We were surprised to receive a call the other day from a pleasant enough chap who wanted to know if we would like to advertise our properties in Tesco. Now we’ve got nothing against Tesco (nor ASDA for that matter who had a rather unsuccessful foray into the estate agency business recently) but the prospect of encouraging Joe and Josephine Public to treat buying a home the same way as buying beans did not seem to us to make sense. Particularly when the OFT has just published a detailed survey into what the public most want which includes:-

Good advertising/marketing
Help with arranging viewings
Guidance on the selling process
Advice on market appraisal/valuation
Help with negotiations
The convenience of accompanied viewings
Advice on offers
A good conveyancing service
Help with HIPs
Someone who will help them get the deal done.

Professionalism and reputation were the most valued attributes. Only a minority of sellers based their decision on the level of fee. It appears the public is rather more discerning than we may have been led to believe. What’s more if you go to the right agent you can even get Waitrose quality at Tesco prices. So you see you can shop happily after all!