Has traditional estate agency gone off the market?

In probably the most regressive move for homeowners and landlords in years a significant number of traditional agents have recently made the decision to stop marketing properties on both of the two most popular property sites in the UK. They’ve done this by selecting just one of either Rightmove or Zoopla and removing property listings from the other.

On the 26th of January the consortium of over 1,900 Traditional Estate Agency firms, including big names such as Savills and Spicerhaart will launch a new property portal, onthemarket. Membership of this new site however, requires these agents to choose between advertising only on Zoopla or Rightmove. But not both.

Why have they done this?

The new site is being positioned as a reaction against the fees that are charged by Rightmove and Zoopla and an attempt to reduce their power. As this new site restricts its membership to traditional bricks and mortar estate agents only however, it is probably also an attempt to combat the growing number of online estate agents offering significant savings on the cost of renting or selling homes.

What does this mean for anyone still using one of these traditional agents?

Without the exposure provided by both Rightmove and Zoopla it may take considerably longer to let or sell a home and the chances of success could be significantly reduced. Rightmove reports over 80 million searches per month and Zoopla 40 million. As a significant % of these are unique searches, a property needs to be marketed on both sites to guarantee the best possible outcome.

What should you do if you know someone using or thinking of using a traditional agent?

Let them know about the changes. We’ve pulled together a simple checklist below for anyone currently with a Traditional agent.

1. Check with your agent. Will they be joining onthemarket and which of Zoopla or Rightmove will they stop marketing on?

2. After the 26th of January check both sites to see if your property is still listed.

3. Ask your agent for a joint agency agreement so you can also market your property with an agent who uses both Zoopla and Rightmove.

4. Consider whether moving to another agent that will market your home on both Rightmove and Zoopla may increase your chances of letting or selling your home.

Richard Francis - Founder