Estate Agent Fees: How Much Do Estate Agents Charge?

While it depends on who you choose, if you’re planning to sell or let out a property, it helps to know in advance roughly how much the estate agent fees will be.

In this guide, we reveal the typical estate agent fees. But more importantly, we explore what you should expect to receive in terms of service quality by paying those fees.

Most estate agents charge a small percentage of the final sale price, but some have a different model – for example, a fixed free upfront.

How much are estate agent fees for selling a property?

How much the estate agent selling fees are will vary depending on several criteria. One of the main influencing factors is whether you choose a ‘sole agency’ or ‘multiple agency’ agreement.

In a sole agency agreement, you instruct one estate agent to sell your property. In a multiple agency agreement, two or more try to sell your property and the fees tend to be higher.

You may think the best approach is to pay the lowest fee possible when selling your property, but that’s not necessarily the case. Think about this:

• If a property is listed for £600,000, an estate agent achieves this asking price and the commission is 2.5%, you pay a commission of £15,000. That leaves £585,000 after deducting estate agent fees.
• If a different estate agent achieves 98% of your ideal asking price (£588,000) and charges a lower rate of 1.5%, you pay less commission at £8,820. But that leaves £579,180 after deducting estate agent fees – a worse outcome by £5,820.

That’s why it’s better to choose an estate based on criteria such as their previous success rate and reviews from other customers, rather than fees alone. What matters most is that the fees you pay deliver the results you’re looking for.

Our commission varies between 2.4-3% including VAT of the agreed selling price depending on the contract type, as stated in our FAQs. There may be other estate agents available with slightly lower fees, but customers couldn’t be happier with our success rate – we average 5/5 stars on Google.

What’s included in the sales services?

Also bear in mind that lower estate agent fees will likely include fewer services. What’s included in estate agents’ fees can vary wildly.

Selling a property for the right price requires a lot of time and expertise. Choosing a comprehensive service means that you don’t have to take on any of the important, tricky tasks yourself.

When choosing an estate agent, find out what their sales services include and check to see if there are any gaps.

Here is a snapshot of everything included in our sales services:

• Market analysis and valuation visit
• My in-person valuation
• Tailored route to market
• Accompanied viewings
• Option of digital viewings
• Digitalised legal documentation process
• Comprehensive online anti-money laundering (AML) checks
• Buyer verification before offer acceptance
• Experienced sales progression
• Round-the-clock contact
• One point of contact throughout

Our entire approach is comprehensive. For example, our pricing strategy is based on thorough research, taking into account our extensive experience, current market trends and the ever-changing financial climate.

How much do estate agents charge for landlord services?

What about if you’re letting out your property? How much do estate agents charge to oversee the process and manage the property during the tenancy?

There are many different moving parts to marketing and finding the right tenant for a property, then managing it long-term.

And property management during the tenancy looks different day-to-day too. There’s the submission of the property licence at the outset, visits during a void period, ad hoc refurbishment works and so on.

If you’re choosing an estate agent for lettings and property management services, review their fees carefully. We’re transparent about ours – here are our landlord fees and for tenants, we also have details on our website around the holding deposit per tenancy.

What’s included in lettings and property management services?

Paying an estate agent to let out and manage your property means you should be free to relax and let them do the hard work for you.

We believe it should be a seamless, stress-free process. That’s why our comprehensive lettings and property management services include:

• Marketing
• Obtaining tenant references
• ID and right to rent checks
• Pre-tenancy safety checks
• Tenancy agreements
• Property pre-cleans
• Detailed inventories
• Legal compliance advice
• Deposit registration
• Rent collection
• Arranging payment of outgoings
• Quotes, repairs and maintenance
• Access to trusted providers
• 24 hour emergency contractor
• Property inspections
• Management of the check-out process
• Deposit claim negotiations, compilations and submissions

Do all landlords use estate agents for lettings and property management? No – and if you would like to try taking matters into your own hands, the Fine Living blog is full of resources that can help you.

For example, find out how to rent out your house or flat and read my landlord checklist with a detailed list of responsibilities.

Final thoughts: Estate agent fees (UK)

There’s plenty of criteria to consider when choosing an estate agent, not just their fees.

Find out how they’ll market your property. Ask about their valuation process. Are they knowledgeable about your area? How experienced are they?

For more advice, here’s our guide on how to choose an estate agent.

An experienced agent should also have relevant certifications, showing that any money spent with them is safe.

Fine Living follows the Propertymark professional standards – a commitment to transparency, compliance and high standards. Here is our Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme certificate and we also adhere to the Property Redress Scheme (PRS) and Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).

The fees you pay need to deliver the right results. Client testimonials are a good indicator of a proven track record and you read our latest reviews by scrolling down to the bottom of this blog.

We don’t outsource, we don’t delegate – the person you meet at the start is the person who will also help achieve your property goals! For more information about Fine Living, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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