Home sellers are paying up to 21% more in estate agency fees than five years ago, data from Open Property Group has revealed.
Open Property Group analysed the change in average estate agency fees in the UK and its regions between 2019 and 2024 to reveal how the cost of selling a home has changed over the past five years.
In 2019, the average house price was £230,612, and the average estate agency fee was 1.53%.
As such, the cost of agency fees in 2019 was an estimated £3,528.
Now, the average house price was found to be £280,311.
The average estate agency fee fell to 1.42%, but due to the increase in house prices, the actual cost rose to £3,980.
This was a five-year increase to the seller of 12.8%, or £452.
In the North West, the average house price increased from £164,419 in 2019 to £214,592; as such, the average fee increased from £2,516 to £3,047.
This is equivalent to a cost increase of 21.1% for sellers.
Hefty cost increases have also occurred in Northern Ireland where fees are up 20% on 2019 levels, followed by Wales (19.4%), Yorkshire & Humber (16.3%), the East Midlands (15.6%), Scotland (14.8%), West Midlands (14.9%), South West (14.4%), and North East (14%).
London was the only place where the cost of agency fees fell, having dropped by 0.5% over the five-year period.
Jason Harris-Cohen, CEO of Open Property Group, said: “A lot of people don’t realise how much it costs to sell a home.
“Agency fees, which amount to thousands of pounds, are just one of many outgoings that sellers endure, and the longer your property sits on the market waiting for a buyer, the more the costs go up.
“This is because you’re having to pay mortgage costs, insurance bills, utilities, and so on while you remain the owner of the property.”
He added: “But by taking the quick sale option, you are able to bypass all of these expenses. There is no agent involved, so there’s no fees.
“And the sale processes incredibly quickly which means you’re not paying to run the property while waiting months and months for a seller.
“Furthermore, you still benefit from the value that has been added to your home over the years because Open Property Group always pays 80% to 85% of the home’s current market value.”
Harris-Cohen concluded: “After a couple of stagnant years, it looks like the UK market is going to pick back up in the second half of 2024, which means house prices will rise pulling agency fees up with them.
“Sellers should consider going down the quick sale route instead, avoiding all of the covert costs associated with the open market, and getting the transaction completed in a fraction of the time.”
