The president of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has warned that consumers who opt to use the internet to sell their homes could miss out on the traditional estate agent-client relationship.

In recent months, there have been reports of sellers going online to market their property without an estate agent, with some utilising video sharing website YouTube and auction service eBay to make a sale.

According to the Independent, a new breed of dedicated property sales websites is also making its presence felt and could pose a threat to conventional agents by charging less commission.

However, Stewart Lilly told the newspaper: "People are at liberty to invite who they like to act as their agent, but we just hope that the people operating this online facility have the appropriate experience and qualifications involved in the buying and selling process, so that the general public hopefully get the care and professionalism they would receive from our members."

Earlier this year, Tesco launched an online home selling platform but later withdrew it after the OFT ruled that it was carrying out estate agency functions and not merely advertising homes for sale.

The BBC reports that the firm is currently considering launching a fully fledged estate agency service.