West Midlands homes selling faster than elsewhere

HOMES in the West Midlands are amongst some of the fastest sellers in the UK, according to new research.

The poll of 2,000 homeowners across the UK by hybrid estate agent EstatesDirect.com reveals homes in the West Midlands take six viewings on average before they sell – almost 50% less than Britain’s slowest selling homes.
 
Buyers in the region beat those in the South East and South West of the country in selling their homes, where figures highlight an average of eight viewings before the homes are sold. Homes in Wales were the quickest to be snapped up, taking around five viewings on average before they are sold.

While this booming property market is welcome news for homeowners in the area, EstatesDirect.com said this means that traditional, commission-based estate agents were set to make even more money, faster than before.
 
Julian Sill, a property specialist for Kidderminster, Stourport and Bewdley, said: “With properties being snapped up so quickly, traditional commission-based estate agents are raking in thousands of pounds for just a few 30 minute viewings.
 
“With the average house price in the area now rising to £160,890, home sellers could end up wasting over £2,400 in traditional estate agency fees, for an agent to show just five potential buyers around their home.”

EstatesDirect.com was launched by Poundland founder Steve Smith, DatingDirect.com (later rebranded as Match.com) pioneer Darren Richards and entrepreneur Ben Grove. Under its hybrid model, EstatesDirect.com offers to sell any property online for a fixed fee thereby cutting out traditional agencies.

The full results of the research found:

Quickest Selling Cities

1.    Wrexham: 4.1 (viewings before selling their home)
2.    Gloucester: 4.9
3.    Cardiff: 5.0
4.    Wolverhampton: 5.4
5.    Manchester: 5.9
 
Slowest Selling Cities

1.    Chelmsford: 9.5 (viewings before selling their home)
2.    Brighton and Hove: 9.0
3.    Worcester: 8.9
4.    Aberystwyth: 8.8
5.    Belfast: 8.4