Tesco and Google to sell houses in shakeup of property market
Filed under: Property, House and Home
Tesco is thought to be gearing up to launch a property website and Google could also enter the fray. This could shake up the landscape of Britain's housing market, which so far has been dominated by traditional estate agents. Competition among estate agents is set to intensify after a report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) suggested that legislation on buying and selling houses dating back to 1979 should be relaxed to allow more online estate agents into the market to give consumers a better deal.
So what will it mean?
The changes will open the market to new players, including supermarket giant Tesco, which is understood to already be in talks with estate agents Spicerhaart to set up an online venture. There was speculation that Tesco could launch a property website within weeks, allowing home owners to list their properties for a flat fee of £200. The supermarket already had a go at setting up an online property venture but current regulations forced it to pull it and the business was sold to Spicerhaart.
Internet group Google is also thought to be interested in the UK property market. Users can search for real estate listings on Google in the US and Australia and Google may bring this service over here.
The OFT found that 27% of sellers have an appetite to use alternative selling methods outside the traditional estate agent model. "Encouraging new business models, online estate agents and private seller platforms could put useful competitive pressure on traditional models and lead to better value for buyers and sellers," said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.
In the interim, you can cut your costs, whoever you use to sell your home. The OFT report estimates that a failure to haggle over estate agency fees is costing home owners up to £570 million a year. At the moment very few people haggle. The consumer watchdog advises home owners to get tough with estate agents.
Agents will compete for your business in any way they can. Some will inflate the asking price to tempt you to put business their way, and hope you will sign up for their fee in excitement. The best way to arm yourself against this kind of tactic is to find out how much your house is worth before you go to an agent. One cunning way is through website Zoopla. Here you can see exactly what your neighbours have sold for, and exactly how much your home is worth, which will mean you don't get blinded by pound signs when you're negotiating.
What do you think? Would you use a website to sell your property or are you going to stick to traditional estate agents? Let us know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-22-2010 @ 9:14AM
jason said...
Every house is different, How are we going to get an honest evaluation? I think the competition would be good from tesco, but it's just going to cause problems. Estate agents do need a good shake-up, but I don't think it's going to be a good thing for us in the long term.
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2-22-2010 @ 1:25PM
jason said...
No, I am not an estate agent. I'm just thinking how many of you will change what you're saying when your property values go down. Yes we all know that estate agents inflate their prices, but this is not only for themselves, it is for us as well.
2-22-2010 @ 9:11AM
David said...
When is the general public going to wake up to Tesco, and the danger that they present to Society. Like a cancer, slowly but surely they are moving into every part of life, and eventually, when they have an absolutle monopoly, they will be able to arrogate absolute power and exploit us all to the full. Cheap now, but, oh so very dear once they have total power.
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2-22-2010 @ 10:24AM
Brian said...
Paranoia rules, OK?
Tesco is a BUSINESS (like any other) - it has the right, in a free economy, to elect to diversify its business in any way it choses (win or lose). If it's as DANGEROUS as you suggest, why hasn't it gobbled-up all its competotors and beome the ONLY player in the Supermarket arena? Supermarkets have, in general, ousted a proportion of 'corner shops' (convenient, in a limited way, but not good value for money - not thir fault).
Get a grip!!
2-22-2010 @ 4:33PM
Mike said...
Tesco have become a great British success, based on 2 factors. The first is that they give the customer what they want at competitive pricing. The second is that they have competed again business that weren't very good and beat them at their own game.
Estate agent have been in that zone for too long, earning £2-3,000 for the average home. All for the price of a board and an ad! Rediculous.....you don't spend that on selling a secondhand car do you!
I'm waiting for Tesco to move into banking.....then we'll see customer service and fair practices that benefit the consumer, rather than extracting every penny they can for a poor service! Come on Tesco.....who else can you give a beating!!
2-22-2010 @ 9:57AM
Nick said...
Its all very well listing your home for £200 but how many of us will use the free service estate agents offer when it comes to valuations?
I bet most of the properties that go on these websites will have used an estate agent to decide what price to market at.
I wonder if Tesco's will have valuers and negotiators.... or rely on us using this free service and then stepping in for there fee!!
Is that really fair?
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2-22-2010 @ 10:27AM
Brian said...
There's no such thing as a 'Free Meal' and there's no such thing as a 'Free Valuation'. The cost to the estage agent of a ('free') valuation is, along with all the other costs associated with operating an estate agency, ultimately passed on to the customer(s) in the eventual agency fees.
Is that reality so HARD to understand?
2-22-2010 @ 9:59AM
roger said...
It seems the first 3 comments are from estate agents. Before the property market went bang, Uncle Tom Cobley and all were selling houses and making obsene amounts of commision, selling the same house over and over. Im no lover of Tesco, but lets get a bit of competition in the house market, just a pity it might be Tesco.
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2-22-2010 @ 10:31AM
Ken said...
I'm not an estate agent, Roger. Actually , I'm a retired engineer, but I do agree with the previous three comments.
Traditional estate agents will provide valuations for free for the benefit of Tesco and Google. Hardly fair I would say. And when agents no longer exist, who will do the valuations then?
Some people rabbit on about estate agents without having a clue of the nature of the business. Use Tesco etc at your peril.
Why stop at estate agents? Why not drive lawyers and car salespeople out of the market place too? A willingness to buy all things Japanese has already cost us our electronics and manufacturing industries (mainly cars). Will we never learn?
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4-07-2010 @ 6:41AM
Ron said...
First time I've ever seen anybody praising estate agents.
They are a greedy lot who haven't a clue on how to value a house, they use recent house sales in the area and guess at what price your house might sell at.
Noadays their criteria is to say put it on the market at a reasonable price(meaning cheap)and will deliberty unvalue your property
so they can get a quick sale and get their commission fast if your house has not sold after a few weeks they will try to get you to reduce the price evem more just so they can get a quick commission.But they don't offer to reduce their hugh commission.
This applies even more to the large agents
Save £100000's and sell your own house
2-22-2010 @ 10:30AM
Cammy said...
Estate agents operate on a cartell basis. They all know each others charges which are invariably the same. In any case estate agents no longer value property. Valuation is now in the hands of the surveyor who prepares the home information pack and energy certification which is a separate cost. The surveyor determines the value and there is no haggling. Once established you can try and sell for more if you dare!
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2-22-2010 @ 10:37AM
Brian said...
How will you get a honest and realistic evaluation? Do you REALLY think you get one now? I have had my property 'valued' by five different agents, with a difference of 25% between the lowest and highest. Honest? Realistic?
If estate agents go out of business, then into the marketplace will appear 'Property Valuers', who will charge a fee and you would wisely demand of them a track record account (their evaluation versus actual selling price) BEFORE hiring them, thus getting a more accurate estimate of 'realistic and honest', rather than the low estimate I got (attempt to make a quick buck by means of quick sale and low advertising outlay) as opposed to highest valuation (attempt to maximise agent's fees).
Easy, eh?
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2-22-2010 @ 11:05AM
Jonathan said...
Estate Agents!!!! Another parasitic organisation. We have had our property on the market for 2 years with only one viewing. It was on at £385k We recently changed agents to a fiorm that would almost guarantee a quick sale at £355k 6 months on and no viewings I called in at their offices and enquired where all their sales leads were. Low and behold the following weekend we had two seperate viewings. Neither came to fruition. Being a sceptic, I wonder whether Estate agents actually pay people to go and view properties just to make ut that they are trying and that you will stay with them. Has anyone else got the same feelings.
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2-22-2010 @ 1:29PM
Noozes said...
As long as the property is visible on the property portals, then this would generate viewings without the agent having to make any effort at all. Therefore I would suggest that there is no demand for your property becasue the price is too high.
Ask you agent to supply with a Rightmove Click Through Report so you can see how your property is doing on line. No interest = overpriced.
Sorry, I'm sure you won't appreciate these comments but I would bet money that this is what the problem is.
2-22-2010 @ 5:28PM
Richy said...
It's not Rocket Science Jonathan.......Your property must be OVERPRICED!
At the right price anything will sell.
2-22-2010 @ 11:15AM
Ron said...
Estate agents have been abusing their monopoly for years,so any outside competition can onlly be a positive thing.their fees are totally extortionate considering what little they do.!!!
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2-25-2010 @ 3:16PM
Brian said...
Estate agents DON'T have a monopoly (a monopoly is where ONE supplier provides goods or services, without competion) - clearly, estate agents compete with each other and private advertising is always available to the seller.
I now live in France and if you think UK estate agents are robbers, think how you would swallow the 7% - 10% fee levied, not uncharacteriatically, by the 'Immobiliers' here.
2-22-2010 @ 11:13AM
Martin said...
About time we had some real competition to the estate agents virtual monopoly. Their charges are obscene.
We don't need middlemen to help sell a car or anything else so why do we need agents?
As to their valuation "skills" have you ever had two agree because I haven't.
They won't be missed and perhaps we will get some real shops back in our High Streets when they've gone.
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2-22-2010 @ 11:20AM
Martin said...
Let's get rid of these greedy middlemen. I would rather pay Tesco £200 than £6,000 to an agent. Most of them can't be bothered to even take buyers around your house, they expect you to do it so what are we paying them thousands for?
I say good riddance to estate agents. They create nothing, they feed off sellers and they have all the best shops in every High Street up and down the country. It's obvious we are paying them too much.
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2-22-2010 @ 11:28AM
Jayne said...
Oh boy Tesco's are taking over like a bad smell ! But they still insist in cutting staff's in store ,i know because i used to work for them. There getting greedy and soon u.k be tesco land !
There be no room for growth for new companys like my self ok i sell maternity wear not property's.
Http://www.motherwearclothing.co.uk
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