Quote:
he consumer watchdog today recommended relaxing rules for new entrants such as Google and Tesco to offer rival property search websites that will compete with traditional estate agents.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that allowing new companies to set up search portals regulation-free would "shake up" the traditional estate agency model, resulting in better choice and lower prices.
Google is widely expected to launch a property search website as soon as this year, and Tesco tried in 2007 to launch a property finder online service that charged sellers a flat fee of £199, before shutting it down, partly because of the burden of regulation
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that allowing new companies to set up search portals regulation-free would "shake up" the traditional estate agency model, resulting in better choice and lower prices.
Google is widely expected to launch a property search website as soon as this year, and Tesco tried in 2007 to launch a property finder online service that charged sellers a flat fee of £199, before shutting it down, partly because of the burden of regulation
I would love to see how this works out. I bought my flat after I found it on an estate agents website. The estate agent was excellent but the web was definitely my primary method to find a property.
I'm just not sure Google is the right company to be involved in selling houses ....
