The best way to sell a house in the UK, and what each route actually costs

There isn't one best way to sell a house. There are five realistic routes, and the right one depends on how fast you need to move and how much of the price you're willing to give up to move faster.

Here's what each one involves, what it costs in 2026, and who it tends to suit. The average UK home sold for £273,000 in August 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics and HM Land Registry, so that's the figure used throughout.

1. A high street estate agent

This is the familiar route. An agent values the home and photographs it, puts it on Rightmove and Zoopla, then runs the viewings and negotiates on your behalf. You pay nothing until it sells.

The fee is a percentage of the sale price. The HomeOwners Alliance puts the 2026 average at 1.42% including VAT, which is about £3,900 on a £273,000 sale. The full range runs from 0.9% to 3.6%, depending on the agent, how many you instruct and how hard you negotiate. A sole agency deal, where one agent has the job, usually lands between 1.2% and 1.8%. Instruct several agents at once and you're looking at 3% to 3.6%, because whoever sells it takes the lot.

Two things are worth knowing before you sign. The contract will have a tie-in period, often 12 or 16 weeks, during which you can't switch without paying anyway. And a "ready, willing and able purchaser" clause can make the fee payable even if the sale falls through, so read that paragraph twice.

This route suits most sellers, and particularly anyone who would rather not do the viewings or hold the negotiation themselves.

2. An online or fixed-fee agent

It is the same job priced differently: instead of a percentage you pay a set amount, and it is often payable up front whether or not the house sells.

The HomeOwners Alliance gives one worked example of £1,499 for a £270,000 sale, on a package that included hosted viewings. Basic packages cost less and leave you to run the viewings yourself.

On an average-priced home the fixed fee usually works out cheaper than a percentage, and the gap widens as the price rises, because a percentage climbs with the value while a fixed fee doesn't. On a £600,000 house the difference is thousands of pounds.

The catch is that the money leaves your account before any buyer appears. If the sale takes a year, or never happens at all, that is your risk rather than the agent's.

This one suits confident sellers in areas where homes move reasonably quickly.

3. Auction

A sale by auction is binding the moment the hammer falls. The buyer pays a deposit on the day and completion usually follows inside 28 days. Nothing else in UK property moves that fast.

You pay an entry fee and a commission, and you set a reserve below which the property won't sell. What you give up is control over timing, because you don't choose the day, the calendar does.

Auction tends to reward the unusual. Properties that are hard to value or in need of serious work often do better in a room full of cash buyers than on a portal where every viewer needs a surveyor's blessing first.

This is the route for probate sales, properties needing work, anything with a legal or structural quirk, and sellers who need a date they can plan around.

4. A quick-sale or cash-buying company

These firms buy directly, usually completing in a few weeks. There are no viewings and no chain, and they charge you nothing.

What you give up is price. Several 2026 industry guides put typical offers at around 75% to 85% of open-market value, with well-presented houses in popular postcodes nearer the top and flats with short leases nearer the bottom. On a £273,000 home, 80% is about £218,000. That is a £55,000 decision.

Two things here matter more than the price. The sector has no formal regulator, and while the National Association of Property Buyers and The Property Ombudsman are both worth checking for membership, neither of them regulates anybody. In England and Wales nothing is binding until contracts are exchanged, so a headline offer can still be reduced late in the process. Get the offer in writing, and ask directly whether the company is buying the house itself or passing you to somebody else who will.

Most of the published figures about this sector come from firms inside it, so treat them as a guide and get more than one offer.

This route is for genuine deadlines: a repossession date, a divorce settlement, or an inherited property that is costing money to hold every month.

5. Selling privately

You advertise the house yourself, show people round yourself and agree the price yourself. There's no commission, because there's no agent.

The work is real. You take the photographs, write the description, answer the phone, arrange the viewings and then negotiate with somebody who may be considerably more practised at it than you are. You also need a way to check that the person coming to your door is who they say they are, and that they can actually afford the house.

That last part is what used to make private sales difficult, and it is also what has changed. Platforms now exist that verify both sides before anyone books a viewing, and list the property for nothing.

This suits sellers who are comfortable talking to buyers, and anyone who looks at £3,900 and would rather keep it.

What every route costs on top

Whichever one you choose, these don't go away.

• Conveyancing. Published estimates disagree, with some 2026 guides quoting £600 to £1,050 for a freehold sale and others £1,200 to £2,200. The difference usually comes down to whether disbursements are included, so ask for a quote that lists them.
• An Energy Performance Certificate, at roughly £60 to £120. You need a valid one before the property goes on the market.
• Removals, which vary enormously by distance and volume, so get three quotes.
• Mortgage exit fees. Check your redemption statement, because leaving a fixed rate early can cost thousands.

So which is actually best

The honest answer depends on one question: how firm is your deadline?

With months in hand, a normal sale through an agent or privately will get you the most money. With weeks, an auction gives you a date. With days, a cash buyer gives you certainty and charges you roughly a fifth of your equity for it.

The mistake people make is rarely choosing the wrong route. It is choosing the fast one when they didn't need to, then working out afterwards that the deadline was softer than it felt at the time.

What makes any sale go faster

The route matters less than the preparation. Before you list:

1. Get the paperwork together before anything else. Title deeds, guarantees for any work you've had done, building regulations certificates, the EPC, and the lease if it's leasehold. Missing documents are the commonest reason a sale drags.
2. Price it against what has sold rather than what is listed, because asking prices are hopes and sold prices are on the Land Registry for free. An automated estimate will give you a starting figure in about a minute, though it is a starting figure and not a valuation.
3. Fix the cheap things, because the dripping tap and the sticking door cost very little and give a surveyor nothing to write down.
4. Instruct a solicitor before you accept an offer. The fortnight most sellers lose is the fortnight after the offer, while they go looking for one.

Where JP Listings fits

JP Listings is the fifth route with the hard part removed. You list the property for nothing, every buyer and every seller is checked before anyone books a viewing, and your phone number and email address stay private throughout. There is no commission, so the price a buyer pays is the price you keep.

It won't suit every seller. If you would rather somebody else did the viewings, use an agent and negotiate the fee down. If you need the money inside a fortnight, talk to an auctioneer. But if you have the time, and you would rather not hand over £3,900 for a job you are able to do yourself, that option now exists.

You can list your home for free, or run a valuation first to see what it is worth.