Homeowners have branded the thousands of poundspaid totraditional high street estate agentsasone of the biggestexamples ofdaylight robbery, eMoov research has found.
Homeowners have branded the thousands of poundspaid totraditional high street estate agentsasone of the biggestexamples ofdaylight robbery, eMoov research has found.
Some 48% of those asked ranked it as the second biggest example of daylight robbery in this day and age. In a separate study, 79% of homeowners believed that the commission charged via the traditional estate agency model was excessively high.
Russell Quirk, founder and chief executive of Emoov.co.uk, said: “It also goes to show that as a nation of aspiring homeowners, even the current level of house prices isn’t enough to class buying a house as daylight robbery, but the cost of selling that house via a traditional agent is the second highest ranking.
“It makes sense as the average 1.3% commission charged by high street estate agents is by far the largest example of daylight robbery in terms of the actual monetary sum and it also demonstrates a sign of the times and a change in the consumer mentality across the UK property market.
“We’ve seen the industry evolve and like many sectors, technology has allowed estate agents to reduced overheads and increased service levels, passing the savings back on to sellers, so the idea of still paying thousands for nothing more than the upkeep of a traditional agent’s high street office is pretty ridiculous.”
Surprisingly the average UK house price of £228,000 ranked second to last despite the far-reaching issue of property unaffordability, with a £2.50 cost of a toll road ranking last under the title of‘daylight robbery’.
