Estate agent fees – and how you can save in 2025

Estate agent fees add thousands of pounds to the cost of selling a home. It’s vital you get the best service for the best price. So let's look at what agents charge, how they structure their fees, hidden costs, why it’s important to compare estate agent fees, and how to negotiate and save.

Angela Kerr Director, Editor

KEY INFORMATION

Estate agent fees summarised

The average estate agent fee in 2025 is 1.42% including VAT. So on a £275,000 house this would mean estate agent fees of around £3,900.

However, estate agent fees typically range from 0.9%-3.6% depending on which estate agents you use, how many are selling your property – and how well you negotiate.

• For sole agency agreements (where you instruct just one estate agent) – typical fees are 1.2% to 1.8% inc VAT
• For multiple agency agreements (using two or more agents to sell your property) – typical fees are 3% to 3.6% inc VAT

Estate agents generally aim for the top of their fee range so it’s up to you to negotiate them down – read on for how to do this. Estate agents sometimes charge a set fee rather than a percentage. This is usually for cheaper properties and should be negotiated.

How much are estate agent fees? 

The average estate agent fee in 2025 is 1.42% including VAT. So on a £275,000 house this would mean estate agent fees of around £3,900.

However, estate agent fees typically range from 0.9%-3.6% depending on which estate agents you use, how many are selling your property – and how well you negotiate.

• For sole agency agreements (where you instruct just one estate agent) – typical fees are 1.2% to 1.8% inc VAT
• For multiple agency agreements (using two or more agents to sell your property) – typical fees are 3% to 3.6% inc VAT

Your estate agent is likely to aim to get the top end of their fee range so it’s up to you to negotiate them down – read on for how to do this.

Estate Agent Fee Structures

Here’s how different types of estate agent fees are structured:

Fixed fees vs percentage fees

While the most common way of selling a house in the UK is by using a high street estate agent charging a percentage commission of the final sale price, some estate agents offer their services for a fixed fee. Fixed fees are most commonly offered by online estate agents. While fixed fees may seem cheaper, you’ll usually need to pay up front. This means you’ll pay a fee whether or not your house sells. A lot of online estate agents offer fixed fee packages where you pay on completion, but the catch here is that these are more expensive.

And some high street estate agents offer fixed fee services, although this is usually for cheaper properties.

Example how much fixed fees cost vs percentage fees

• Percentage fees: If you’ve agreed to pay your estate agent commission of 1.42% and sell your house for £270,000, you’ll need to pay estate agent fees of £3,834.
• Fixed fees: If you’re selling the same house and paying fixed estate agent fees, you may need to pay only £1,499 in estate agent fees. This assumes you want services like hosted viewings, such as offered by online estate agent Yopa’s Premium Package. If you’re happy to have a more basic service you’ll pay a much lower fixed fee. However, fixed fee packages are usually payable up front. So if you don’t sell your home within their contract period, then you’ll lose your money and be back at square one.

Types of estate agency agreements

These are the different types of estate agency agreements:

Find out more in our guide on Estate agent contracts: What to watch for.

Do multi estate agency fees have to be more expensive?

Multi agency agreements are typically twice as expensive as sole agency agreements but they don’t have to be. Our partners at flyp offer their marketplace service which gives you access to multiple agents who compete to sell your home — for the same price as a single agent. Flyp say they offer the benefits of a multiple agent approach, but without the cost or headache — they select and manage the agents. Find out more about their marketplace service. Book a call to get your free Home Sale Assessment.

Why compare estate agent fees?

Don’t simply pick the cheapest estate agent based on their fees alone or decide a more expensive option is an indicator of quality. It’s important to compare estate agents fees and services so that you save money and also get the best performing estate agent.

Our best estate agent tool lets you instantly compare local estate agents by:

• Success rate: It’s crucial to check how successful an estate agents is because you’ll want to be confident they’ll sell your house. With our tool, you’ll see the percentage of properties that have been listed as sold (STC) in the last 180 days.
• Average time to sell: You’ll see how quickly properties go from being listed for sale to a sale being agreed.
• Sale price agreed: Being able to see the sale price agreed as a percentage of the initial advertised asking price is also important information to consider.
• Reviews: You’ll want to know what previous customers have thought of the service. Was the estate agent responsive, professional and willing to go the extra mile to get the best deal for you?

Example of how much money a top performing estate agent could save you:

Top performing agents that achieve the asking price can be well worth their commission fee.  

• For example, if a property is listed for £300,000 and agent 1 achieves this asking price and the commission is 1.42%, you will pay commission of approximately £4,250. So you’ll get £295,750 once estate agents fees are deducted.
• But if agent 2 achieves 98% of the asking price (£294,000) and charges a lower commission rate of 1%, you’ll pay less commission at £2,940. But you’ll be left with £291,060 once estate agent fees are taken off. In this instance, you are £4,690 worse off with the cheaper agent.

Simply enter a few details about your house into our Best Estate Agent Finder tool below to view estate agents in your local area ranked by their success rate, the average days they take to sell and the sale price achieved as a percentage of asking price. Based on your research you may decide that using an estate agent with an excellent track record is a wise investment even if they charge a higher percentage fee

Are estate agent fees negotiable?

Yes, you can and should negotiate on estate agent fees. For sole agency you should aim for an estate agent fee of 1.2% – or less for high value properties. But be sure to compare estate agents’ performance with our Best Estate Agent Finder tool. If an estate agent has a strong track record of success, you may decide paying a higher percentage in estate agent fees is the best option.

KEY INFORMATION

How to negotiate estate agent fees

The next step is to negotiate estate agent fees. You should aim for a fee of 1.2% (this is 1% + VAT) – or even less for high value properties. Here are some tips:

• Book a valuation visit from at least three different estate agents. As well as discussing their valuation and approach to marketing, ask them what their fees are for a sole agency agreement, and if there are any other costs. Make sure you tell each estate agent that you are seeing other agents, so they know they need to compete. Ask for the fees in writing so you’ll have the information in front of you when you’re comparing estate agents.
• Start haggling: If your preferred estate agent is more expensive, tell them other estate agents are offering lower fees and say you’re expecting to pay 1.2% (inc VAT) or lower.
• Boosting your chances: You may have more success negotiating a lower fee with smaller, independent estate agents rather than large chains following nationwide policies. Also, estate agents trying to increase their market share in your area will probably be more open to negotiation than the more established estate agent.
• Making it worth their while: You could suggest a higher rate of commission if they achieve a sale price above a certain threshold – and a lower one if they don’t. Read on for how sliding fee scales can save money.

How a sliding scale can help cut fees

Some estate agents will agree to a sliding scale of commission, to give them a big incentive to sell the property at a higher price.

For example, if you think your home is worth about £300,000, you could suggest:

• 1% fee if they sell your home for under £275,000
• 1.25% if they sell it between £275,000 and £299,999
• 1.5% if they sell it between £300,000 and £325,000
• 1.75% if they sell it for over £325,000

You could suggest the sliding scale if you think an agent is insisting on too high fees. Or if you feel you accepted a high commission rate because the agent gave your property a high valuation but now wants to drop the price because it isn’t attracting much interest. You can also use incentives to reward the speed of the sale, if a quick sale is important.

Hidden costs in estate agent fees

When you’re comparing agents, make sure you look out for these hidden estate agent fees:

• Is VAT included? Estate agents should advertise fees inclusive of VAT. But this isn’t always the case. So always check to avoid the risk of your bill being higher than you’d expected.
• Extra marketing costs: Find out if you’ll be asked to pay any additional fees to market your home. For example, will you need to pay to get a ‘featured property’ listing on property portals like Rightmove?
• Beware of fees written into the contract: Read the contract properly to avoid accidentally signing up to paying unnecessary fees. For example, make sure you won’t need to pay withdrawal fees if you change your mind and decide not to sell. Read on for more information on what to watch out for in estate agent contracts.

5 questions to ask about estate agent fees

Here are some of the questions about estate agent fees you’ll want to know to help you decide which agent to sell your house with:

Find and compare local estate agents: check success rate, time to sell & asking price achieved

Are expensive estate agents better?

No. Just because an estate agent charges high fees it doesn’t mean they are necessarily better. You should always check an estate agent’s performance. With our Best Estate Agent Finder tool and you’ll instantly see local estate agents ranked by their success rate, the average days they take to sell and the sale price achieved as a percentage of asking price.

Are online agents the cheapest estate agents?

Yes, online agents are the cheapest estate agents because some such as Purplebricks and Sold.co.uk will sell your house for free. However, free packages don’t usually include things like professional photography or floor plans. With online agents, the more comprehensive the service you want the more you’ll pay in fees.

Also, online estate agents generally offer packages where you pay fees up front, so you’ll need to pay even if the agent doesn’t sell your home. Think carefully as to whether this is right for your home and worth the risk. If it is a concern, you can still sell with an online estate agent through one of their no sale, no fee packages. These are usually their more expensive seals but can still be much cheaper than using a high street estate agent.

Another criticism of online estate agents is that you may not achieve as high a sale price as you would from a high street agent: if this happens, you may end up worse off than if you paid higher estate agent fees but achieved a higher price. So make sure you use our online estate agents comparison tool. It details what the base fee of each online estate agent is, a summary of their packages and the sale price achieved as a percentage.

Find and compare the best online estate agents with our easy to use comparison tool.

What’s the VAT rate on estate agent fees in the UK?

The VAT rate on estate agent fees in the UK is 20%. The Property Ombudsman advises that ‘Fees advertised by estate agents must be shown inclusive of VAT  – alongside a statement confirming that VAT is included.’ But we occassionally see estate agent fees quoted excluding VAT. So check your fee is quoted inclusive of VAT to avoid a shock later down the line.

Who pays estate agent fees?

The seller pays estate agent fees. This is because the estate agent signs a contract with and works on behalf of the seller. If you’re a buyer and want professional help you can hire a buying agent. Their job is to find their client the property that best fits what they are looking for, potentially finding properties before they appear on Rightmove and Zoopla, and then negotiate the best price and terms. Read more about how they work, their fees and find buying agents in your area with our guide on Buying Agents Explained

When do you pay estate agent fees?

If you’re selling with a high street agent and paying commission on the sale, i.e. on a ‘no sale, no fee’ basis, estate agent fees will be due when contracts are exchanged but you don’t actually pay them until your sale is completed.

How do you pay estate agent fees?

The estate agent will usually invoice your conveyancing solicitor and they’ll pay the estate agent fees from the completion monies. This means you won’t need to pay the estate agent directly. But check this with your solicitor.

Do estate agent fees include getting an Energy Performance Certificate?

No, estate agent fees don’t include getting an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). It’s a legal requirement to have an EPC before you market your house for sale. However, EPCs last for 10 years so you should check whether you already have one. You can check here.

Getting an EPC costs between £60 and £120. The estate agent can arrange an EPC to be done on your behalf, and this should be your only up-front cost. But you can save by shopping around as it’s cheaper to get EPC quotes from local Energy Assessors directly. There is no obligation to use the estate agent’s provider.

Contract terms and estate agent fees: What to beware of

Estate agent fees and contract terms for selling your home vary for lots for reasons. Here’s what to look out for:

• Will you need to pay if your house doesn’t sell? High street agents usually offer no sale no fee terms but check this. Also make sure that no withdrawal fees will be charged if you change your mind and decide not to sell your property for any reason.
• Ready, willing and able purchaser: Some estate agent contracts may include a ‘Reading, willing and able’ clause which means that if someone is ready, willing and able to purchase your property  – and even if an exchange of contracts doesn’t happen – you’ll be liable to pay estate agent fees even if you decide not to sell.
• Does it include VAT? Make sure the estate agent fees you’ve agreed to includes VAT.
• Check tie-ins: Pay attention to the sole agency tie-in period which varies dramatically across agents (4 weeks or 12 weeks are the most popular terms); more than this is unnecessary. Also, check how you can terminate it and what period of notice is required.
• Review and amend the estate agent contract before signing: And ask your estate agent questions about anything that is unclear.
• You should be aware of the implications for using more than one estate agent. Read our guide on multiple agency agreements.

Top tips on finding an estate agent: video

Estate agent jargon explained

There may be some language in your contract that you don’t understand; here is what they mean:

• Open-ended agreements: This means the agent can claim commission if you sell to someone they originally introduced to your home, even if years have passed.
• Ready, willing and able purchaser This means you’ll have to pay the agent for finding you a buyer even if you pull out of the sale.
• Notice period This is the period of time you’ll need to wait between informing your estate agent that you want to end the contract and it actually happening. Notice periods are often two weeks, but the tie-in period discussed below may apply.
• Tie-in period This is the period of time you’re tied into the contract with your estate agent for from the date you first sign. And if you change agents in the tie-in period you’ll be liable to pay fees to your original agent. These typically range from 4 to 12 weeks.
• Fixed Fee: This means you’re charged a set amount for the service rather than a percentage of the sale price.
• Sole agency agreement: This is the most common form of contract. It means using one estate agent to sell your house and if contracts are exchanged with someone who your agent has introduced to the purchase, the agent will be entitled to the estate agent fee. If you find a buyer yourself, you don’t have to pay the estate agent fees. However, if the contract is open-ended, the agent might be able to claim commission, even years after the contract is over. Find out more in our guide on Estate agent contracts: What to watch for.
• Sole selling rights: This means the estate agent in the contract is the only one allowed to sell your home during the period stipulated. And you will have to pay estate agent fees, even if you find your own buyer.
• Multi-agency agreement: This means you instruct multiple estate agents to sell your house. You’ll only pay one set of estate agent fees but you’ll usually pay a higher rate of commission

Frequently Asked Questions