"While the early days of the fixed fee model provided a low-cost route to selling, the reality of a technology-enabled sales process is not for everyone and the majority of homeowners (over 90%) are still opting to use the services of an agent who charges commission on completion"
- Verona Frankish - Yopa
Yopa has analysed data sets surrounding average house prices, estate agent fees, legal fees, disbursements, and EPC costs to reveal how much homeowners will have to spend to sell their homes in the various regions of England & Wales.
According to the analysis, across England & Wales, the average seller will spend £5,867 to sell their home.
Estate agent fees remain the biggest cost to sellers
The largest expense is the estate agent fee. Across the nation, the average fee currently stands at 1.54%which, based on the current average house price of £293,976, comes to £4,527.
Conveyancing is the second-largest cost coming in at a national average of £1,000, followed by a further £250 for disbursements - fees that your conveyancer or solicitor will have to pay to other companies during the process of selling your property.
Finally, there’s the additional cost of £90 to pay for an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)*
London is the most expensive place to sell
If you’re selling in London, the average cost of selling your home more than doubles to hit £12,042.
This increase is due to estate agents taking a larger average fee of 1.99% against the nation’s highest average house price of £517,726, which comes out at £10,312.
Conveyancing is also more expensive in the capital, averaging £1,390, while the expected cost of disbursements and an EPC remain constant across all regions.
London is followed by the South East where sellers pay an average of £7,192, while the South West (£6,505), East of England (£6,316), and West Midlands (£4,936) round off the five most expensive selling regions.
Cheaper houses are cheaper to sell
The most affordable place to sell a home is the North East. This is because the cost of selling is directly linked to the value of your property.
The North East has, by quite some distance, the lowest average house price in the nation (£154,948, which means agent fees cost just £2,270. Conveyancing costs are also the lowest in the country (£880) which means the cost of selling your home comes in at £3,490, almost four times cheaper than the capital city.
CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish, commented: “Selling your home can be an expensive endeavour and there are a number of costs that you need to consider when it comes to it.
"And while homeowners have generally benefited from a consistently strong level of house price growth in recent years, the cost of selling has also increased due to the fact that, in most cases, estate agent fees are directly linked to the value of a property.
"No surprise then, that this commission remains the largest cost to account for when selling your home, with the average agent charging almost £5,000 based on current market values.
"While the early days of the fixed fee model provided a low-cost route to selling, the reality of a technology-enabled sales process is not for everyone and the majority of homeowners (over 90%) are still opting to use the services of an agent who charges commission on completion.
"However, the fixed-fee offering has evolved over the years with some agents, including Yopa, providing a range of service and payment options to suit a range of customer needs and those who remain have combined the ability to save money without compromising on service or expertise.”
