Rated #13 Best Online Estate Agent
Overall Rating:
7.8
Value For Money = 3.8
Customer Support = 9.6
Reputation = 7.9
PROS:
- Customer support lines are open 24/7
- Commission-based pricing gives extra incentive for them to sell your property
- Good customer reviews
CONS:
- More expensive than most online agents (and some high-street agents, too!)
- Dated branding won’t fill buyers with confidence
- Website is clunky and hard to read
Express Estate Agency Review – Claiming to have been “voted the UK’s number 1 estate agency”, this online agent is quietly growing its popularity in the UK.
But, is their service as dated as their branding, or do they simply focus on their offering rather than their design skills? Find out below.
At A Glance:
Although their logo perhaps reflects their age, their website is actually quite up to date and more along the lines of colourful branding you’d expect to see on newer online agent websites.
Here’s how they perform in the most important areas:
- Cost is similar to what you would pay for a high street agent
- Allows full management of your property listing online
- 89% of people rate them as ‘Great’ or ‘Excellent’ on TrustPilot
- They ‘aim’ to sell your home within 30 days
- Website and brand looks somewhat dated compared to other online agents
So this is as much of a high street agent as it is an online agent judging by the commission-based pricing. That may be fine if you have a low value property (under £100k) but it’s unlikely to suit if your property is valued at higher than this. Still, lets look more into what they offer for the fee…
Selling A Property? FREE Step-By-Step Platform
- Bite-sized steps for buying and/or selling a property in the UK
- Easy-to-follow explanations every step of the way
- Clear actions to follow to progress your property transaction
- Trackable progress so you know what to do next
- Detailed informative articles related to every step you follow
How Much Does Express Estate Agency Cost?
Express Estate Agency operate more as a hybrid estate agent than an online one as they more closely mirror the way traditional high-street agents work.
For instance, they are one of the few agents to charge a fee linked to the sale price of your property, rather than a flat fixed fee. You won’t find out exactly how much you’ll pay until you’ve had them give you a valuation. Typically, you’ll be looking at between 1 and 1.5% of the sale price on a ‘no sale, no fee’ basis.
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This more closely mirrors what you would expect from a high-street agent rather than an online agent, but it does also mean you will potentially pay more for the privilege.
For example, even at the lower 1% commission, a house that sells for even a relatively modest £150,000 will set you back £1,500 in fees. That’s more than most online agents charge, even for their ‘no sale, no fee’ packages.
How Selling With Express Estate Agency Works:
Our Express Estate Agency review has found that there are two options available to get started with this hybrid estate agency. You can either enter your postcode and details to receive an instant online valuation, or you can book a home visit.
The online valuation is a nice idea but is essentially a way for Express Estate Agency to collect your details. You’ll be asked for contact details before you see your valuation and then you can expect a call and email to encourage you to book a proper home visit valuation and get your property on the market.
If you do go ahead with a home visit valuation, the process is very similar to how you might expect any online estate agency to work. Once you instruct them to sell your property, they’ll take the photos and create a property listing for major portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla.
Express Estate Agency Reviews From Customers:
The only grumble I could have with express is the commission they charge. I know of several other agencies who do not charge as much. Having said that they sold my property quickly and that is the reason I chose them.
Mark France via Trustpilot review
Express EA did a great job for us. Oliver found us a cash buyer for the flat within three weeks and for the asking price. We were delighted with the service.
Jenny Mckenna via Trustpilot review
So, Is Express Estate Agency Any Good?
During our Express Estate Agency review, one thing that is pretty obvious is that this is an online agent that is quite unlike any of the other online estate agents you’ll see advertising on TV.
That’s mostly because they use commission-based pricing rather than fixed-fees as we’ve already discussed. Whilst this can work out much more expensive, it does have the big advantage that it’s in their interests to sell your property as quickly as possible, for as much money as possible.
This makes Express Estate Agency a good middle-ground for those who are yet to be convinced by the raft of other online agents and the way they approach selling properties. However, you do lose the main benefits of large savings and so for this reason, it won’t suit everyone.
On their website, you’ll see they claim to be better than high-street agents as they sell more properties. on the face of it this is a good thing, but keep in mind most high-street agents only sell in small local areas, whereas Express Estate Agency sell nationally. The figures on properties sold vs properties listed would actually be much more useful.
Negatives Of Express Estate Agency:
We’ve touched on it already but it’s worth mentioning again that cost is the major negative of Express Estate Agency. Not only do you pay a percentage commission on your sale price, at 1-1.5% it’s fairly expensive.
Many high-street agents now charge as little as 0.5% and so it’s hard to make a compelling case for using Express Estate Agency over a traditional agent. It’s almost impossible to make a good case for using them over other online agents unless cost is not your primary concern.
We would also suggest that the branding of Express Estate Agency is not the most exciting, in fact, it looks a little dated. In the world of modern, contemporary online estate agents, it’s quite a surprise to see such an uninspiring brand.
If you’re wondering why this matters, wait until the ‘For Sale’ board goes up in front of your house. It will struggle to look exciting or look professional enough to fill potential buyers with confidence or excitement about viewing your home. The website is also clunky and hard to read in places.
Express Estate Agency Review – Summary:
Despite this being online of the most popular online/hybrid estate agencies in the UK, our Express Estate Agency review has found little to really get excited about. Their commission-based pricing is not only expensive compared to other online estate agents, it’s even expensive compared to many traditional high-street agents, too.
Their branding is not the most modern either which will not help your property appeal to potential buyers. On the plus side though, they do offer 24/7 customer support and have plenty of good reviews on independent review sites.
Therefore, they may make a good choice for those who like the idea of an online estate agent who works on a commission-only basis. Yet, if you decide to use them to sell your property, you’ll be forgoing the main benefits of saving money when using an online estate agency.
For that reason, we feel there are better options out there and would advise you check out our online estate agency comparison page to find an agent that provides the service you need at a lower price.
Our Top-Rated Online Estate Agents:
| Estate Agent | Cheapest Package | 'No Sale, No Fee' | Our Rating | Review | Official Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | £999 | £1,999 | 9.6 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | FREE | FREE | 9.5 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | £245 | From £595 | 9.2 | Read Review | Visit Website |
