For sale by owner not sold through brokers each year (as of 2004). MSN Money suggests that 30% of homes are sold without using a real estate agent. More than half of the homes sold in Quebec are sold without an agent. In the UK, the average commission rate is significantly lower than in Canada or the US. Properties for sale by owner are less common. By law, all sales of property have to be supervised and handled by an independent solicitor who acts as a mediator and holds the buyer's money until the purchase process is finished. In Australia, the FSBO is still
Estate agent are based. Online estate agents normally cover the whole of the UK, therefore claiming to be able to reduce fees due to removing geographical boundaries that traditional estate agents generally have. Lastly, online estate agents often charge up front, instead of a traditional agent, who would normally charge nothing if the property is not sold In February 2010 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced that a change in the legislation for estate agents has led to a shake up in the way homes are sold, allowing cheaper online agents to become more established than they could before. Intermediary estate