Home Property Average estate agent fee still nearly £7,000 despite slower market conditions
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Average estate agent fee still nearly £7,000 despite slower market conditions

by LLP Reporter
1st Feb 19 7:01 am

The latest research from home seller empowerment platform, OkayLah, has looked at the cost of selling a house across England, where the most properties are selling, the total value of properties sold and the total amount paid in fees.

OkayLah calculated the current average estate agent fee paid by home sellers across each region of the country by:

  • Multiplying the average house price by the number of transactions over a 12-month period to find the total value of property sold in the last year.
  • OkayLah then found the total amount of fees paid in that 12-month period by calculating the 1.42% average agent fee* for the total value of property sold.
  • Finally, OkayLah divided the total fees paid by the number of transactions to find the average fee for each region.

By region

The research shows that despite the London market suffering the most from price reductions as a result of Brexit uncertainty, the average estate agent fee is still as high as £6,804 with the English average almost half of this at £3,425.

However, with fewer transactions completing in the capital it is, in fact, the South East that has paid the highest amount in estate agent fees. With 142,007 properties sold the region is home to the highest total value at £45.8bn also equating to the highest in total fees paid at £651,055,062 – an average of £4,585 per property.

The North East is not only home to the most affordable average house price, but it has seen the lowest number of transactions in the last year, resulting in the lowest value of property sold (£4.9bn), the lowest in total fees paid (£70.7m) and the lowest average fee per property (£1,824).

Looking locally

When looking at a more local level, the diversity of the national property market is clear.

With 40,654 transactions in the last 12 months, Greater Manchester is the UK’s home selling hotspot, shaking off the Brexit blues to enjoy the most buoyant market conditions. However, the much lower average house price of £165,146 means that the average fee per property is just £2,345.

With an average house price of £488,820, it’s Windsor and Maidenhead that tops the table with the highest estate agent fee at £6,941 per property, and no wonder with property costing more than the capital itself.

Surrey isn’t far behind with an average fee per property of £6,305 but as a result of higher transaction levels, the county is home to the highest total of fees paid at a whopping £107.9 million in the last 12 months. With £7.6 billion worth of property sold in the last year, Surrey is also England’s most valuable area where the property market is concerned.

Hartlepool is home to the lowest amount of total fees paid to estate agents at just £1.9 million in the last year, while County Durham is home to the lowest average fee at just £1,454.

Paul Telford, founder and CEO of OkayLah said, “Slower market conditions and a drop in buyer demand has not only impacted the asking price of the nation’s sellers, but estate agents have also had to readjust their expectations due to dwindling stock levels and competition from fixed fee agents.

“That said, this research demonstrates the vast amounts of money that some agents are still making due to the high cost of property in some areas of England, regardless of whether or not the buyer has taken the brunt of Brexit market uncertainty and lowered their asking price.

“It also highlights that despite the doom and gloom of our current EU limbo, there are plenty of areas enjoying large numbers of property transactions, and the UK property market remains a very lucrative investment.

“Our advice to those looking to sell would be to shop around, negotiate on fee, and consider alternative options such as for sale by owner platforms or other fixed fee models to maximise your property sale profits.”

County Data
Highest average fee per property
Region Avg price Transactions** Total fees paid (Avg Fee 1.42%*) Avg fee per property
Windsor & Maidenhead £488,820 1778 £12,341,532 £6,941
Surrey £443,998 17117 £107,918,775 £6,305
Wokingham £415,775 2834 £16,731,950 £5,904
Buckinghamshire £404,915 7857 £45,176,124 £5,750
Hertfordshire £401,094 16068 £91,515,853 £5,696
Brighton and Hove £358,392 3857 £19,628,915 £5,089
Oxfordshire £353,984 10310 £51,823,966 £5,027
West Berkshire £351,090 2231 £11,122,601 £4,985
Bracknell Forest £347,796 1809 £8,934,114 £4,939
Bath and North East Somerset £336,521 2918 £13,943,950 £4,779
Highest total fees paid and highest total value of property sold
Region Avg price Transactions** Total fees paid Avg fee per property
Surrey £443,998 17117 £107,918,775 £6,305
Essex £310,554 23946 £105,598,670 £4,410
Kent £290,175 25233 £103,972,198 £4,120
Hampshire £314,002 22611 £100,818,569 £4,459
Greater Manchester £165,146 40654 £95,336,606 £2,345
Hertfordshire £401,094 16068 £91,515,853 £5,696
West Midlands £178,300 34524 £87,409,935 £2,532
West Yorks £154,117 33874 £74,131,941 £2,188
West Sussex £322,412 14640 £67,025,586 £4,578
Devon £252,547 14838 £53,211,552 £3,586
Highest number of property transactions
Region Avg price Transactions** Total fees paid Avg fee per property
Greater Manchester £165,146 40654 £95,336,606 £2,345
West Midlands £178,300 34524 £87,409,935 £2,532
West Yorks £154,117 33874 £74,131,941 £2,188
Kent £290,175 25233 £103,972,198 £4,120
Essex £310,554 23946 £105,598,670 £4,410
Hampshire £314,002 22611 £100,818,569 £4,459
Lancashire £142,328 20005 £40,431,257 £2,021
Surrey £443,998 17117 £107,918,775 £6,305
Hertfordshire £401,094 16068 £91,515,853 £5,696
Norfolk £222,819 15937 £50,425,143 £3,164
Regional Data
Region Avg price Transactions** Total fees paid Avg fee per property
London £479,137 87116 £592,715,084 £6,804
South East £322,864 142007 £651,055,062 £4,585
East £289,386 97424 £400,342,612 £4,109
South West £252,717 99090 £355,592,531 £3,589
West Midlands £192,303 83866 £229,013,104 £2,731
East Midlands £187,670 78645 £209,582,162 £2,665
North West £159,231 112205 £253,704,504 £2,261
Yorks & Humber £159,079 83582 £188,805,202 £2,259
North East £128,438 38814 £70,789,734 £1,824
TOTAL N/A 1040602 £3,398,519,913 N/A
AVG £217,224 N/A N/A £3,425
* 1.42% Inc. VAT says The Advisory. Quoted by WHICH? July 2018
** Last twelve months available from Land Registry (October 2017 to September 2018)

 

 

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