I see it that way too
W - I agree there is confusion, but there is also now more choice in how you sell your property.
We made the mistake of putting our last place up for sale with House Network and in the end went to an agent in the town, compared to House Network the ‘traditional’ agent was brilliant, the woman we dealt with completely changed our view of estate agents and the extra fee was well worth it in the end.
…………….im picturing the scene in the House Network Office yesterday as one of Graham Locks boys walks into his office;
GRAHAM’S BOY
‘Here, Graham, have you seen EAT, that bunch of clowns at Hatched are getting a load of coverage and honking their horn about how much money they make, and that Emoov blokes on there as well’
GRAHAM
‘Right, im not having that! Send Ros the old customer survey results we liked and hurry up, im the one that started this online thing, im not having those other monkeys taking the limelight – and why didn’t you fu***ng get a press release out before?’………………….Office door closes.
Now im not one for number crunching but I assume the survey was his own customers, im also assuming that as EA’s are generally no use at retaining / using their vendors forwarding address this survey was all House Network buyers…..1% of property is sold by online agents but only a third of people that bought that way would do it again?
Of course 48% of statistics are made up on the spot
Jonnie
I have bought and sold many times and have found dealing with the high street estate, overall a quite dreadful experience in that mostly the sensation of being ripped off no matter how quick a sale was achieved. I initially tried high street agents for my most recent sale but came across House Network and gave them a go. They were excellent (repeat) excellent and gave outstanding value for money. Stick your head in the sand mr high street arrogant estate agent, the writing is on the wall.
HN concedes that there is confusion between them and Tepilo, one being an online agent, and one being an intermediary with a property website.
Without seeing the wording of the survey, how do we know whether or not there's similar confusion about "online agents" as asked about in the survey?
Do some or all of the 33% think that an 'online agent' is merely an Estate Agent with a website, or is there confusion in the public's eyes between online agents and high street agents with an internet presence?
AN ONLINE ESTATE AGENT SAYS.............
So, cutting out a lot of things and only doing those which ... fit in with your business model .... isn't 'providing an inferior service', then?
House Network have a house for sale on the estate next to the one I used to live on. (I see it when we visit friends there.)
Been on for a good 4 months now and while other similar houses have come on the market and sold - that one is still there.
Surprised you 'real' agents don't compile figures on local houses that don't sell and are subsequently put on the market and sold. So you can rubbish the idea to vendors when you are doing valuations - if, of course, they bring it up.
Brace yourself Graham, you are about to be on the receiving end of the same prejudice that Hatched was yesterday.
In other words this proves my point from the other thread that High Street Agents would do well to add "Omo" to their range of services.
Smart Agents geared up to stick stuff on the internet can subsidise their use of the portals by getting this 1/3 of vendors to pay for it.
Online market only (Omo) £300 upfront with a professional advice on value rather than an internet pick'n mix guess then £50/ month till sold.
"Yes madam, we can offer exactly the same "service" plus we can do it cheaper, in fairness though you have less than 50/50 chance of selling that way but if you are happy, we are happy for your property to sit there paying for our internet presence. We don't mind at all that if we are successful we won't get our usual commission, having one of our fixed costs covered means our normal deals become that much more profitable. You get the cheap deal you want, we make more profit and make it harder for passive intermediaries to get a credible foothold into the industry”
I feel a bit for the Inbetweeners, ex Estate Agents that can’t make their mind up whether they should become PIs and exempt from the rigours of telling it as it is or maintaining their Estate Agent status with the full responsibility of legislation and trying to compete with High Street Agents who quickly learn and adapt their services to suit a changing market. By definition there is no substance or presence to a virtual agency.