Quantcast
Menu
Save, make, understand money

First-time Buyer

Estate agents pocket £7k fee in spite of slowing sales

daniellelevy
Written By:
daniellelevy
Posted:
Updated:
21/02/2024

Average estate agency fees are about £7,000 in parts of England, despite the slower market conditions created by Brexit uncertainty, research has shown.

The English average is £3,425, although it stands at £6,804 in London and £4,585 in the South East, according to seller property portal OkayLah.

With fewer transactions completing in the capital, the South East has paid the highest amount in estate agent fees.

With 142,007 properties sold, the region is home to the highest total property value, which collectively stood at £45.8bn and this equates to the highest in total fees paid at £651m, 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.

This region also saw the lowest value of property sold at a collective total of £4.9bn, the lowest in total fees paid at £70.7m, as well as the lowest average fee for property at £1,824.

Local overview

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 the average fee per property is just £2,345.

With an average house price of £488,820, higher than the capital, Windsor and Maidenhead topped the table with the highest estate agent fee at £6,941 per property.

Surrey was not 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 £107.9m over the last 12 months.

With £7.6bn worth of property sold in the last year, Surrey was also England’s most valuable area.

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

Adjust expectations

Paul Telford, founder and chief executive of OkayLah, said slower market conditions and a drop in buyer demand had impacted asking prices.

He also noted estate agents have had to adjust their expectations due to dwindling stock levels and increased competition.

He 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.”