What Is The Cheapest Way To Sell Your House?

Content Written By: Raphael Kaye - Last Updated: 22/10/2025

Everyone wants to save a bit of cash when they’re stepping back into the housing market. You might be resigned to the idea that it’ll cost you a small fortune to sell your house these days, but that’s not necessarily the case.

We’re here to help you decide on the cheapest way to sell your house by comparing and contrasting your options. What you choose to do will depend on your personal circumstances, but you probably have more choices available to you than you thought—let’s take a look.

Ways to sell a house in the UK
What is the cheapest way to sell your house?
Frequently asked questions

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Ways to sell a house in the UK

There’s more to selling your house than sucking it up and dealing with an estate agent—that’s certainly the most common method, but it’s not your only option.

Here are some common and not-so-common ways to sell your house in the UK today, starting with the obvious:

1.Sell your house via high-street estate agents

You can opt for the traditional method with an estate agent that has a physical office on your local high street. This will afford you the opportunity to get the full service, if you will, including in-person valuations, floor plans, photography, viewings and negotiations.

Be aware, though, that many estate agents offer basic packages for a set fee and then charge for extras like the above, so it can get quite pricey if you want them to do everything for you.

2. Sell your house via online (or hybrid) estate agents

You also have the option of taking the estate agent work online with someone like Purplebricks, or even partly online with a hybrid estate agent that’ll offer you a local property expert for valuations and do the rest online.

These tend to be cheaper than traditional estate agents on account of their comparatively stripped back services, but you can still pay for add-ons to take the weight off your shoulders if you like.

3. Sell your house privately

You can sell your house without an estate agent and take it all on yourself, which—we won’t lie—is a bold move, but it’s been done by many a penny-pincher before. It means you won’t have to pay fees to solicitors, conveyancers or estate agents, and you might even stand a chance of selling much quicker than most. It’s not for the faint-hearted, though.

"Most sellers (83%) sold through a traditional estate agent rather than selling privately (10%), through an online agent (5%) or by auction (1%)."

Research on Buying and Selling Homes - Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Energy

4. Put your house up for auction

Another option is to contact a local property auction company to put your house up for auction on your behalf. This can be a quick and easy way of finding a buyer, but it’s not a guarantee and you might get less than your asking price.

5. Sell your house in a part-exchange scheme

Many property developers offer part-exchange schemes to sell new builds to people who have a house to sell on themselves. This often comes with a certain set of criteria to meet and the terms will be different for every developer, so be sure to do your research into each one. You can start with our guide to the best part-exchange companies below.

6. Sell your house to a cash buyer company

You will have heard of selling to cash buyers on the open market, but you might be surprised by the option to sell to a cash buyer company, such as The Property Buying Company. This can be an efficient way to sell your house quickly with no strings attached and no delays, but convenience is the prevailing benefit, so it can also mean you’ll get below 100% market value.

Selling privately too much effort?

What is the cheapest way to sell your house?

Now, it’s time to compare these options to see which one might work out cheapest for you when it comes to selling your house.

The cheapest option in the real world will depend on various factors, such as your location, the value of your house, the fees that local estate agents and solicitors charge and the add-ons you may or may not take advantage of, but this table can be used as a rough guide to help inform your decision. It’s based on a house worth £269,000, which is the average value of a house in the UK, according to recent HM Land Registry data.

Method	Estimated	Pros and cons
High-street estate agents	Typical fees 1-3.5% £2,690 - £9,415	✔️ Good local knowledge and in-person services ✔️ Likelihood of achieving your asking price is higher ❌ Often the most expensive way to sell your house ❌ Your sale is more or less out of your control
Online/hybrid estate agents	Fixed fees, e.g. Yopa = £999	✔️ Can be cheaper than traditional high-street alternatives ✔️ ‘No sale, no fee’ options available ❌ Need to pay more for additional services ❌ May need to conduct viewings and negotiations yourself
Private sale	Legal fees for conveyancing £500 - £1,000	✔️ You get total control over your sale ✔️ You don’t have to pay agents or solicitors ❌ It takes a lot of graft to do all the marketing, negotiating and hosting yourself ❌ You are more susceptible to making mistakes along the way
Auction	£2,500 - £5,000	✔️ You can find a willing buyer quite quickly compared to the typical high-street route ✔️ You can sell pretty much any property in any condition at auction ❌ You will get less than market value for your property ❌ There will be significant fees to pay on the final hammer price
Part-exchange	£1,300+	✔️ You won’t have to pay estate agent fees or Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) costs ✔️ Guaranteed sale to a reputable company ❌ Your house may not be eligible for part-exchange with some developers ❌ You will still need to pay for legal fees, stamp duty and removal services
Cash buyer company	£0	✔️ You can achieve a very fast sale without needing to wait for the buyer to get a mortgage ✔️ You can save thousands on the legal fees and get the money in your bank within days ❌ You will get less than the market value of your property

As we said, the costs attached to most of these scenarios will depend on the service offerings of your local estate agents and solicitors. They can vary quite significantly even across the same city or region, as you can see in our guide to the top 5 cheapest estate agents in Manchester. You will need to dig into each one yourself to compare the actual prices, as many don’t release quotes until you have submitted your property and showed an interest in selling with them.

The two methods that don’t change across England and Wales for any property in any condition are selling at auction and selling to a cash buyer. No matter where your property is or what kind of work it needs, you can sell via either of these methods quickly and easily, but the fees associated with the former mean that the cheapest way to sell your house is to a cash buyer company.

The Property Buying Company won’t charge you any hidden fees to sell your property—it is as simple (and as free) as it seems. All you need to do is enter your postcode to get started and we’ll be in touch with your free cash offer within 24 hours.

You don’t have to proceed with this, but if you do, you’ll be on your way to selling your house without the painful fees and stress associated with most other options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to use an estate agent to sell my house?

No, you don’t need to use an estate agent to sell your house in the UK—you have many other options, including selling privately, selling at auction and selling to a cash buying company. Estate agents often charge high fees for their services, so the final cost to you can be significant.

Is selling to a cash buyer worth it?

Whether or not selling your house to a cash buyer is worth it depends on your circumstances. It can be worthwhile if you need a quick sale to prevent a property chain collapse, for instance, or if you want to avoid solicitor fees. It might not be worth it if you’d prefer to get closer to your home’s market value through the sale.

Is part-exchange a good way to sell a house?

Entering a part-exchange agreement with a property developer can be a good way to sell your house if you have your heart set on a new build in their portfolio and your house is in a condition that satisfies their criteria. Terms and conditions can vary between developers, so it’s important to check what kind of deals are possible to help you decide whether it is worth your while. It can work out well if your house is ready to exchange at the same time as the new build is ready, but this doesn’t happen very often.

Edit Log

22/10/2025 - Content rewritten by Raphael Kaye

22/10/2025 - Content updated in line with Editorial Guidelines (Reviewed by Mathew McCorry)

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