A London estate agent has taken the unusual step of explaining to clients why his firm would be selling them short if he did not continue to advertise properties on Zoopla and Rightmove, despite what he calls their horrifying fees.
The Clapham-based Xander Matthew agency - which handles sales and lettings in south west London - has explained on its website that using both of the existing major portals is essential, especially in London, to ensure that your property, be it selling or letting, gets the massive coverage it needs to maximise the chance of finding a buyer/tenant.
Kevin Oakes, who set up the agency three and a half years ago and is an active user of social media to promote his firm, writes on his site: We source applicants from dozens of places but Rightmove and Zoopla, especially on sales, have a duopoly. Without your property being on those two websites you are almost certainly selling yourself short, and run the real risk of losing money.
He says he applauds the attempt of OnTheMarket to try to save money for agents by forcing participants to drop one or the other of the existing high-priced portals. But he warns his clients that savings would be outweighed by the sharply reduced exposure.
How is Mr Smith selling 123, High Street, London going to feel when you tell him his property isn't going to be on Rightmove because you wanted to save a few quid Bye bye customer I expect writes Oakes.
He describes OnTheMarket as an idea created by big agents in London aiming to save themselves tens of thousands of pounds annually, if not more.
He concludes by asking vendors and landlords: Is your agent using the big two portals If not then maybe you need to call us. Look for your property online. Can't find it Neither can your buyer.
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Comments
Can anybody tell me one good reason why Zoopla is of any benefit to a seller. This is a buyers site and to be on it does not do sellers any favours. We have never been on it and never will and non of our clients complain and we sell 2000 properties a year
AM is supported in London by big agents at the top end whose clients are not portal people - rather PA's hunt for properties which are effectively multilisted listed on LonRes. AM simply doesn't have enough traction to take on RM & Z and they will lift their exclusivity rule pretty quickly
could it be that online agents are in fact agents,the lack of foresight comes from at the market not @RobDavies who imo got it spot on. Who decides on the definition of an "online agent" all the corporates have an online presence of some description anyway. Its short-sighted,smacks of protectionism but the biggest crime is its just plain business madness. New businesses require all the advocates they can get,OTM managed to offend 150 or so decent hardworking online businesses simply meeting an obvious market demand for something different and less expensive than a high street operation. You can't stop the growth of digital agents by ignoring them or wishing they didn't exist.
Well said Jackie. The obsession with portals and Agents' Mutual has gone too far - they are just part of an agent's job. Things will change in January that's for sure but it's not going to be the beginning or the end of anything. Have a little self-confidence in your ability to sell a property!
'or the way they're shooting themselves in the foot by refusing to allow online agents.'
Why on earth would a new portal, owned solely by Estate Agents, allow online agents
Really guys, I am staggered by the lack of foresight shown here! The was a life and we all sold houses before RM and Zoopla, and there will still be after OTM.... and to my mind, it will be a better one!
without us agents rm and zoopla would not exist!
This guy is a joker.
In London especially, yep, they're vital. And across most of the country as well, there's a reason they're known as the big two. They will be very hard to budge. I agree that OnTheMarket could be a valid alternative, but I'm not keen on the name, their PR strategy or the way they're shooting themselves in the foot by refusing to allow online agents.
They are certainly going to be hard to shift. They're so established now, they have such strong brands, their websites are the go-to places for a vast number when it comes to property, and it's going to take a long time to change that. Agents' Mutual has the potential to challenge the duopoly and bring more competition to the market, but they're going about things in the wrong way at the moment with their PR strategy. Sadly, given they're the biggest and the most-used, they can charge what they want. Hopefully something can be done to change that, but I don't hold out much hope. It's a bit like the train companies - they can charge what they like because there's not enough competition.
It's true....unfortunately