subject: Online Estate Agent or High Street Estate Agents [print this page] Online Estate Agent or High Street Estate Agents
The internet serves many purposes and foronline estate agents it has become the new property shop window. The needs of sellers vary and the services offered by the agent must meet the needs of the seller.
The services that are offered by estate agents have not experienced a total evolution, yet the ways that individuals search for properties has changed drastically. In the recent past, once a buyer decided to purchase a property, they would search for an agent to meet their needs and the agent would work to find their dream home. Now, buyers have the ability to search for properties in hopes of finding their dream home on their own.
In fact, most searches carried out on the UK's major property portals lead to a successful property search. These portals include Rightmove, Prime Location and Zoopla. It is a challenge for estate agents to maintain relevance in a market where clients do a majority of the work. In reality, estate agents have had an influence on how estate search portals are run and play a role in which properties will be advertised.
Agents who utilize an online platform offer the same services as high street estate agents who work in person. However, online agents work at a reduced rate. This is beneficial for both buyers and sellers because they are able to reduce overhead expenses related to having a high street store; and services can now be offered at a savings for the seller. Online agents provide many of the same services as traditional agents such as photographing the property. They then upload the photos along with other descriptive details to their website with the purpose of advertising the home in the major portals. They may also collect the information of interested buyers as well as assist with the negotiation process.
What differentiates online agents from the traditional estate agent is online agents typically will not conduct property viewings. This means that sellers will have the responsibility of showing potential buyers around the home; which has become a common practice even when utilising a high street agent to sell the home.
As more individuals become aware of the convenient services offered by online agents, the more sought after they become. Online agents are now crossing over to the client base of the high street agent, making it more difficult to operate without an online platform. With buyers doing most of the work on the front end, it is remarkable that estate agents have justification for commanding such high commission rates. On average, online agents charge fees to advertise the property; however sellers keep 100% of the profit which is attractive to both buyers and sellers.
