How many estate agents does it take to sell a house?

Dec 22, 2023

At Open Door, we often get asked, “Should I use more than one agent to sell my property?”

Once upon a time, this would have made perfect sense. Before properties were advertised online, how else could you make sure that buyers from different parts of the UK would see your home if you didn’t use two, three or more agents to market it?

But then the portals arrived – Rightmove, Prime Location, Zoopla and, more recently, On The Market – and everything changed. In fact, almost all buyers (95%+) now start their property search online and simply call the relevant agent to book viewings on houses that they like.

So is there any point in instructing more than one agent? The short answer is ‘no’.

There are several potential issues with marketing your property with multiple agents:

1. If a buyer sees your home listed several times online, they may think that you’re desperate to sell and open to low offers;

2. They may think that there’s something wrong with the property;

3. They may find it mildly irritating;

4. They may stay away completely, fearful of being stuck with a property that they won’t be able to sell when the time comes;

5. You may end up paying more if the fee is split between two agents.

So when you decide to sell your home, we would always advise you to choose one agent carefully, and then focus on making that relationship work.

If you haven’t picked your agent yet, or if you’re not getting the helpful attitude and proactive service that you were hoping for, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

If you found this post useful, you might also want to check out our other posts about getting your sale strategy right: