UK's First Local Rankings For Estate Agents

Press release: 9 Jul 2008

Estate agents across the UK are coming under scrutiny through a free online ranking service developed by Home.co.uk.

The local ranking system is the first of its kind in the UK and enables those looking for an estate agent to find the best local agent to suit their home selling needs.

Home.co.uk's research shows that local estate agents vary considerably both in terms of average property price and property turnover rate. The new local ranking system allows home sellers to shortlist the local agents that specialise in their price bracket and find which of those agencies can sell homes quickest. Sellers can also browse the types of property each agent is selling and see which portfolio best matches their own property type.

The service is UK wide, covering 1,000s of towns, cities and postcode areas.

Doug Shephard of Home.co.uk said: "We have analysed our extensive property search data and broken it down by agent to provide much greater detail. Our users now have access to much more information about estate agents' selling services than has been previously available.

"For example if you are selling a home that is worth in the region of around £500,000 to £600,000 it's important to find an estate agent who is used to selling in that price bracket as they have the marketing experience you need and are more likely to have buyers waiting for that kind of property.

"The same goes for the other end of the market: the local agency that specialises in selling one bedroom flats for around £150K may well be the best agency to instruct if that is the kind of property you want to sell."

The insightful information about estate agents, now available in Home.co.uk's Estate Agent Directory, includes both the average price of homes on an agent's books and the average marketing time for properties sold by an agent. The estate agents are then given a local ranking in terms of the speed they sell properties and the average listing price.

"This is all part of our efforts to offer a better service to those looking to sell their homes and to bring greater transparency to the UK property market," added Shephard. "Selling property is tougher now than it has been for many years, but it is always easier with a hard working estate agent that has experience of selling your type of property."

The rankings are available via Home.co.uk's estate agent search section at https://www.home.co.uk/search/agents/.

Notes for Editors

Over the last 28 years, Home.co.uk has become established as a dynamic, innovative and ethical service. By providing the UK's most comprehensive Property Search and Estate Agents directory coupled with detailed House Price analysis, Home.co.uk delivers the real power of the Internet to inform and empower estate agents, homebuyers, renters, landlords and sellers in across the UK.