Savvy homeowners speed up house sales

But research by Alliance and Leicester Mortgages movingimproving index has highlighted claims by home owners that using DIY methods to sell a house can be up to a month quicker.

It is claimed homemade ‘For Sale’ signs and internet websites are selling homes on average in less than two months – compared to more than three months using traditional sales processes.

Despite this, more than four out of five people favour using estate agent to sell their homes, while 17 per cent of people hedge their bets by using more than one agent. But by using DIY methods, it is claimed they could save time and money.

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Stephen Leonard, Director of Mortgages at Alliance and Leicester, said: “Using an estate agent to sell your home is generally viewed as part and parcel of the moving process with many homeowners continuing to use them to sell their home. But the research suggests that DIY methods such as using the internet to sell a home are becoming more popular.”

Not only do we rely on estate agents to sell our homes, but also value our property too. More than half of people solely use estate agents to value their property, while 4 per cent bypass them altogether and value their property themselves.

The rest use a variety of methods, with nearly one in four looking at similar properties for sale in their area before making their own ‘guesstimate’ and one in ten going online and using websites like the Land Registry to see how much their house would be worth.

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The research also suggests that women are more likely than men to favour using DIY methods to value their home.

Leonard said: “It is very interesting to discover that more than half of house sellers rely on one estate agent alone to put a value on their home. This seems rather surprising given that when making other significant purchases people will shop around and carefully look at what’s on offer to get the best bargain.

“Similarly, in order to get a realistic valuation for their property, homeowners should be prepared to hunt around to ensure they get an accurate figure.”