Estate agent offers up-front fee
Updated on 20 October 2008
An estate agent is replacing its usual sales commission with an up-front flat fee in a bid to win business in the current housing market.
Lauristons, which has six branches across London, is offering customers the choice of paying a fee of £999 when they put their home on the market, or the traditional commission of 2% to 3% when the property is sold.
The deal, which is valid for all properties that go on to the market before the end of December, represents a considerable saving on the typical commission charge of around £7,000 to £8,000.
If the property fails to sell, people who have opted to pay the up-front fee will not receive a refund, but they will be able to offset the sum against the group's fees for letting a property if they decide to rent it out instead.
Steve Truman, managing director of sales and marketing at Lauristons, said: "The market is changing and the current economic climate means it probably won't be the same in the future.
"Estate agents are one of the only ones (professional groups) who don't charge a fee up front."
He added that the move should also help the group, whose branches are currently making two to three sales a week, increase its market share.
Many estate agents are struggling in the current market as house price falls discourage people from trading up or getting on to the property ladder.
Those who do decide to go ahead with a purchase are also struggling to raise the finance they need due to the credit crunch.
A recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that estate agents are selling less than one property a week, making an average of just 11.5 homes sales during the three months to the end of September, the lowest level since its survey first began in 1978.
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