Emoov founder Russell Quirk has branded OnTheMarket a flawed concept with silly anti-competitive rules and predicts the portal won't last more than 12 months.
In a video clip on YouTube, Quirk says the new portal is run by a cartel of estate agents looking to protect themselves against the inevitable change in the estate agent industry.
Quirk says there are several things consumers need to know about OTM. He says despite the new portal being touted as increased choice, it has only signed up 20% of agents so will only list around a fifth of all properties for sale in the UK.
He also criticised the portal's rules about forcing agents to drop either Zoopla or Rightmove, saying this means only half of prospective buyers will get to see a vendor's property.
Online agents are not allowed to join OTM but Quirk says Emoov would have joined if it was allowed as the move would fit in with Emoov's ethos to give consumers selling property maximum coverage.
You can see Quirk's video below.
Comments
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che - WHICH "sudden made up statistic/percentage" are you referring to as ignoring The two percent, perhaps Hardly "made up" I would argue - if it IS, then certainly not by me... I'm quoting figures from so-called "official sources" (whoever they may be!). But hey - you know what they say about statistics...
"...but as an estate agent and business owner I do sadly spend a lot of time apologising for the actions and behavior of my fellow high street agents". Sigh... know the feeling... but I hardly think that the 'online proposition' can or will effectively counter that - in essence it will just give the same people more of the same to complain about... this time "having cost them money for nothing" becoming the thrust of their issue.
With regard to Ms Beeny's points of interest I have to say that I've become immune - or perhaps anaesthetised is a better word - and as a result my world is a better place.
Ho hum! ;o)
You see, I would agree with you. (ignoring of course the sudden made up statistic/percentage you threw in, because on both sides of the online/offline fence there has been no scientific, independent commissioned research on consumer behavior and trend analysis blah blah.)Anyway I would agree if it were true that estate agents were regarded, by the public in general as fair, honest and good value for money. They are not, havent been for ever ever ever and they wont change (why should they in their mind) so change is coming and predominately from external players with lots of venture capital behind them from business people who feel they can capitalise/bet on the company who does actually make a difference. Who knows what it will end up looking like. Personally I doubt it will be what we seeing right now but as an estate agent and business owner I do sadly spend a lot of time apologising for the actions and behavior of my fellow high street agents so I hope that changes are positive and come quickly. That is for me on this one as I've now become mesmerised by Sara Beanbags sudden upward growth curves
che
Academic qualifications are not the issue here. The author of the original comment you lambasted was making an extremely valid point - which was written in no worse grammatic style than most I see on here and far better than many, so I would say that the main thrust of your comment (and that which was no doubt thrown in to weaken the argument made by the OP) was itself weak to say the least.
That said - to the debate. You stated "When will you realise that Online agents exist because the behaviour of proper Estate Agents has generated such ill feeling with consumers" Really That, then, would be the TWO PERCENT of potential homesellers that currently 'pays their money; takes their chance' with online Agents, yes Hardly a case of "such ill feeling", I would suggest. For an 'Agent' if you indeed are what you claim to be, you have an extremely jaded view of the property world and its' inhabitants... perhaps you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time ;o)
Aww Pee Bee, you missed the point entirely. I wasn't making reference to my own spelling or grammar. Goodness me that would hypocritical what with me not supporting a single academic qualification (which may explain why I became an estate agent). My point was the directed at author of the comment who criticised the video as being unprofessional yet was also unprofessional in his article. A minor point given the whole response but hey, thanks for looking.
It seems OnTheMarkets position is, with a few previously noted exceptions, that agents signing up to them may only advertise on one other[b] UK[/b] portal. This, of course, leaves the door wide open to agents marketing their properties on portals physically located outside the UK. So, whether agents are looking for additional exposure to UK customers or access to financially secure overseas buyers from, say, China via Juwai, or Asia via iProperty, the US via Realtor.com, or for that matter anywhere else in the world courtesy of the 500+ portals available through the XML2U distribution network, they can do so without infringing the OnTheMarket membership restriction.
An XML2U feed provides a significant marketing opportunity for agents looking to offer their properties around the world, on both free-to-advertise portals and those that charge for their services. Portals can be cherry-picked by the agent from a distribution list of more than 500 mainstream and niche portals on all Continents. XML2Us principal claim to fame is its ability to extract the property data direct from the agents website his export file, and convert the data into multiple formats to satisfy 95% of the worlds portals and other online marketing platforms (like Twitter and Facebook) without engaging with the agents software or technology provider.
"...if you are going to post comments online please at least ask someone to check your grammar so you look professional!"
Suggest practicing that which one preaches, in order to avoid appearing like a prize numpty.
Prop W Mids ... When will you realise that Online agents exist because the behaviour of proper Estate Agents has generated such ill feeling with consumers Making the the phone red hot (sorry, did we just flip back to the 1980s) by aggressively calling customers who, lets be honest are only top of your list because you know they have a property to sell, isn't dynamic just a veiled attempt to gain stock or arrange an appointment for them to see your mortgage man!.
Vendors are questioning the whole we can sell it, the agent down the road, online or high street cant mentality and as a result their attitudes will change in favour of choosing an estate agent based on different selection criteria : Lower costs, telling the truth, online tools, and genuine customer service for example, something proper estate agents never seem to want to do!
Listing on portals and then crossing your fingers is NOT a strategy for selling property, we all get that . Its merely a means of generating enquires. Vendors, many of who are also buyers know this, they know how the system works and you calling them the style of Jerry Maguire just as they are about to sit down and have their tea doesn't usually win many people over, but hey at least it makes your area manager happy!
And Prop W Mids, if you are going to post comments online please at least ask someone to check your grammar so you look professional!
Russell... When will you realise, proper Estate Agents don't sit and wait for the phone to ring because a property is listed on the portals. We make the the phone red hot by proactively calling buyers and booking appointments before the details are even ready! Something online estate agents will never be able to do! Listing on portals and then crossing your fingers is NOT a strategy for selling property! And this is why the online agent model will never beat the traditional high street agents. And Russell if you are going to post these videos online please at least look like a professional!
Russell is sounding rather contradictory here. How can he claim on the one hand that he would have definitely joined OTM had it allowed online agents, yet give a five minute speech on how flawed the entire concept is At the moment OTM appears relatively unknown to anyone that isn't directly involved in the property industry, yet Russell discussing the portal consistently is only creating more press for OTM!
Onthemarket is just a make up as you go website, if they said you can use all portal but only zoopla or rightmove then I would have some belief in them but to say all bar 1 other and then allow agents to keep using gspc and s1homes, come on espc and gspc are every high streets biggest competitor and there website is a portal of all members
The more he talks about OnTheMarket, the more awareness and word of mouth he generates. Thanks, very much. Predicting the future is a very risky business, but I don't agree that OTM will only last 12 months, it is more likely that it will grow to the point where agents will be confident enough to drop all other portals, but we'll have to wait and see.
Seems like a good way to break the duopoly and extortion employed by the current big 2. Shame they (OTM) did not have the confidence to take them head on instead of insisting that agents drop one of their existing portals. Finances would have determined that action eventually. Not sure about you but I object to being told where I can put my advertising spend.
@david bennett - simple! you dont dont talk about portals, it people who sell the houses not portals as in a rising market you have a list of buyers you take with you to a valuation, vendors are only interested in one thing... Have you got the buyer who will buy my home and the answer is YES we do!! and thats what good estate agents do. Vendors dont really care about 20% share and this that the other. Dont look too deep into what vendors are going to say as some dont even know that rightmove and zoopla exist.
It will be interesting to see how estate agents sell the concept of OTM to their vendors - 'we used to promote our properties on the 2 leading property portals, but have dropped one in favour of a new one, which only launched today and only represents 20% of agents. However, my commission will remain the same.'
I agree with Rob Davies..... who cares what Russell Quirk thinks... he is just worried once the Founders and members of On The Market come off RIGHTMOVE.CO.UK by the end of the year then he will have no rightmove or zoopla to advertise his penny business on.
It was a tactical move for the founders to come off Zoopla and it would be even more tactical coming off rightmove with many other members by the end of the year, and if rightmove does not have at least 80/90 of London Agents on rightmove then how can rightmove say it is the Number One Property Website AGENT POWER -- rightmove.co.uk is going DOWN!!! shareholders need to sell out now!!
Did you see the person in the green in the background only moved to have a yawn...lol
The TV ad is cheese personified and a little dry, but it gets the point across and looks very clean and slick. The website, whilst very similar to Rightmove and Zoopla, is also very clean and professional looking.
They don't really seem to have pushed the new portal outside of the property sphere, but I'm assuming they're hoping to change that with the launch of the ad campaign next Sunday. They'll be hoping they can become a part of the nation's consciousness in the same way as Zoopla and Rightmove. The ad is quite similar to ones I've seen for the big two, so I'm not fully convinced it will grip people's imagination in the way they hope.
As for OTM, the site looks clean and professional and seems pretty user-friendly. I'm still very sceptical about the impact they'll have, but the website does look good. They've also got an ad campaign that is going out on TV from Sunday 1st February, which will give them the sort of exposure that Rightmove and Zoopla gets on a regular basis. Depending on which slots they get, that could be very crucial in getting OTM's name out there to the wider public at large.
The ad is slick and professional-looking - they've clearly spent some money on it - but also a little cliched and cheesy. Having said that, the adverts I've seen from Rightmove and Zoopla in the past haven't exactly been masterpieces, so the production from OTM won't have to do too much to top them.
Like I said, still very unsure about what their impact will be, but they've certainly had a better launch than Houser or the other new pretenders.
Dear Russell,
On behalf of all those in the property industry, please stop offering your opinion on literally everything.
Was this video filmed on a Sunday I only ask due to his attire.
So if its such a flawed concept why bother to mention anti competitive rules!!
Awww,,, Russ, matey - I've just been, seen - and the BEST thing about the site is that YOU ain't on it! ;o)