OFT proposals 'could mean savings in property deals'

Housing market proposals put forward by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) could mean savings for both buyers and sellers of property.

This is the view of online property website Briffy.com, which said the findings of the report could see vendors cut out "all the nonsense" of dealing with estate agents.

The comments follow the publication of an OFT report into home buying and selling, which found that property transactions could be cheaper and more efficient if housing legislation was updated.

According to the OFT, online buying and selling could help to tackle estate agents "dominance" of the market.

David Amstell, founder of Briffy.com, said: "One of the main reasons for property prices going up is because of all the hype that the agents put into the market. If it wasn't for agents, property prices would probably be a lot lower

"They are taking on properties from [people] who want to sell their houses and they sit back and wait. Obviously, they put it on Rightmove or wherever and they wait for the phone to ring. Most of the things you can do yourself."

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