Estate agent, Nested has discovered that the majority of recent UK homebuyers rated their estate agent’s performance as middle of the road, with a more proactive approach and better communication being the main areas of improvement homebuyers would like to see should they sell again.
Nested carried out its research by surveying UK homebuyers who have bought a home within the last six months to assess how they felt their estate agent had performed and what areas they could best improve.
Overall estate agent performance
On a scale of one to 10 with one being outstanding, 15% of respondents rated their estate agent’s performance during their last sale as a five - the most common individual score.
On a positive note, slightly over half (51%) of recent homebuyers did rate their agent between one and five, with 9% stating they were outstanding. Additionally, 8% of those surveyed also said they thought their agent’s performance was terrible.
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On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being outstanding and 10 being terrible, how would you rate your estate agent’s performance during your last property sale?
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Answer
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Respondents
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1 - Outstanding
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9%
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2
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10%
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3
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11%
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4
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7%
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5
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15%
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6
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9%
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7
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13%
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8
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13%
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9
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5%
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10 - Terrible
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8%
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Asking price performance
When it came to the asking price achieved, homebuyers were also split down the middle. According to Nested’s research, 47% of homebuyers said their agent didn’t achieve the asking price agreed. Although, 39% did and a further 14% said their agent achieved above asking price for their property.
According to the study, 94% of buyers said their agent advised them on what asking price to set but just 37% said they offered advice to lower their asking price when they struggled to sell.
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Did they achieve the asking price for your property?
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Answer
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Respondents
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No, they didn’t achieve the asking price
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47%
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Yes, they achieved asking price
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39%
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Yes, they achieved above asking price
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14%
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Did they advise you on what price to list your home?
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Answer
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Respondents
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Yes
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94%
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No
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6%
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Did they advise you to lower the asking price of your home during the sale, for example if you were gaining no buyer interest?
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Answer
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Respondents
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No
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63%
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Yes
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37%
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Areas of improvement
Nested also asked what areas of improvement homebuyers would like to see from their estate agent, with the answers ranked in the table below:
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If you were to sell again, what area of improvement could your previous estate agent make? (Tick all that apply)
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Answer
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Respondents
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More proactivity to shorten the transaction process
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1st
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Better/more frequent communication
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2nd
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Better customer service in general
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3rd
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More information on how my sale was progressing
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4th
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A higher percentage of asking price achieved
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5th
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A better property listing and/or photos of my home
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6th
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Help on what I needed to organise my side of the sale
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7th
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Head of commercial at Nested, Alice Bullard, praised estate agents for doing “an outstanding job during the pandemic.” Bullard also noted “not all estate agents are created equally.”
She commented: “Price is always going to be a driving factor and the very best agents will advise on a realistic asking price based on current market conditions and then go above and beyond to achieve it, or in some cases, exceed it. “
“But it’s clear that sellers view the added value of an estate agent above and beyond the price they achieve and constant, clear communication and a proactive approach to selling are some of the key areas they value most.”
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