Estate agents are not as stupid as they often appear. Yes, many are wide boys with gelled hair and tie-knots almost as big as the properties they sell, but they are making shedloads – or should I say summer-outhouseloads – of money.

How? By using a percentage commission rather than a flat fee, their earnings have jumped as house prices have marched relentlessly higher. With fees ranging between 1 and 2½ per cent and the average property now costing almost £200,000, they earn thousands of pounds on every sale without the hint of a professional qualification.

Of course, Mini Coopers, tailored suits and offices so flash they induce epilepsy do not come cheap, but pointing out that a room with a toilet is a bathroom is not beyond the wit of an average five-year-old and is not worth that kind of money.

Thankfully, however, estate agents’ stranglehold on the property market looks set to be loosened. And the hero of the hour is Tesco. It has just launched a website where homeowners can market their properties for a flat fee of just £200. Customers will be given a Tesco-branded for-sale board but they must field queries, arrange viewings and negotiate with potential buyers themselves.

Yet this welcome enterprise was met with contempt from a property industry keen to protect its prosperous existence. Rightmove, the estate agency website, is refusing to cooperate with Tesco and is even considering legal action.

Estate agents have long claimed that private-sale websites are “dangerous” and that sellers need a middleman to complete negotiations and coordinate with solicitors. But this is as mendacious as describing a Victorian terrace as a “unique opportunity”.

With sensible precautions, you are unlikely to experience any problems selling for yourself. When I sold my flat privately last year, I made sure I was not alone when potential buyers visited, but everyone was polite and courteous. Indeed, I only had to show three people around, as the third viewer put in an offer that I accepted. The negotiation and legal process were quicker and easier without an intermediary.

Estate agents also claim that they alone have the knowledge and experience to make valuations despite the widespread availability of Land Registry data and monitoring house prices being a national obsession. Like most homeowners, I have a very good idea of what it is worth. When I sold my flat online the price I achieved was actually £5,000 more than one estate agent suggested as an asking price. The sale cost me a mere £138, saving a further £5,000 in agency fees.

Tesco may not have gained friends by seeing off independent grocers, but if it is half as successful removing estate agents from high streets, it should win the thanks of the nation.

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