As the large supermarkets continue to relocate the occupants of the high street under one roof, their latest target is the local estate agent.
Although agents are in the spotlight for some questionable business practices, Asda's announcement that they are going to sell houses in their supermarkets seems a rather drastic remedy to consumer concerns.
Asda are promising to sell your house cheaper than your local estate agent. What's more, you'll also get a Home Information Pack (HIP) for free. Simply register your property at a terminal in one of their shops and they will do the rest for you.
It sounds like a very good idea.
It does mean that you'll be spending more time at the supermarket. And registering your property for sale will take a little longer than choosing between own-brand baked beans and Heinz. Your frozen pizzas would definitely suffer in your trolley while you decided whether to describe your property as "representing outstanding value for money" or "is in need of tender loving care".
But a free HIP is a very attractive offer.
If smaller estate agents were worried that large agent chains would tempt their clients away with the promise of free HIPs, this news may just convince them to shut up shop straightaway. It also appears to be bad news for those companies looking to provide HIPs in industrial-sized quantities.
Obviously, to claim your free HIP, you'll have to rely on Asda to sell your home through their website. Over the years, there have been dozens of websites offering a reduced fee to sell your home as easily as a coffee machine on eBay. It sounds like it makes sense, and with Asda very deep pockets, they are as likely as anyone to make this successful.
The reduced commission fees on offer sounds like it could be worth your while to use their website. However, you would be relying on buyers accessing the portal to find your home, which would limit the exposure of your property. There are many more established property websites out there, and estate agents are still vital to give advice on the property itself. There is simply no substitute for experience.
Selling your own home through the internet is, and will continue to be, a small market. The reason why there are so many estate agents is they provide a service for people who don't have the time, the energy or the expertise themselves. For Asda to have an impact on the market by promising a free HIP, assumes you will want to sell your home yourself. If you don't, then the offer of a free HIP is rather academic. Most people don't use a HIP today, and many don't know what they are. Therefore, offering something for free that people don't know they need, is unlikely to be enough incentive for them to change the way they buy and sell their home.
The other issue is whether Asda will be able to produce HIPs, accurately and in a timely manner. Supermarkets are not known for their generosity when it comes to paying their suppliers.
With HIPs, this will have a serious impact on their ability to instruct home inspectors to produce the home condition report.
If they are not charging for the HIP, it could mean they will not pay for the inspector upon the completion of the inspection. Not an attractive proposition to inspectors looking to choose a provider. Also, if there are any questions about the legal aspects of the HIP, the level of support they could afford to supply is also questionable.
Asda's planned expansion into estate agency and free HIPs is interesting, although the devil is in the detail. While it may not guarantee the death knell for estate agents, it will certainly challenge traditional assumptions of many in the industry.
Peter Ambrose is a director of The Partnership.
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