How to choose an estate agent

Whether you’re selling your family home, buying your first place or trying to do both at the same time, one of the earliest decisions you’ll face is choosing an estate agent. And it’s a decision that can genuinely affect your outcome; the price you get, the price you pay, how long the whole thing takes and how stressful it feels along the way.

As home conveyancers, we come into the picture on the legal side once your sale or purchase is agreed. But because we work alongside estate agents every single day, we understand what good looks like. We see which agents keep things moving, which ones communicate well and which ones genuinely go the extra mile. Here’s our inside take on how to choose the right one. 

It’s tempting to just go with the agent who seems nicest in person, and personality does matter. But before you get to the chemistry test, it’s worth doing a bit of homework on actual performance. 

The HomeOwners Alliance has a free comparison tool that lets you compare agents in your area based on how quickly they sell, how often they achieve the asking price and their overall success rate. If you’re a first-time buyer, this kind of research matters too. A well-connected local agent will often hear about properties before they hit the listings boards, and they’ll know which streets and areas are up-and-coming and which ones to avoid.

For sellers, the numbers really speak for themselves. Rightmove reported that the average time to find a buyer in 2025 ranged from around 59 to 77 days. The full journey from listing to legal completion about six months. A strong agent can meaningfully shorten that first phase, which has a knock-on effect on everything else.