Using collaborative technologies to connect people, and assist them in undertaking business transactions with payment portals and structured processes has inevitably reinforced the idea that you don’t need a middle man.'

Logan Hall of MoveBubble

The Internet is a disruptive technology melting and reforming business processes and value chains. The Internet makes things cheaper, more open and transparent. Cutting out the middle man it democratises and disintermediates. This has yet to happen fully in the UK property market but change is coming and innovative websites are emerging to challenge traditional high street estate agents.

The key to success will be providing a Facebook or LinkedIn for property, a virtual meeting place and market, a collaborative platform where sellers or landlords can list their properties and connect directly with prospective buyers and tenants. Such a website would be a facilitator rather than an estate agent. This would not be a free for all but a structured process guiding and prompting sellers and buyers, landlords and tenants through the process as well as providing access to property professionals and other services along the journey with case and account management tools and fulfillment and payment portals.

On such a site, a seller could list their property taking a DIY approach to the valuation, description, photos and videos or find and commission a local property expert (LPE) to assist. On the site there would be price comparison tools to find necessary services, to find LPEs, energy assessors to carry out an EPC, services or online tools to produce floor plans and obtain house signs etc. Sellers could manage their own viewing diaries or ask an LPE to do this for them. They could log on to review and manage offers. Buyers could make appointments to view properties direct with owners or LPEs and make offers online, access tools for mortgage advice and offers, conveyancers and payment transfer mechanisms. There would be price comparison tools, suggestions and prompts to find and commission surveyors for home buyers surveys or structural inspections and other services like removal firms, utilities, broadband, curtains and carpets - all services that are required in the course of house sale and purchase. The site would use a flexible pay-for-what-you-use pay-as-you-go fee structure rather than a flat fee or 1.5% of selling price model thus reducing costs substantially.

Many of the new entrants and websites in the property market, Local Surveyors Direct, Local Property Index, EasyProperty, PurpleBricks, CastleSmart, Veyo, Tepilo, MoveBubble provide parts of this puzzle, but there is no one website or vision putting the whole jigsaw together. The company that does so will likely win the race.