Asda turns estate agent
11.28AM, Tue Jul 11 2006
Supermarket Asda has started selling homes in a bid to snatch away some of the market from traditional estate agents.
Homes@Supermarkets will charge people just 1 per cent commission to sell their home, half the 2 per cent average fee charged by an estate agent.
The service, which is being piloted at 10 stores in the North East, will allow Asda customers to look for a new house as they pick up their groceries.
It will be the first time property has been sold through a supermarket and Asda hopes to roll out the service across the country early next year,
It will also provide a link to a firm of solicitors and mortgage brokers, and plans to provide Home Information Packs to sellers free of charge when they are introduced in June next year, potentially saving them more than £650.
Properties for sale through the supermarket will be displayed on a computer terminal in the group's stores. People can also view details about the properties online.
Both buyers and sellers can register their interest through one of the terminals or online, and they will then be contacted by a Homes@Supermarkets representative, who will arrange visits and viewings in the traditional way.
Gev Lynott, Asda's head of financial services, said: "House prices have increased by 168 per cent over the last decade and it's not buyers or sellers but estate agents that have been the real winners.
"If you're looking to sell a pad and not pay through the nose we reckon you'll think this service is long overdue."
The service is being piloted at stores in Benton, Bishop Auckland, Boldon, Gateshead, Gosforth, Hartlepool, Middlesborough, South Shields, Stockton and Washington.