New comparison website to help consumers choose agents

An estate and letting agent comparison website has launched, aiming to deliver direct leads straight to the estate agent’s door.

Netanagent.com allows those with a property to sell or let to post their property details on the site free of charge, which are then passed on to local agents, omitting the owner’s own contact details.

The agents can then decide whether to register an interest in the property, and can submit a tailored bid, with details of fees and services offered.

The property owner can then compare the quotes before choosing which agents to proceed with for a valuation. The website is free for users, and for an estate agent to receive and post bids, with the agent paying a fee only on sale or let of a property. For sales, the fee is 0.1% of the sale price, with a minimum of £200 and a maximum of £300; for lettings, there is a flat fee of £100.

The idea of an online consumer comparison service is not new, with similar propositions already in the market, for example Agentquote and Whichpropertyagent.

It is not clear to what extent consumers have embraced the idea, but Alex Thorpe, managing director of netanagent, is upbeat about his new venture.

He said:  “The site will turn the property selling or letting process on its head, and we’re hoping that it will really stir up competition in the market.

“Our research shows that consumers aren’t fully aware what they are being charged by estate agents or what to expect for their money.

“This can cause a breakdown in the relationship right from the start. We anticipate that the whole industry will benefit from this open and transparent process, and go some way to improving standards across the board.”
 
Research undertaken for netagent by Opinium, among over 1,000 people who had just sold a home, found that only a third (31%) felt they got the best deal from their estate agent in terms of service received for the fees charged.

When choosing an estate agent, the top factors that property owners were looking for were reputation of the agency (48%), followed by their knowledge of the local area (42%), then trustworthiness (39%) and cheapest fees (38%).
 
Thorpe said: “The findings show that consumers aren’t just interested in getting the best price for their property, or paying the lowest fees, and we’ve responded to that need by allowing agents to demonstrate the whole package offering to the seller.

“We also believe this creates a level playing field. Smaller local estate agents can compete with larger national brands, allowing them to demonstrate what value they can add to the sales process.”