OnTheMarket says agent support will snowball once it overtakes Zoopla listings

OnTheMarket boss Ian Springett has forecast that the portal will enter 2016 in a strong position, “intent on overtaking Zoopla” in terms of available listings.

He added: “From that point, we believe that agent momentum will snowball.”

Yesterday’s breaking news story from EYE about OTM’s growth was picked up quickly by analysts at BNP Exane Paribas which sent out an investor note quoting Property Industry Eye.

The note told investors:

“The update is supportive of our anti-consensual view that:

1) Zoopla membership growth since April reflects market growth rather than market share gains from AM

2) Agents’ Mutual is here to stay and

3) AM brings an additional tail risk to Zoopla that it may take another tranche of Zoopla members through its Letter of Intent strategy.”

The firm rates Zoopla as an underperform and Rightmove as a ‘key pick’.

However, Credit Suisse sent out a note to investors yesterday suggesting it was unimpressed by OTM’s update, although conceding that OTM had continued to recruit contracted members at the rate of 50 per month.

Its note said: “We believe it shows that growth in contractual membership has all but dried up. In March 2015 the site had 5,000 members – meaning the group has added 400 contractual members in around eight months.”

It thought that “net movement of agents” between Zoopla and OTM was now likely to be “flat”.

Zoopla is to announce its full-year results for the year to the end of September on December 2.

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33 Comments

  1. GPL

    2016 will be another Tipping Point in the sense that OTM will, for The Duopoly, still be standing!….. despite all the doom & duopoly gloom!

    OnTheMarket.com just won’t go away!

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  2. danny

    How long before Ian tries to get those who signed a letter of ontent to commit , watch their space for the “I know I said 6000 but we’ve miscounted ,it’s was actually 7500 , we found a load of ofrms down the back of the couch “my personal view is those friends I have who joined are year members and every one is planning to exit in Jan . Surely Springett won’t try to convince those who have signed a letter of intent that the did 600 in 4 months ish and then did 2000 in December . Personally my view is they never get to 7500, Springett comes out and says early Jan that over the Christmas break Santa delivered him 2000 more letters, watch this space

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  3. I want to believe

    It will be interesting to see Zoopla’s figures when they are published. If Springett’s figures are as accurate as forecast maybe, just maybe OTM will get the membership it needs to continue to grow. Not quite ‘make or break’ time but as a certain Scottish gentleman once said it’s ‘squeeky bum time’.

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  4. GPL

    Morning danny…. another day….. and you wake up to OTM still here….. go to a dark room, close your eyes and clear your mind….. that might help a little.

    Have an OTM free weekend!

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    1. Simon Chan

      Is GPL Ian’s girlfriend?

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      1. HarryN

        Simon, even I think that’s a bit immature.

        GPL – this thing has had the best part of £20m pumped into it with £12m (according to Ian) planned on marketing alone next year. Of course its still standing!

        The real point though is whether it is delivering, and the vast majority of people I have spoken to about it will publicly say its doing OK but privately say its a ****** disaster.

        How long is it until the public facade melts away to be replaced by frustration and action – against – a project that started so well but has failed miserably this year.

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        1. GPL

          HarryN….. I can honestly say, from my perspective (which is less forgiving than many would think!) and local OTM Members….. it has performed pretty much as expected….. we never saw it blitzing The Duopoly…. we envisaged growth…. and it is! It’s for the mid/long term… if you want shareholder profits then buy Rightmove….. although seems to me to be time to sell/cash in Rightmove shares….. however I’m only an Estate Agent, not a StockmarketGazer.

          I have already seen OTM moving thru a number of Tipping Points and they continue forward….. it’s uphill however no one can deny that OTM continues to grow!

          OTM is No Crowdfunding Boom/Bust Profit Portal….. it has a completely different objective.

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          1. HarryN

            GPL – it is crowdfunded (you are one of the crowdfunders) and it will be boom/bust (Boom happened in run up and to launch, we’re still in the honeymoon period, and next year the bust starts happening).

            Give it a year.

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      2. GPL

        Simon….. pop up to Glasgow…. my home town…. I’ll show you a good time The Glasgow Way!   Look up Glasgow Kiss!

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        1. NewsBoy

          Come on boys.  OTM was never really expected to start delivering for another 12 months. Hoopla has managed to survive very well so far but has to be a sell, sell, sell!

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  5. JC7

    More propaganda, the reality is that OTM is nowhere near Zoopla. If you search London on both websites, OTM shows 1,004 and Zoopla shows 10,020.

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    1. M Barnard

      OTM overtook Z in terms of stock in Grimsby & Lincoln on it’s launch day in January.

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      1. JC7

        Haha brilliant – So OTM had 3 versus Zoopla’s 2?

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        1. wilko

          JC7….How on earth is reporting on 2 analysts’ latest notes to investors “propaganda”?????? Especially when one plays down the threat of OTM.?. Did you read the article or jump straight on todays anti bandwagon?

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        2. M Barnard

          JC7 – not quite. Today’s figures are…

          Grimsby: OTM 542 properties, Z 328 properties

          Lincoln: OTM 490 properties, Z 428 properties

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          1. Robert May

            Purely out of interest  MB what are the numbers for North Devon?

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            1. Robert May

              Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Ilfracombe, SouthMolton

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              1. M Barnard

                Barnstaple: OTM 158, Z 56

                Bideford: OTM 81, Z 105

                Braunton: OTM 58, Z 13

                Ilfracombe: OTM 91, Z 37

                South Molton: OTM 30, Z 19

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                1. Robert May

                  Thank you MB, so 2/3rd – 1/3rd in favour of OTM

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  6. Gump

    OnTheMarket says agent support will snowball once it overtakes Zoopla listings
    How can they possibly say that? Crystal ball perhaps or a time machine (I am still waiting for contact from any EYE member that has one)

    Utter rubbish, once I overtake all the agents in my town I will get every house available to sell and let. The key word is once, and from that joke of a statement they issued yesterday once is not happening anytime soon

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  7. Fencesitter

    Gump – well said, sir! But then, sadly, PIE has long-since abandoned any pretence of being even-handed in their reporting of this issue. Interestingly, when I attempted to re-register for the newsletter, having inexplicably failed to receive the last few issues automatically, the first thing I was presented with was…a form suggesting I might like to register for more information about Agents Mutual!! Not so much hand in glove; more, hand in IS’s trouser pocket…?

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    1. Nick Salmon, M.D. Property Industry Eye

      Fencesitter. We have absolutely no knowledge of what you are talking about. Please send me a screenshot of what you are alleging concerning the registration form. There is nothing we are aware of that has any connection to Agents Mutual. nick@propertyindustryeye.com

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      1. Fencesitter

        Hi Nick  I must confess, I tried it again and this time it didn’t work. However, it definitely did before – I clicked on the Sign Up button and was immediately presented with the registration form that you get if you click on the OTM ad considerably further up the page. Clearly a one-off glitch – so I unreservedly withdraw that part of my comment. Nevertheless, that doesn’t alter my fundamental view that PIE seems to have lost any sense of editorial balance where OTM is concerned. While Springett’s unsupported opinions are presented word for word as Stop Press News, instead of opinion pieces  – and with very little attempt to garner an alternative view – he always seems to be invited to respond to anything Zoopla says. It’s a shame. You expect advertising to call the tune at EAT – so you automatically discount much of what they say. It’s disappointing to find that you have to do the same with PIE – at least, as far as OTM is concerned.

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        1. Nick Salmon, M.D. Property Industry Eye

          Seems like a very odd glitch indeed, coinciding as it does with your decision to post some pretty derogatory comments about EYE and its journalism, so I would be very interested to hear if anyone else has come across it. Readers, please do let me know.

          As for your insinuations concerning EYE’s relationship and reporting of OTM/AM, our position was definitively set out by me in a posting on this story and nothing has altered since then: http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/onthemarket-looking-solid-says-city-analyst-but-possible-risk-for-zoopla/

           

           

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          1. Robert May

            If what Fencesitter says is true it will be sat there in his  internet history,  depending on which browser was being used at the time determines how it is accessed. It is very unlikely even with the usual history clean up routines the file/page will have  been deleted. Suggest using Teamviewer to go and have a look given the seriousness of the allegation.

            I have just registered my accounts after replacing a PC, I saw nothing of the sort.

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          2. Fencesitter

            “Seems like a very odd glitch indeed, coinciding as it does with your decision to post, etc, etc…” No coincidence at all. In fact, it was precisely because this happened that I decided to comment.

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        2. wilko

          Fencesitter ; “I tried it again and this time it didn’t work. However, it definitely did before “…….honest guv, I swear it happened, I wasn’t seeing things.!!!!! “Clearly a one off glitch”……..Is it possible to have a “one of glitch” of this nature Nick?……

          For those that hat hadn’t worked  out that you sensationalise the truth to your own ends, this certainly should provide the proof.

          You couldn’t of even read the whole article which essentially reports BNP E P and Credit Suisse take on how they see things……Credit Suissse said they were “unimpressed,” and felt OTM was “flat”…..If there was a bias then why print that?

          Also why print the “Zoopla Special Agent” story which presented all the new features Zoopla had to offer agents????

          I suggest you now seriously consider going to Specsavers or have a think about whether you want to continue posting, or even reading, this publication if you feel this way…..

          ….Especially bearing in mind you can’t be taken seriously having tried to post about a fictional attempt by PIE to force you to look at an advert on their subscription page.

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  8. GPL

    It’s funny Fencesitter….. you only want to play if its a Duopoly Ball?!

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    1. wilko

      GPL I think your earlier point is the main one as we come to the end of year 1.

      OTM still here with its’ contracted members still intact and fully behind the 5 year objective.

      Most detractors simply don’t understand the objective……or have a personal interest in duopoly shares, or aren’t allowed on OTM or have personal issues with individuals who run it. Always was, and always will be that way.

      The facts show that there is easily enough interest (contracted and letters of intent) in the objectives of the portal from pro agents and as time moves on I’m sure that interest will begin to actually back the portal.

      This is what makes the detractors post the same old irrelevant nonsense each week on here-they know it’s not going away, and they have run out of new ideas to bad mouth the project .

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  9. Fencesitter

    To characterise the fact that OTM is “still here” after 11 months as some sort of victory – when this is an outfit that claimed it would be Number 2 virtually within a year – is, by any yardstick, pretty desperate stuff.

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    1. Paul House

      It is a victory when you consider that some said are still claiming that it would be only a “short term event”.

      It is till claiming to be number 2 within a year isn’t it?

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    2. wilko

      Fencesitter ; ” is, by any yardstick, pretty desperate stuff.”……I think that your frustration that OTM is doing well is now reflecting in your posts which are definitely “pretty desparate stuff”….

      Sign up to OTM now Fencesitter, Join Us, don’t fight it anymore, you know it makes sense, call AM now, a councillor is ready to take your call.

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      1. wilko

        I’m really sorry for the earlier post not believing that there was a glitch and PIE are sending messages through their publication to get people to contact AM. I can see that a glitch has just come up in my latest reply to you.

        Please accept my apologies and Nick , can you look at this glitch, it clearly isn’t a one off and directed at Fencesitter.

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