A report from the trading standards body called on
first time buyers to be unafraid of negotiating with estate agents.
The Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) report on home buying and selling practices found that almost a third (32 per cent) of buyers considered their estate agent's fee slightly or very poor value for money.
However, well over half (64 per cent) did not consider negotiating a lower fee.
According to the OFT, UK home buyers may be paying up to £570 million a year more than they need to in commission fees.
In addition, the organisation asked buyers to recognise that "the estate agent acts for the seller and not for them."
Over half of those looking to buy a home believed that the estate agent was acting equally for them and the seller – with a further six per cent mistakenly thinking that the estate agent was acting mainly for their advantage.
The stereotypically pushy image of Americans is a positive role model here. Seventy per cent of buyers in the US successfully negotiated fees, claimed the OFT.
A third of buyers in the UK who attempted to do so paid on average 1.4 per cent for the commission fee, while those who didn't paid around 1.8 per cent.
See Also: Property News (6699)
Date Published: 18 February 2010
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