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Agents welcome Google move

04 December 2009
Written by rosalind renshaw

Estate agents appear delighted that Google is to enter the property listing market with a free offering.

Trevor Kent, in Gerrards Cross, Bucks, who has crossed swords with Rightmove over their charging, said: “Is there a word above ‘ecstatic’?”

He said Rightmove would be getting “its just deserts for allowing its business model to get out of control”.

Kent, who yesterday bought a domain name, agentsnotonrightmove.co.uk, said he hoped the future portal market would be dominated by free offerings – Google, the NAEA’s PropertyLive, and Globrix.

Ed Mead, of London agents Douglas & Gordon, said: “The point is that Google is the search engine of choice for most people, and so they are already in very familiar territory.

“I think this will be a win-win situation for everyone. It will be easy for the public to use, and the site will show individual properties which will click straight through to the agent’s own site. That is what we want: we don’t want home hunters being held within some portal.

“Rightmove is not popular with agents, and if they are to survive, they will have to completely redesign their business model and be free to use.”

Peter Rollings, managing director of estate agent Marsh & Parsons, also in London, said:   “We welcome the launch of Google’s new property portal. For as long as it remains free to advertise it is great news for estate agents but not such good news for the paid property portals.”

Property consultant Henry Pryor revealed that around 50 central London agents attended a meeting he organised last January at Google’s offices in Victoria and heard about  “Google’s determination to offer a property solution”.

He said some agents had subsequently stayed in discussion with Google. But Pryor did not think that Google’s emergence into the market meant a sure-fire win.

He said: “Competition remains tough with no one portal having total market share – Rightmove still has a significant gap in its inventory in central London. The Digital Property Group has bold plans for 2010, newly-freed Globrix can continue to innovate and the addition of Google would ensure that agents and their clients can get huge cost-effective reach across the digital market place.

“It remains to be seen whether Google would be interested in producing the sophisticated tools that brands like Rightmove Plus provide. It is also highly unlikely that Google will be tempted to sell their inventory in the way Rightmove did to the Valuation Office four years ago. All in all, this is a welcome development.”

Comments

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    The agents that are heralding the arrival of Google, especially at the imagined demise of Rightmove.... Have you actually tried out the search on the Australian version? ... it is not that attractive an experience.
    From a purchasers point of view, far richer information is gained via a traditional portal search.
    Google is a SEARCH facility, Rightmove provides information in a more palatable form.
    My guess is that buyers may well try it, but on finding it more fiddly to get the bit they ultimately want, they will revert to RM.
    Many agents will however love the Google offering, it has the essential qualification...it is free (for now).
    In anticipation...I do not work for RM.

    • 04 December 2009 20:30 PM
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    Ken looking at the housing market in NI you need rightmove!! Why not do what this lot of sheep have done, get it over promote it free make it the biggest then moan like children!

    • 04 December 2009 15:27 PM
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    In Northern Ireland, rightmove is hardly used and isnt well known at all - we have a free portal called propertypal.com which is free (forever) and gives us the bulk of internet based leads. It started from nothing and is now nearly the leading search facility in NI for property - time you guys on the mainland gave up the ghost on rightmove.....there are alternatives - you just need to find them...

    • 04 December 2009 15:03 PM
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    These beasts have the same back. Rightmove got to where it is now because of the support from agents (its founder members) and now you curse it because you are dependent. Google is no different. Google have found just another PPC opportunity, you'll all jump on board (yes ALL of you) and we will look forward to reading your posts of regret in years to come. Fairground stalls have worked this suckerUin method for centuries. Human nature (greed, lazyness etc) is there to be expoited by showmen and entrepenurs alike. You have choices. It seems harder to walk away though.

    • 04 December 2009 14:02 PM
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    As you may tell I have concerns on this and the positive vibes from most really worries me...(just googled some stats)Please look at the facts Google have about 80% of search engine traffic in the UK - THEY DON'T NEED TRAFFIC. What they are good at is making money, revenue for 2008 was 28 billion - THEY ARE NOT A CHARITY - this is all about making money don't be fooled they are a bigger animal than Rightmove or Findaproperty will ever be...

    • 04 December 2009 13:35 PM
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    Many articles are saying that google WILL allow private sales, so why would the BIG agents be talking to google? Did we have this with Tesco! It's all going to be a massive PPC anyway.

    • 04 December 2009 13:32 PM
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    JustPassin you are spot on and my concern is if this did take off the likes of Tesco's or the other supermarket chains (who are sniffing round the property market all the time) could evetually get a route to market which they desparately want - at least the like of Rightmove and Digital property have a need to stop these gaints taking over as they rely on agents. Google are to big to worry about this and I would think possibly see large amounts of potential income for these businesses. I wouldnt be surprised to see a big household name making an accouncement very soon!!!

    • 04 December 2009 13:10 PM
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    In the good old days we had to take space each week in the local paid for, the free distribution, the regional daily and the evening papers and often a monthly glossy. Now if someone could come up with a solution that exposed full details of all our properties in one place 24/7 where we could be sure all the clients would look - and at a fraction of the price, that would be fantastic .... or have I totally missed the point of RM ?

    • 04 December 2009 12:47 PM
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    For once I do not agree with the 'ecstatic' Trevor Kent. (sorry, Trevor).
    The only reason that 'Rightmove' is top of the tree is because we all ADVERTISE their name on everything (press, details, letterheads etc) - for free! If all NFOPP agents subscribed to and actually advertised their very own FREE portal, 'Propertylive', within a few months it would become well known and used. The added advantage is that private sales or lettings would NEVER appear on the site.

    • 04 December 2009 12:28 PM
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    "Is it for sure Google will allow private listings?"

    Some of Google's test properties already online are from a private sales website.

    • 04 December 2009 12:20 PM
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    Is it for sure Google will allow private listings?

    • 04 December 2009 11:37 AM
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    I laugh everytime you lot moan about RM! Its your own silly faults that you made them strong & still do- count the Rightmove adds in your local paper on YOUR adverts this week???? Sheep. and thanks to all youlot it was the only way Connells made money last year, well done, pat on the back to all.

    • 04 December 2009 11:36 AM
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    Looking at Chris Sparrows posts here and on other RM stories I would think his payslip is from RM so his comments need reviewing as such.

    • 04 December 2009 11:32 AM
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    If Rightmove reduce their costs to a competitive rate for the service they provide, I have no problem staying with them.

    • 04 December 2009 11:27 AM
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    I'd imagine Rightmove are keeping quiet so they can keep buying back their shares - they spent almost £2m yesterday buying them on the cheap because of all these exaggerations.

    They know they're not going to get effected and Google's plans are for PPC sales.

    • 04 December 2009 10:36 AM
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    Simon - Globrix and Google may only deliver "clicks" but they are clicks to the agent's own site, many of which turn into leads.

    Most agents say that leads from their own website are of higher quality than leads from the portals.

    I don't think Google is a fatal threat to Rightmove as many agents love Rightmove plus, which Google cannot compete with. However, I do think that if Google Real Estate search can deliver enough leads to an agents site, then agents may finally be able to stop saying "we don't have a choice but to be on Rightmove" - so it will dilute their power.

    One last thing, there is a zero-cost way for agents to get their properties onto Google Map Real Estate search, use thebu2iness.com which already has a completely free of charge portal upload service which will include Google. (And its going to stay free!)

    • 04 December 2009 10:35 AM
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    It doesnt matter where you are in the world, agents wants something for nothing. I am not surprised that agents are wanting a free site to be successful - it reduces their costs. However, in the same breath, the agents hate private sellers (who are looking to reduce their own costs) and guess what ... private sellers are side by side agents on Google.

    And there are costs associated with uploading onto Google ... so there is no such thing as a free lunch.

    One last thought - Google delivers clicks not leads ... rightmove delivers leads, not clicks. Which is more valuable? I would have thought leads!

    • 04 December 2009 10:18 AM
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    Now, I like Rightmove and I like Google but which is best? There's only one way to find out. FIGHT!!

    • 04 December 2009 10:06 AM
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