Sole Or Multiple: Should You List Your Property With More Than One Agent?

When deciding to sell your property, it is normal to ponder whether you should list it with one agent or with several. Afterall, more is better, right? 

Well, yes and no.  

I’ll try to run down some of the pros and cons of listing with multiple agents. 

Pros

Each agent has a list of buyers who are looking for their next purchase. More agents mean more lists and therefore more potential buyers for your property. Of course, there will be some overlap on the lists, but in general, more is better in this case.  

Also, you have the inter-agency competitiveness! If two or more agents have a property for sale, they don’t want to lose out to one of their rivals. This can spur their efforts on in an effort to win the battle, and they will likely get a higher fee (more on that later). 

Photos (and now video tours) are a big plus for buyers. If they can look at multiple sets of photos and have a couple of virtual tours around a property, they will get a better ‘feel’ for the place before they book a physical viewing. This will help weed out some buyers who are on the fence.  

Cons

Firstly, there’s the cost. When listing your property with a single agent, you’ll most likely get a reduction in their selling fee. If you state that you want to advertise with multiple agencies, that fee will sometimes double. Maybe more than double.  

Not only will you pay more to the agent that sells your property, portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla changed everything forever. No longer did you have to list your property with two or three agents in hope that at least one of them will put it in the newspaper for you, but now buyers look online in the specific area they want for the exact type of property they are after.  

So, when instructing multiple agents, you’re advertising to the same people several times which can have negative effects. 

A buyer will see your property listed several times in a row (because they will all be at the same price) and ask themselves ‘Why?’ 

Is the seller desperate? Do they need an urgent sale? Is there something wrong with the property? 

This could lead to ‘cheeky’ offers that are lower than you are expecting on top of having to pay a higher fee to the agent, costing you £1,000s. 

My Advice 

Take your time and pick what you feel is the right agent. Ask friends and family about the experiences they have had, look at reviews on Google and Facebook, take a trip into town (safely!) to visit their offices and see who you feel is the right fit for you and your property.  

This will potentially save you time, effort and (sometimes!) lots of money. When deciding to sell your property, it is normal to ponder whether you should list it with one agent or with several. Afterall, more is better, right? 

Well, yes and no.  

I’ll try to run down some of the pros and cons of listing with multiple agents. 

Pros

Each agent has a list of buyers who are looking for their next purchase. More agents mean more lists and therefore more potential buyers for your property. Of course, there will be some overlap on the lists, but in general, more is better in this case.  

Also, you have the inter-agency competitiveness! If two or more agents have a property for sale, they don’t want to lose out to one of their rivals. This can spur their efforts on in an effort to win the battle, and they will likely get a higher fee (more on that later). 

Photos (and now video tours) are a big plus for buyers. If they can look at multiple sets of photos and have a couple of virtual tours around a property, they will get a better ‘feel’ for the place before they book a physical viewing. This will help weed out some buyers who are on the fence.  

Cons

Firstly, there’s the cost. When listing your property with a single agent, you’ll most likely get a reduction in their selling fee. If you state that you want to advertise with multiple agencies, that fee will sometimes double. Maybe more than double.  

Not only will you pay more to the agent that sells your property, portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla changed everything forever. No longer did you have to list your property with two or three agents in hope that at least one of them will put it in the newspaper for you, but now buyers look online in the specific area they want for the exact type of property they are after.  

So, when instructing multiple agents, you’re advertising to the same people several times which can have negative effects. 

A buyer will see your property listed several times in a row (because they will all be at the same price) and ask themselves ‘Why?’ 

Is the seller desperate? Do they need an urgent sale? Is there something wrong with the property? 

This could lead to ‘cheeky’ offers that are lower than you are expecting on top of having to pay a higher fee to the agent, costing you £1,000s. 

My Advice 

Take your time and pick what you feel is the right agent. Ask friends and family about the experiences they have had, look at reviews on Google and Facebook, take a trip into town (safely!) to visit their offices and see who you feel is the right fit for you and your property.  

This will potentially save you time, effort and (sometimes!) lots of money.