The Death of Estate Agents

The current housing slump has already seen lots of estate agents lose their jobs, and the Telegraph reports that there could be a lot more on the horizon. Now, at the risk of sounding heartless I’m not exactly disappointed at the disappearance of this particular breed and I’m sure a lot of people would feel the same. Estate agents stretch the truth about properties (or just downright lie), they pester you to raise your bid, they charge extortionate fees whether you’re buying, selling or renting and they don’t seem to do very much for the money. What I mean by that is that nowadays all their properties are advertised on websites – you don’t really need to go into the shop anymore to browse (and why would you anyway…then you’d have to talk to one of them!). Like traffic wardens, it would be great if we could just get rid of estate agents in one fell swoop.

Well, soon we can.

Already websites like Rightmove and Fish4homes offer platforms for property search. There are also sites aimed at private sellers that are tapping into this growing demand but all of them have downsides. You might still have to go through an estate agent once you’ve found a house you’re interested in. You might have to pay to advertise your property. The website might be, quite frankly, crap.

Bethemiddleman is different. It’s a site aimed at private sellers and anyone who doesn’t want to go through an estate agent. So if you’re looking to buy, rent, let or even find a roommate it’s for you. Due to launch in 2009 it will be free to use so not only could you save thousands by selling your house through it, you’ve got nothing whatsoever to lose by giving it a try.

At the moment you can sign up to be notified of launch and you can follow its progress on Twitter. The housing slump is the death knell for estate agents and from the ashes, Bethemiddleman will be born!