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Thursday 23 June 2011

Online agents could kick start the housing recovery

Imove Cornwall is the latest online estate agents to open it’s virtual doors to the Cornish property market and it is claimed these new breed of digital agencies could kick start the housing recovery.
David Gilmore, from imove Cornwall, says: 'Similar to low cost airlines who changed the market with the introduction of online bookings and discounted flights, we believe that online estate agents are the way forward.  I would even go as far to say that the revolution of online agents could kick start the housing market if the much lower fees allow sellers to reduce the prices of their house in order for a quicker sale”
Online agents are certainly cheaper than traditional agents. High street agents tend to charge percentage fees based on the sale price of your property but with nothing to pay if you don't sell.
In the height of the property boom some agents would charge as little as 1 or 1.5% but a sluggish market has seen that creep up to around 2.5%. This means selling a £200,000 property would cost £5,000 plus VAT.
Online agents on the other hand tend to offer a range of pricing options. Typically these include a flat fee option and other pricing deals which have a smaller upfront fee and another fee on completion.
Currently imove Cornwall has started with one fee option for customers in Cornwall.  A straight low cost fee of £399, with no VAT to pay.
Imove director Mark Green says the site offers massive internet coverage for a simple low cost.  “We are in the process of developing additional fee options for customers, which we hope to launch within the next few months”
“High Street agents charge a fortune in fees in order to cover the colossal overheads of multiple premises and the wastage from 'no sale-no fee' which, attractive as it initially sounds, means that the successful seller heavily subsidises those that do not sell” says Green.
Most online agents get your property as much coverage on internet property portals as traditional estate agents do.  But many do not offer local newspaper advertising.  Imove claims to be different as it offers it’s customers local newspaper advertising at cost price.
“Most estate agents will advise seller’s that newspapers do not attract buyers” says Mark Green from imove, “however many seller’s still want their property advertised in the local newspaper.  With imove seller’s can purchase cost-price advertising”.
Imove Cornwall was launched in June 2011 and is the UK’s first not-for-profit online estate agents where all profits are donated to local good causes.
http://www.imovecornwall.org/

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