5 websites you need to know about when selling your home
When it comes to selling your home, you want to reach as many would-be buyers as possible to make sure you get the best possible price for your property. In this day and age, the vast majority of buyers head online as their first port of call when it comes to finding the perfect property.
So, as a vendor, what are the top 5 websites you need to know about when it comes to selling your home?
Rightmove
With house hunters spending over 18 billion minutes searching for new homes on the portal in 2021 alone and over 692,000 properties listed during that same time period (over 1 million in 2020), Rightmove has been the market leading property portal since it hit the ground running 21 years ago.
In addition to listing a vast range of properties for sale or rent from high street and online estate agents, Rightmove also provides key information on the local and national housing market via their house price index and the latest sold house price information from the Land Registry and the Registers Of Scotland. Their house prices checker tool also allows you to find the average and individual sold prices for a particular postcode area dating back to May 2000, which is very useful when it comes to finding out what comparative properties in your area have sold for recently.
Zoopla
Zoopla has been Rightmove’s main competitor since it was established in January 2008. Whilst it may not receive quite as many page views or the same number of property listings as Rightmove (120 million visits per month versus 208 million in 2021 apparently), the property portal is still one to watch and offers a lot of very helpful features that aren’t available on Rightmove.
This includes their draw a map and travel time tools for narrowing down your preferred location and potential work commute when it comes to a new property. Zoopla also has an instant property valuation tool and MyHome where you can sign up for automatic updates when the value of your property changes, find out the sold prices of other local homes, see which properties are currently up for sale in your neighbourhood and access a remortgage calculator and in-person valuations from local agents.
Smaller property portals such as Prime Location are also part of the Zoopla Property Group, as is the price comparison service Uswitch, finance comparison website Money.co.uk – which offers a range of advice when it comes to mortgages and loans – and housing market analysis website Hometrack. Zoopla also offers a range of useful guides of its own for anyone interested in buying, selling, renting or letting out a property.
OnTheMarket
Whilst it may not have quite the same market share as Rightmove and Zoopla with a more modest 21 million visitors per month, OnTheMarket is a property portal created by estate agents for estate agents with lower listing fees and the promise of early access to 2,500-10,000 plus properties per month for 24 hours or more before they go live on Rightmove and Zoopla via their Only With Us guarantee.
Like Rightmove and Zoopla, OnTheMarket also offers links to local agents who can value your property and information on property market trends and house prices. Like Zoopla, the site also has an instant online valuation tool. The website is arguably more visually appealing and easier to use as well. It includes a multitude of search filters which can be on display or concealed depending on user preference and a number of snazzy features such as their travel time and street search functions and the Ask the Agent option to express early interest in properties yet to come on the market or the Reserve Buyers List for properties which are under offer. The site also offers Help Me Choose, which provides tailor-made property recommendations based on your property preferences.
Homeowners’ Alliance
The Homeowners Alliance is a consumer group for homeowners in the UK which has been providing guidance for anyone who is selling, buying or owns a property since 2011.
Run by industry experts, the website raison d’etre is to provide “unbiased and practical advice as well as services you can trust whether you are buying, selling or owning your home.”
This includes buying, selling and homeowner advice guides alongside analysis of market trends and a comprehensive house price index called the house price watch. The Homeowners Alliance also undertake a number of campaigns based on improving the housing sector and the experience for homeowners and renters.
You can find listings for essential property services on the website as well. This includes conveyancers, surveyors, mortgage lenders and brokers, estate agents, insurance providers and removal companies.
Like others in our top 5, the Homeowners Alliance provides a free of charge instant valuation tool too.
YOPA
One of the frontrunners when it comes to hybrid estate agents, YOPA (which stands for Your Property Agent in case you’re interested!) started life in 2015 and offers “a combination of experienced local property managers who know their territories and the powerful technology that supports their activity.”
YOPA’s Chair Daniel Attia notes that “There are plenty of high street agents and online agents, but YOPA is genuinely revolutionising the way people buy and sell homes by giving consumers a complete service fit for the 21st century.”
In addition to charging sellers the option of a one-off, more affordable fee (from £999) than their high street counterparts and access to 24-hour communication tools and technology, YOPA also offers the all-important Homeowners’ Hub, which is a treasure trove of information for buyers, sellers and homeowners in general when it comes to their next purchase, sale or knowing their rights as an owner. There is also a nifty cost of moving calculator and house price tracker.
Like other websites in our top 5, YOPA also offers an instant online valuation tool and information on service providers for the likes of mortgages, conveyancing and EPCs as well.