HomeOwners Alliance
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Latest property news
‘Estate agents are putting too many buyers and sellers under pressure to buy in-house services’
Estate agents are pressuring too many buyers and sellers into using their in-house services to source mortgages, conveyancing, surveys, insurance and EPCs, it is claimed. Campaigning organisation the HomeOwners Alliance surveyed 2,000 buyers and sellers and found that 55% had felt under pressure to buy a mortgage through the estate agent handling the sale, while 49% felt obliged to buy conveyancing services through them. The figure for surveys was slight better at 41% of buyers and sellers, life insurance at 28%, EPC certificates at 17% and home insurance at 12%. The Homeowners Alliance also says their research shows 25% of all sellers and buyers felt under pressure to use an agent’s in-house services of one kind or another, which the organisation claims indicates some 300,000 people every year, based in industry figures. “It’s not good if buyers and sellers feel under pressure to use an estate agent’s services because they are led to believe doing so will put them in a better position for securing their dream home or get them a preferential treatment by the estate agent,” says its Chief Executive Paula Higgins (pictured, left). “They should be encouraged to shop around to find the best deal.” “Any estate…
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Top high street firms outperform online agents, research shows
The top-performing high street agents in the UK outperform online agents in all areas including achieved asking price and time taken to sell, it has been revealed. Research by consumer advice website HomeOwnersAlliance.com found that the top 1,000 best performing agents achieved on average 100.35% of their asking price, “suggesting that sellers can still maximise their home’s potential by selecting the correct local agents”. These agents also have a much better sales success rate than online agents, the research reveals, and sell 82.42% of homes listed with them compared to 51.98% by online and hybrid agents. “Sellers who look carefully at their local market before listing their home for sale will probably still be better off instructing the best high street agent in their area,” says Paula Higgins, Chief Executive of the HomeOwners Alliance. But for those looking for a quick, easy sale with surprisingly high rewards, online agents are an excellent and rapidly-improving option.” But the performance of online agents versus the whole high street market compares less favourably for traditional agents. Asking price The research reveals that online agents achieve a higher percentage of the asking price than their high street competitors despite charging on average £850 in…
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Housing crisis is deepening, says HomeOwners Alliance
The proportion of renters who aspire to be home owners has started to reduce after several years of rising aspirations, a survey conducted by the HomeOwners Alliance has revealed. An additional 250,000 renters in the UK gave up on the home-owning dream, its 2017 Homeowners Report suggests, pointing to a worsening housing crisis across the UK. Among the renters it canvassed 71% said they aspired to own their home one day, down from 73% last year but still more than in 2013 when the proportion was 65%. The HomeOwners Alliance, which publishes the report jointly with BLP Insurance, says the main barrier to ownership among 86% of renters is house prices, while 85% say saving for a deposit is also a serious concern and 80% say they can’t find a home to buy. The report highlights how average earnings in the UK have been increasing recently by 2.6% annually, house prices have increased by 4.5%. Housing crisis The HomeOwners Alliance says its report reveals a worsening housing crisis that is no longer restricted to just the more crowded areas of the UK such as London and the South East. For example, 68% of those canvassed in both Yorkshire and Humber and…
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