Paula Higgins
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Latest property news
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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Latest property news
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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