Hybrid estate agency EXP UK has launched a service that will enable member agents to represent both buyers and sellers in a move that mirrors their US counterparts.
The initiative is designed to enable its member agents to give their earnings a significant boost as well as improving the property purchasing process for buyers.
Buyer representation is common practice in other countries and in particular the US, with agents working on behalf of homebuyers to help identify suitable properties before negotiating on their behalf and driving the purchase through to completion. ‘Buying agents‘ exist within the UK but are restricted to the top end of the market and/or specialist properties.
Next chapter
EXP UK chief Adam Day (main image), claims this new approach is “very much the next chapter in British estate agency”.
He goes on to say that their agents will “benefit financially by creating new revenue opportunities for them,” and that having an agent acting on behalf of a buyer will be advantageous for the entire property industry.
Richard Rawlings, the well-known estate agent trainer (pictured left), will be spearheading the new initiative. He says: “The system I am training eXp UK agents to adopt is simple, often zero-cost, and gives the agent and their buyer client access to everything on the market, and some off-market too.
“The excitement and commitment I am seeing from eXp agents across the UK over this is a wake-up call to any agent who thinks that ‘the only way is their way’. Think again!”
However, as eXp UK acknowledges, buyer representation is still in its infancy in the UK and with Purplebrick’s fall from grace still fresh in the memory, agents are likely to tread cautiously around any new upheavals in the market.