What’s the average estate agent commission in the UK?

Estate agent commission UK

When it comes to selling your home, you might find that estate agent commissions are one of the biggest expenses you run into. In fact, estate agent fees can run into the thousands and, sometimes, even tens of thousands. That’s because paying an estate agent commission in the UK is the way that houses have been sold for hundreds of years — and it’s not cheap. 

A traditional estate agent takes a percentage of the overall sale — which, as we’ll get into, we think is a really out-of-date way of doing things and, well, just not really fair. So how much is an estate agent commission in the UK? And how much should estate agents actually charge? We’ll talk you through it.

What is the average UK estate agent commission in 2023?

Let’s start with the basics: How much do estate agents in the UK actually charge? The truth is, it can vary. Anywhere from .75% up to 3% wouldn’t be unheard of, but the average estate agent commission in the UK is 1.18%+VAT  — which works out to 1.42% including VAT. So for a £300,000 home, that would be £4,260.

What is included in an estate agent commission?

If you’re forking out all of that cash, what do you actually get in return? Well, we don’t think it’s enough. But there are a few things that should always be included in that price.

A traditional estate agent commission should include: 

• A valuation of your property

• A listing — including floorplans, photos, and a written description

• Advertising on major property portals, like Rightmove and Zoopla

• Contacting any buyers they know

• A “For Sale” board

• Managing and hosting viewings

• Negotiating the best price for you 

• Looking at the buyer’s financial status

• Liaising with solicitors and surveyors through to completion

So although there are a lot of things you should expect a traditional agent to do, we think thousands of pounds is still a lot of money to pay for these services. In fact, we think you should only pay for the services you need and keep the rest of that money in your pocket. We’ll talk you through those options later, for now let’s look at how you can talk your estate agent down, if you do want to go the traditional route.

How much does an estate agent make per sale in the UK?

Ah, that’s a tricky one. So every sale is different — and every commission is different. But if we take the average commission as 1.42% and the average house price, which according to the Office for National Statistics is £295,000, we can work out that the average UK estate agent commission would fall around £4,189 — in other words, an eye-watering amount of money. 

We just don’t think that’s fair. And in fact, it’s less fair the more expensive your home is. Imagine your home is worth £500,000 — do you really feel like an estate is doing £7,100 worth of work? And imagine having a million pound home (we know, most of us will really have to stretch our imaginations for this), you’d be paying £14,200 for the privilege of someone showing people around. Fourteen. Thousand. Pounds. It’s a lot to swallow.