eMoov Launches Attack on High Street Estate Agent Charges

Online estate agent eMoov.co.uk has launched its latest attack on the traditional sector, exposing excessive high street estate agent charges.

The firm has highlighted just how far high street estate agent charges have soared as a result of escalating house prices and their “dated” commission-based model.

The agent has also compared high street estate agent charges to much more respected professions across the UK.

High street estate agent charges in 2016 

eMoov Launches Attack on High Street Estate Agent Charges

eMoov analysed the average house price across the UK along with the number of transactions during 2016, finding that high street estate agents profited by around £408m during the past year, based on average high street estate agent charges of 1.6% plus VAT. This is an average fee per property of over £4,000, claims eMoov.

The number of property transactions in the UK has risen steadily since 2012, up by 26%, with the average house price increasing at the same rate over the same period. As a result, high street agents have also seen their profits boosted, despite no additional service offered.

Earnings per hour

With the average property taking between 5 and 15 hours to sell, high street agents across the UK could earn as much as £815 per hour, climbing to £876 per hour in England alone.

eMoov insists that, although there are no barriers to entry into the occupation, high street estate agents still earn more than some of the nation’s most hard-working professions.

At around £42.50 an hour, an NHS doctor earns 19 times less than what a high street estate agent can pocket during the same time, with even private doctors having to work three hours to equal average high street estate agent charges.

A solicitor will have to put in four times that of an estate agent, with an hourly fee of £201, while a dentist will have to work for 16 hours, at an hourly rate of £51.51.

Even manual skilled professions require an “abundance” of training before they can qualify, argues eMoov, but an electrician (£18.35 per hour) and a plumber (£17.75 per hour) will have to work more than 40 hours each to match the hourly fee of a high street agent.

An infantry soldier in the British Army will have to work almost a full day (19 hours) to earn the same amount as a high street estate agent can in just one hour.

The Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, says: “We make a point of highlighting every year that, whilst house prices and transactions climb, so does the money made by high street estate agents, due to nothing more than their stale, commissioned-based fee. If anything, the service offered by high street estate agency has steadily declined, as the lack of barriers to entry have facilitated every man and his dog setting up a branch, with no real regulation on how they behave or treat the consumer.

“That’s not to say all high street agents are bad; there are in fact some very good ones, as well as those that don’t charge as much as the average 1.6% plus VAT in fees. But, unfortunately, there is still an abundance of those with a severe lack of moral fibre who get away with charging much more for no additional benefit.”

He continues: “The emergence of the online and hybrid sector is slowly changing that but, until it becomes the norm, and it will, the UK home seller will continue to be held to ransom by high street agents that know how to pull the wool over the eyes of both buyer and seller.

“The emergence of the online sector and property portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove means that now a property can almost sell itself. But to think that, despite this, there are high street agents across the UK netting 19 times more than a hard-working NHS doctor is a little bit sickening really.”

What do you think of high street estate agent charges, and have you been inspired to use an online alternative?