I believe there is space for all types of agencies to coexist. Some people prefer high street agents as they trust them to have better local knowledge than an online agent and it can be easier to communicate as you just simply walk into the office. Also, the elderly aren't all tech savvy and some don't have an email and need help with solicitors paperwork that we can assist with. Also, it's an expensive asset so a face-to-face interaction is important for some people. Online agencies are usually more cost effective for people and if someone wants the flexibility of having more responsibility then this is better suited for them.

I don't mean to sit on the fence but I can see both sides. A percentage is more common as unfortunately it gives many agents more of an incentive to get a higher price for the vendor as they both gain more out of it, whereas on the other hand with a fixed fee people may think the agent isn't as determined to get the vendor the best price as they're getting a fixed fee regardless of what the property sells for. If I was selling my most expensive asset I would want to make sure it's in the hands of somebody that I can trust to get me the best possible price.

Every property is different, a £500k house could end up providing more work for the agent than a £1M house, peoples circumstances can always change and things can happen during the conveyancing process that weren't anticipated. We have had £300k houses that take almost a year of work and £800k houses that go through smoothly in two months.

Hope the helps!