Strike (formerly Housesimple) was one of the first UK online estate agents and has been selling properties at a low fixed fee for more than ten years. Read the company profile to learn more, see the Q&A or go straight to the latest independent customer reviews of Strike.

• Want to find out about online estate agent Strike (formerly Housesimple)? See the profile
• Why choose Strike (formerly) Housesimple? Read our exclusive company Q&A interview
• What do customers think of Strike (formerly Housesimple)? Go to the independent reviews

Strike Profile

Housesimple was launched in 2007 by couple Alex and Sophie Gosling who, with 30 years of combined estate agency experience, had become disillusioned with the UK’s property sales market. Recognising the potential of house sales in a digital sphere, they set about creating what is now one the the UK’s largest online estate agents.

Their innovation quickly gained traction, with a raft of competitors following Housesimple’s lead, but the company remained at the front of pack. In 2014, the Housesimple won Online Agency of the Year in the Negotiator Awards – an accolade it went on to earn again in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 unveiled its latest TV and London campaign featuring a gentleman named Derek which saw them get nominated for best marketing campaign at the Negotiators.

In April 2018 the company moved to a No Sale No Fee only model bridging the gap between high street and online agents and highlighting the company’s dedication to fresh thinking in what has traditionally been an unbending industry when it comes to new ideas.

In 2015 Housesimple’s property listings trebled compared to the previous year, and in June 2016 the company received a £13m cash injection from Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone, who at the time praised HouseSimple’s forward-thinking approach and lashed out at traditional estate agents who, Dunstone claimed, earn “money for old rope”.

Since then they’ve also received another cash injection to further grow the business and move to new offices in Colchester.

In May 2017 an independent report by found that Housesimple was more likely to complete on a property sale than any other online estate agent. The company is also particularly active in the industry research field, and has produced a number of reports on the state of the UK property market.

Housesimple’s claims and statistics

• The average client saves £5,594 in fees (based on their own client survey)
• They’re 40% more likely to sell your property than a high street agent (according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
• They agree sales in 25 days on average
• At 99% they achieve a higher proportion of asking price than high street agents at 95% (according to Hometrack data)
• They successfully complete on 85% of property sales agreed vs 70% for high street agents
• They’ve sold or let over £1 billion worth of properties to date
• They have a 98% customer satisfaction rating (according to Feefo customer reviews)
• They’re ranked in the top 100 of all agents in the UK in terms of size and customer satisfaction (according to Rightmove.co.uk).

Fees and services

For the latest fees and services available from HouseSimple see the online estate agent comparison.

Q&A with Housesimple

How would you describe your online estate agency in a single sentence?

We are the next generation of estate agent that’s changing the game, in other words, we’re taking the power back and giving it to the people.

How many properties has your agency sold so far, approximately?

We have sold approximately 8000 properties to date.

How many employees in estate agency/customer service roles do you have?

We have 89 people across our customer relationship teams.

Why do you think sellers should choose an online agent as opposed to a traditional high street estate agent?

Estate agency is an industry that hasn’t really evolved in comparison to other industries. With most aspects of peoples’ lives moving online it makes sense to be able to sell houses online, especially as a huge percentage of all house searches start online.

One of the major benefits to using an online agent is that you have more control of the sale. Viewings, feedback, offers and sales progression updates can all be seen online and accessed 24/7 with the advantage that we aren’t restricted to high street opening times. Our phone lines are also open 7 days a week.

There are also significant cost savings to be made as we do not have the overheads associated with high street shop fronts.

Are there any aspects of your services that make you better and different from other online agents, including Purplebricks – in other words why should a seller choose you?

Firstly, we are the only online agents to offer a No Sale, No Fee package as our sole offering, the main benefit of this is no upfront costs, no hidden charges and you only pay when we sell your property. Secondly, we don’t try to liken ourselves to traditional estate agents, we as a company focus on offering our customers as much information as possible by using our tech to offer smarter insights and all the data needed to make informed decisions and get the best possible price for their property.

For us it’s about transparency and empowering the seller.

How personal is the service you offer sellers – i.e. how will contact be made usually and how frequently do you do so?

We keep in close contact with our customers using a combination of phone calls, emails, text messages and push notifications. If there are any viewing requests, feedback, enquiries, progress updates in their dashboard that need their attention we will alert them. We also like to call regularly to check for any changes or progress their end, that way we can also catch any questions they may have

Every customer has an account manager that keeps on top of the communications and can also contacted at any time.

What would you say to a seller who was concerned that, as a nationwide online agent, you won’t have enough local market knowledge?

As a technological based estate agent HouseSimple has access to more relevant data. We combine data from 3rd party portals with our own national and local knowledge to get the best possible results for our customers.

Can you send someone to conduct the viewings if the seller isn’t available (or doesn’t want to), and how does this work?

We can, yes. We use a hosted viewings third party service who send out a local representative to carry out the viewing. The host will have a set of keys and shows the viewers the property in the vendors absence. We can do this on a pay as you go basis or as a package with a set amount of viewings included.

Do you offer any no sale no fee option or money back guarantees if a property doesn’t sell?

Yes, we are No Sale No Fee only, so if the property doesn’t sell then the vendor does not pay a fee. Likewise we don’t charge commission so you’ll know what you are paying from the beginning.

Is there anything else you would like to add so readers can get a better understanding of your agency and the services you offer?

We think that there is a common misconception that using an online estate agent is a DIY option but in fact we offer a full service from valuation through to completion. We can handle as little or as much as needed and our account managers, negotiators and sales progressors are there to help every step of the way.

Housesimple was rebranded as Strike in July 2020.

Reviews of Strike (formerly Housesimple)

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Strike Offers

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