BRITONS are increasingly looking to sidestep estate agents fees by selling their online, research claimed.

Seven out of 10 people said they would now feel comfortable selling their home over the internet.

potentially saving around £5,000 in estate agents fees on a property worth £300,000.

Property website first4sale.com has dubbed the trend Sell It Yourself (SIY), and claims it could save the country up to £4 billion a year in estate agents fees.

It claimed the trend had been sparked by internet sites such as eBay, with people quickly evolving from selling small, low value items online to bigger ones.

It said more than 190,000 cars were already sold over the internet each year, and houses looked set to become the next big ticket item people looked to sell themselves.

Estate agents are currently involved in the sale of around 94% of properties, but first4sale predicts that by 2010 up to 50% of house sales will be carried out over the internet without an estate agent.

The group said people's desire to sell their home themselves was being further spurred by the public's lack of trust in estate agents.

Research carried out for the group found that two-thirds of people said they had been dissatisfied with the service provided by an estate agent, with 27% saying they had needed to reduce their asking price after the estate agent had overvalued their property.

At the same time people also expressed irritation at estate agents' euphemisms, such as describing properties as being compact, retro and bijou, as well as their pressure tactic, such as claiming they had several people interested in a property.

Mark Fisher, chief executive of first4sale.com, said: "In the 1990s DIY encouraged people to buy properties for less because they had the skills to do the property up themselves - thus transforming the property market.

"In the Noughties SIY is giving people the freedom and skills to sell their own property, saving themselves thousands of pounds."

SIY is not confined to the younger generation, with 64% of people aged over 50 claiming they would be happy to sell their home over the internet.

People in London are most likely to be prepared to side step estate agents and sell their property themselves at 81%, while those in Yorkshire and the Humber are least likely to at 61%.

:: YouGov questioned 2,354 people during August.

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