Online Estate Agents- What are they?

I've seen a lot of press lately refer to many sites as "online estate agents" some correct others, not-so-correct.

I think there is a lot of confusion here in the UK over what exactly an "online estate agent" is.  I believe this is down to the industry growing at such a rapid rate.  There are new additions to the property market on the internet almost every day.  Portals, private sales websites, online agents and property blogs.  It's a confusing array of .com's .co.uk's and .net's.  So lets clear it up a little.

Property Portals

A few years ago, high street estate agents noticed that consumers were looking for property to buy on the internet.  Noticing this new trend a few clever agents banded together and formed the Rightmove property portal.  This would be a place where all estate agents could go and upload all of the properties they held in their portfolio for the world to see.  This lead to a few other startup's appearing to cater for this market.  Sites like Primelocation, Propertyfinder, FindaProperty and Rightmove are now one of the key places people visit when looking for property.

Here at BrightSale, we are not in competition with any of the property portals in any way. In fact it is quite the opposite. We utilise their resources and visitors to give you more chances of selling your home.  Our properties appear on all of the above portals to ensure you get the best exposure for your property as possible.

Private Sales Websites

Often referred to as "online estate agents" private sales websites give users the opportunity to manage the entire property sale themselves.  From creating the listing with photo's all the way down to negotiating and conveyancing. 

Some private sales websites let you list your property for free, others go all the way up to £199 for a listing.  The costs of a private sales website are massively reduced as they don't need staff to help customers deal with the nuances of any property sale.

And that's exactly why they are not "estate agents" not even "online estate agents".  As you are acting in every way as the negotiator, keyholder and viewing correspondent you are the agent.

Whilst private sales can be a cost effective way of selling your property, they fail to support you when you are likely to need it most, and that leads me to...

Online Estate Agents

We believe this is where the future lies for property online.  Online estate agents aim to bridge the gap between private sales and high street agents.  Our research and experience has shown that although many vendors are frustrated with high street estate agents, they still see the benefits of using one.  Many people like the idea of handling a sale alone, but when things begin to go wrong, or complications arise the guidance and professionalism of a good estate agent is tough to replicate with limited experience.

That's why, we have evolved our business model into a "hybrid" of the two.  We can offer you the control and transparency of a private sale, with the experience and support of a team of property professionals to fall back on.  We believe that this setup, similar to that of travel agents and other consumer business' worldwide is the true future of estate agency in the UK.