Property Sellers Get a Better Price for Their Home With ESPC

New research has shown that property sellers who use an ESPC member firm to sell their home achieve a higher percentage above the Home Report valuation than those who use a non-ESPC member. The research from ESPC, which has been independently verified, reveals that sellers in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife who used an ESPC firm achieved an additional 3% over and above their Home Report valuation.

An extra 3% may not look like much at first glance but when it comes to selling a property it’s hugely significant. It means that if you are selling a property valued at £125,000 you can expect to achieve an extra £3,750 for your property by using an ESPC member.

A home valued at £250,000 will, on average, achieve an extra £7,500 when it is sold by an ESPC agent, and if you’re selling a property valued at £500,000 you can expect to achieve an extra £15,000 for your home if you use an ESPC member.

Why Using an ESPC Member Firm Matters?
The first and most obvious factor that allows ESPC members like Warners to achieve higher selling prices is that they are able to advertise their sellers’ properties through ESPC’s marketing channels. That includes espc.com and The ESPC Paper.

ESPC is where most property buyers in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife look first when selling a home and, at Warners, most of the enquiries and viewing requests we get for the properties we are selling come from people who saw them on the ESPC website.

The more potential buyers who see your property, the more people you will have competing for your home and this will naturally help you to achieve a better selling price.

The next factor is that a lot of non-ESPC agents lack the local knowledge and experience to help their clients to get the best price for their home and this is especially true with so-called ‘online agents’. Last year we looked at the pros and cons of using an online agent to sell your home. At the time we noted that with an online agent “the staff who handle negotiations with potential buyers will usually be based elsewhere and have little knowledge of what constitutes a good offer for your property. A good, experienced negotiator with in-depth knowledge of the local area can easily help you to secure a much higher price for your property, and this is something that most online agents simply can’t offer.”

The reality is that in many cases low-cost fixed fee or online agents are motivated simply to get properties sold quickly rather than to get the best possible price, so going down that road can be a false economy for sellers. It makes little sense to save a few hundred pounds on estate agent fees if the result is that you lose out on thousands of pounds on the selling price of your property.

How Warners Take Things Even Further
The latest research from comes on the back of another report which suggested one online agent sold barely half of the properties that they listed and again emphasises the value that a good selling agent can offer property sellers.

At Warners we are incredibly proud of the fact that our own results are substantially better than even the ESPC figures. In fact last year our approach helped Warners’ clients to achieve an extra 2.7% over and above their Home Report valuation compared to the ESPC average.

All in all it goes to show that, even in a strong seller’s market, if you want to get the best price for your home it’s vital to pick the right agent.

If you’re thinking of selling a property you can book a free, no-obligation valuation online here, or by calling us on 0131 667 0232.