Fast forward to today and a pandemic property market boom has seen the average house price in England climb by 22 per cent.
As a result, the average home seller is now paying £4,564 in estate agent fees, an increase of £793 despite a marginally lower fee of 1.51 per cent versus 1.52 per cent in December 2019.
Managing director of House Buyer Bureau Chris Hodgkinson commented: “There are a whole host of costs involved in selling a home, above and beyond the fee paid to your selling agent.
"However, these tend to be fixed and remain largely unchanged regardless of wider market performance.
"The fee charged by a selling agent, on the other hand, changes depending on the value of the home being sold.
"So while homeowners have enjoyed some pretty high and sustained rates of house price growth during the pandemic, the same increase in the value of their home will cost them a fair bit more if they do decide to sell up.”
Background
The rising cost of servicing mortgages has already caught the attention of the regulator.
Earlier this week (Tuesday 8), the Financial Conduct Authority issued a note encouraging mortgage borrowers to consider switching as some could save an average of £1,240 each year by doing so.
In its Switching in the Mortgage Market update, the FCA said approximately 370,000 borrowers (4 per cent) could make a saving by changing to a 2-year fixed rate with their existing lender.
As reported by FTAdviser, the FCA said the number of mortgage borrowers not switching their mortgage deal, when they could save money by doing so, has declined significantly since 2016.
It commented: “We do not see the same poor pricing practices that used to be prevalent in the general insurance markets, where pricing was opaque and loyal customers could face dramatic price increases over time as a result of price walking."
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
