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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Rightmove hits back at critics with highest-ever visitor numbers

Rightmove has enjoyed over six million visits to its portal in one day, for the first time ever.

Three days ago - Wednesday May 27 - saw visits exceed six million in a day for the first time, which is up 18 per cent on the comparable day of 2019.

Meanwhile the busiest ever day with regards to time spent on Rightmove was Saturday May 23 with over 47m minutes spent collectively.

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The site says home-mover momentum has been building over the two weeks since the housing market reopened in England. And it says it’s found “a new wave of buyers now entering the market” since the lockdown finished. 

Of those buyers questioned in recent days by Rightmove, who had no plans to move earlier in the year, over a quarter are now saying they are planning to move.

The figures, released this morning, come as momentum continues to build in the Say No To Rightmove campaign, which this week told Estate Agent Today that it had the support of around 1,600 agents owning some 3,300 branches.

The SNTR campaign is still receiving some 30 new applicants a day, it adds.

Rightmove’s statement today emphasises the results of its huge marketing budget and consumer-facing activities.

“Usually we record our busiest days of the year in January and February and almost never when there is warm weather, so the combination of pent-up demand being released, new people entering the market and no half-term holidays during lockdown has led to this late spring boost” according to Rightmove’s commercial director and housing market analyst Miles Shipside.

“The challenge agents are facing is handling this surge in enquiries, having a process to deliver virtual viewings, and setting up socially distanced and safe physical viewings" he adds. 

“This means that although numbers of sales agreed have improved from being down 90 per cent to currently being 47 per cent down compared to this time last year, it’s going to take a considerable time for a return to sales agreed levels seen last year and at the start of this year.”

The areas with strongest interest from buyers compared to last year - measured by the number of property details being viewed on Rightmove including floorplans, pictures and videos - are places along the south coast, and northern towns and cities.

Poll: Do figures like these make it harder for agents to leave Rightmove?

PLACE YOUR VOTE BELOW

  • Chris Arnold

    I matters little whether there are 6 million 'visitors' or six hundred thousand if they are the wrong visitors. The portal, like any other, believes that reach produces better potential, when in fact, it is the polar opposite. Specific, rather than general, has more potential to attract the right buyer.

    Surely time spent browsing the portal is dependent on the attractiveness of the available listings, not on whether the media owner is doing a better job?

    This "challenge agents are facing in a surge of buyers" shouldn't be too hard to manage, given that it represents overall only a small percentage increase from previous levels.

    If an agency doesn't own their platform, they have no other option than to take their business elsewhere, or suffer the imposition.

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    My wife and our daughters have all been looking this week for properties on Rightmove whereas I have registered for email alerts so we may move but all three of my girls are on there,it seems, all day everyday! How many others are there wasting time like that and aiding rm with false bragging rights.
    I have now educated them on the need to also spend time on Z and OTM as they love the excitement of looking at everything (including dreamy ones out of our reach) instead of waiting for the email alerts. As for SNTR, it seems to have stalled, not unexpectedly but 30 new parties a day! I can’t see it and nothing seems to be happening and I think that is rm’s train of thought too, leave it alone and it will go away.
    You know what they say, action speaks louder than words and as proved in the past, Sheep don’t do actions.

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    All them agents going back and doing board counts for letter bombshell! Email alerts sent from Rightmove marketing also act as click bait but based on my listings and stock, I’ve had a new year type wake up but mainly flirters many can’t get mortgage for 3 months due to furlough or now being told need larger deposit as low deposit products pulled. And people asking if they can get 10% off asking now the works shit

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    Don’t forget they only got that number because of “our” (the industry’s) stock. When they don’t have that they won’t get the traffic

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    My thoughts exactly Andrew. It's upto us agents to spread the word that Rightmove's had it day and there are other portals to visit too. I'd like to know the number of visitors that Zoopla and OTM had.

     
    GIles Ellwood

    Andrew, Debbie,

    If I had a pound for every time I read a comment on EAT, PIE, Neg etc. about if agents just switched off content supply in any direction, it would re-balance the power dynamic...

    Its a very valid comment. 100% true and probably easier to coordinate than it would seem..

    For too long Estate Agents have been the content providers and the bank rollers of portals and the papers before them. The world has moved on, but this system has not.

    As an ex-publisher, it reminds me of a scenario where the journalists, do the work, write the story, take the pics, then have to pay big fees to the publishers to have the story published. - Pretty strange.

    However, I appreciate for wholesale change to happen in this industry, it would need every agent in the country to have every other agent's details to coordinate a masterstroke like that.

    This will be a by-product of one of our main goals of creating the Homesearch Network. Our plan is to networking every agent with every home in the country and every consumer to every agent.

    By getting ever closer to this goal (7,678 agents branches have registered with Homesearch in 68 days) we will also be able to offer agents a network platform to make this type of change happen together if you wished.

    Sorry for the Saturday splurge, but the action button is closer than you think.

     
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    CTR appeals only to the "Corporates" as a means of managing presentation. Why can't Rightmove release the number of additional number of email leads or telephone calls that result from this wave of hits. That is value to Agents and how that translates into SSTC and Lets.

    Ultimately, Agents would love to sell or let property after one email or telephone call. Agents want quality over quantity.

    Pent up demand is not people looking at videos of property, it's buyers. No one has produced any statistics to show that the alleged demand is actually there. SSTC 47 % of last year, means that Agents Bank Accounts are going to be down 53%.

    As the article headline suggests. This is no more than a PR exercise by Rightmove

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    Wow 10% of the population looking to move on Rightmove in one day!!

  • Andrew Stanton PROPTECH-PR A Consultancy for Proptech Founders

    The Property Portal wars rage and with agents having until the end of June to decide on staying or going from Rightmove is it a straight choice anyway? Will portals give way to portal / platforms and can a 2001 portal model survive another 20 years? Unlikely, Proptech-PR.com we know a thing or too about the new landscape of real estate and proptech.

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