Agents are stepping up their house-selling tactics, Rightmove said this week. It said many are working hard to keep staff positive despite a market where, it said, hundreds of agents are going out of business each month.
It said one of the agents bucking the trend is Green and Company, a West Midlands multi-branch agency. Partner Paul Ivens said: “Sales and instructions are down compared to last year; however, business in September was good. We generated a good level of activity and sold, subject to contract, 80 homes.”
Ivens says the secret is relatively simple: “Proactive and enthusiastic staff make the difference, and we have staff that fit that category. They work closely with motivated sellers and ensure that their homes are marketed positively, despite all the doom and gloom that surrounds us. Correctly priced property and the use of proactive marketing will sell a home in any market.”
Green and Company also utilises Rightmove’s Premium Display advertisements, an option which Rightmove says generates three times more inquiries than a typical listing.
Ivens says these work for his agency: “We conduct individual market plans for our clients to discuss and review the marketing of their homes. The information we obtain from our Rightmove reports is shared with our vendors and, depending on that information and our client’s circumstances, we will then decide if their home would benefit from being promoted via Premium Displays, which we’ve been using since May.”
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “In the current market, with historically high levels of unsold stock and mortgage availability at a dramatic low, it is essential agents understands the consumer in order to attract those fewer buyers out there. Budget still remains an issue for the majority of home buyers, so sellers really need to work with their agents to ensure they are pricing realistically.
“Agents should be able to provide hard-hitting local market information, crucial to understanding realistic prices. Agents should be making sure the description and images are tweaked regularly to keep the advert fresh and stand out from the rest.”
Rightmove, which itself is making redundancies, has stopped selling its services to new agencies to concentrate on giving more support to existing members, some of whom it says are not utilising all the marketing tools that the site offers.
However, all year Rightmove has been at the centre of controversy, with member agents unhappy with the subscription fees.
Agent who is bucking trend
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Comments
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As a commercial agent it is interesting to watch the bad vibes about Rightmove. We in the commercial world rarely get involved in house sales but for those agents who are multi disciplined with Residential and Commercial, we find www.comproperty.com £99.00 for 12 months, for as many listing photos and text as you want is great value site and easy to use. But all you Resi guys now have to work for your commission where as we commercial folks have worked hard all the time!
Rightmove have the attitude that they are the only choice. we have just switched to The Digital Property Group who own Primeloation and Findaproperty and there service is great and with a rental business also the rates are much more competetive.We are going to do what we can to increase the brand to the general public to support their current National advertising campain in our area and if other agents did the same Rightmove would have no choice but to fall in line. I have also heard a rumour form friens in the city that Rightmove intend to increase their charges next year by 25%. watch this space you heard it hear first !
Well done EAT. You now have the capability and the visitors to get all agents together and create an action group to start their own portal! Actually that is a great idea come to think of it!! Seriously EAT, what do you think about starting your own portal, I am up for it? If all agents got behind it from the start and advertised it on all their newspaper adverts and letterheads then it would fly! What does anyone else think of this idea?
"Rightmove, which itself is making redundancies, has stopped selling its services to new agencies to concentrate on giving more support to existing members, some of whom it says are not utilising all the marketing tools that the site offers."
From this morning's emails:
Festive Gifts from Rightmove Overseas
New subscription customers in December get the following
All absolutely free*
Free December on site
A Free Space in our newsletter
Free Brand Plus
Why Delay?
Call now on 0845 6187856
*• This offer is available to new members who are switched live on Rightmove
Overseas in December 2008.
• December for Free: Payment is taken immediately to cover advertising period
till 31st January 2009. The free period covers from the Go Live date till 31st
December 2008.
• A free space in our January 2009 e-Newsletter: Properties selected are from
the Rightmove website and are based on our editorial guidelines – your Sales
Executive will advise you on an appropriate property to include.
• Brand Plus – increases your brand exposure by displaying your company logo
across all your property listings and will be applied to your listings the day
you are switched live and remain for 3months. Brand Plus is automatically
switched off after 3 months, however our Sales Executives can advise you on
costs for continuing with it.
Rightmove have fewer properties listed in the whole of Croatia than we alone had before we left.
We have never listed properties on Rightmove and never will - and guess what we are selling houses!Surely there is even less point in giving your hard earned fees away to rightmove in this sort of market, unless your keen on propping up the corporate agents.
How about a dedicated www.rightmovetoday.com forum / blog? That would be fun!
I agree with all the comments made regarding Rightmove. They have done nothing this year to help their members and have wasted time and money on ridiculous marketing campaigns like the 3 P's and Premium Display. Mr Shipeside gets too much media exposure and normally talks the market down, anyway. Whats the point ?
Looks like another desperate advertising campaign by rightmove to me. We left rightmove 3 months ago and are enjoying the savings on their fees. It has'nt made a bit of difference to us in the way of vendor instructions or purchaser leads.
Whether you are on rightmove or not correctly price property will sell anyway. I HAVE TRIED PREMIUM DISPLAY, SHOWCASE THE LOT AND ITS ITS ALL CRAP, JUST A GIMMICK TO KEEP AGENTS ON THERE DATABASE AND CHARGE EXTORTIONATE FEES -
Does anyone have Mr Shipside's personal email address? I would like to communicate my thoughts to him on a one to one basis,or...I could print off his press release, roll it up & send to him in cylindrical form.
We recently had a visit from our Rightmove rep, he spent 10 minutes telling us that our number of views and enquiries were higher than many of our competitors in the area, he then spent 20 minutes trying to sell us the premium display. If our views/enqs are that much higher why would we need to pay MORE money !!
what a surprise, yet again rightmove wangling a bit of free pr. we have had them on the phone trying to get us on the premium display band wagon. at this rate every single agent will be marketing on the premium display. they were politely told that there was little point as we wont be renewing the contract after the last quarter as they were too expensive. the reply was standard rightmove - no negotiating just pretend that nothing was said.
Mmm.... Paul Ivens wouldn't happen to be a distant cousin of Miles Shipside, would he? This whole news story sounds like a collaboration between the two to make the rest of us feel like we've forgotten the basics of estate agency in a falling market and that everybody should be running back to Rightmove, cos they know what they're talking about. Rightmove might be some agents' choice but it's not the only way to go!
My Applause To Vossy - Words Of Wisedom - Rightmove Days Are Numbered!!!
Firstly having checked out Green & Co`s web siote I am not surprised they have "sold" 80 properties. Look at the prices...fantastic value compared to those in major cities such as London where we are based. It makes sense that in a crap market only the affordable properties are selling and these are affordable..no rocket science there! Also once again Rightmove are quoted as being the know it all of the property industry....Rightmove is so far removed from the feelings and thoughts of the vast majority of its clients that it is beyond belief. We have just cancelled our Rightmove membership...not because we are going bust but because Rightmove is NO LONGER COMPETATIVE and is NOT providing the leads its huge monthly cost should provide. It feels liberating to have finally decided to dump Rightmove and I strongly urge any of you who are thinking about leaving but just cant imagine life withour Rightmove to take the plunge...you wont miss a thing (except Rightmoves smug arrogance that they are the best in the business!).