Estate agents appear to be the latest victim of the modern high street as consumers move to online competitors.

The face of the UK high street has undergone a dramatic change over the last 15 years as a result of increased internet-based competition and lofty overheads. In many town centres, it’s hard to ignore the increased visibility of coffee, vape and charity shops while big names such as Woolworths, BHS, and Maplin are nowhere to be seen.

Unbeknownst to many, there is another sector that has suffered greatly as wage levels continue to stagnate and sold house prices continue to rise, and that is the local high street estate agent.

While big hitters such as Emoov and Purplebricks have been snapping up market share thanks to their lower overheads and their ability to market their listings nationally, localised private agencies are facing the executioners block at a frightening pace.

This news is backed up by new research from prominent estate agency DJ Alexander Ltd. Who have found that in just the last five years, 2,446 agents have closed their doors amid falling profits.

Thanks to the internet, the need for a brick and mortar store front to reach customers is no longer necessary, and those agencies who have failed to move with the times are finding that more and more prospective house-buyers prefer to search for listings from the comfort of their own homes without sauntering from agent to agent on a gloomy weekday morning.

“The internet has undercut much of the High Street in the retail and other sectors over the last five years and this is likely to continue,” said David Alexander, managing director of the Edinburgh and Glasgow-based agents.

“The generational and cultural change is enormous. For most people under 40 the idea of wandering from shop to shop in city centres is alien to them and they conduct many of their purchases on their phones, tablets, or computers.

However, as more and more vendors choose to list their homes with a concentrated number of online companies, they often find that the battle for visibility against other sellers makes it increasingly hard to sell their home fast at an appropriate value.

It must be no wonder, then, that more and more people are choosing to sell with National Homebuyers, a house-buying company who are always happy to buy any home, at competitive prices with a quick turnaround on completion.

Looking for a quick and easy sale? Why not ask National Homebuyers for advice, as we buy any house. Call 08000 443 911 or request a call back to find out how much you could get for your property.