Rightmove is launching a new valuation tool to help agents secure future sellers that want an online-first experience to have an estimate of what a home is worth.
Online Agent Valuation enables prospective vendors to send photos and detailed information about their home to selected agents, who can then reply with an initial valuation and begin a conversation.
Rightmove seller insights found that that while many potential sellers want the personal insights and experience of an agent valuation, other prefer to engage digitally first rather than in-person.
Online Agent Valuation joins Rightmove’s Instant Online Valuation and Local Valuation Alert tools, providing future sellers with more choice in how they engage with agents. In turn, agents would get more opportunities to attract future sellers at different stages of the decision-making process.
Curious future home-movers can track and get updates about a property’s value, to decide when the right time to sell is in the future.
Local Valuation Alert connects agents directly with prospective sellers who are ready for an in-person appraisal and want the most comprehensive valuation experience.
Rightmove’s research shows that being responsive and communicating well is the number one reason why homeowners choose an agent when selling, with 97% saying it is ‘essential’ or ‘very important’. With Online Agent Valuation, agents have the opportunity to showcase how responsive they can be from the first interaction.
Christian Balshen, Rightmove’s director of agency partnerships, commented: “Online Agent Valuation is a truly exciting step for the industry and a leap towards the next generation of instruction-winning products for estate agents. Many prospective sellers have told us that they like to communicate digitally first, and this gives our partners a unique opportunity to engage with them in this way.
“Responsiveness came out on top as the most important thing for a potential seller when selecting an agent, and Online Agent Valuation allows our partners to demonstrate this from the outset. With a new addition to our suite of valuation tools, those with a home to sell have even more choice in how to connect with an agent, and agents have more opportunities to win the next instruction.”
I like Rightmove generally. However, this is the worst tool they’ve ever launched. Get three agents to compete with each other on valuations without having the contact details of the seller. Talk about encouraging agents to overvalue homes. Whoever, values the highest is going to get the call which means if it’s not you, you have shot yourself in the foot as the seller is likely to get two other agents round when they decide to go to the market. This just has not been thought through.
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With this tool, Rightmove are clearly demonstrating how out of touch they are with their clients. They’re not thinking about what agents want from them, and instead are evidently providing what they they think we ought to have.
Every single time we’ve had a vendor “want to take their own pics”, they’re unusable because they’re, at best, the wrong orientation, and at worst, terrible angles that show literally nothing. This will be just the same, and we’re expected to take the time to look at these and provide “a valuation” – and if we don’t, we’re branded uninterested in getting the client’s business.
Why not just tie our hands behind our backs and blindfold us whilst we’re at it?
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Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. We’ve just sold my Mum’s apartment with “professional” photography included. from the agent The photos very so very average mine from my iPhone, together with a few still from a video I shot, were way better and sold the home.
Agents just seem to lack flair, and just don’t care enough. Details matter.
Maybe the margins are so tight, corners have been overly cut, but great photos are essential!
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Thanks Rightmove, what a way to cheapen what a good agent does, so now we get to just throw in a high value to compete with other high values based on a couple of pictures and the sellers own opinions…..sort of ignores the fact that a good agent inspects and advises on what the market is interested in. You might as well throw some AI at it, then just email the agent with “I valued this for you at £X, give me more money and I will advise the seller to use you”….or just cut out the middle man.
Seems RM want to generate more revenue, might as well do the job and leave us to do the odd viewing.
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Yet another example of Rightmove biting the hand that feeds them and completely misleading sellers about what a valuation really is. I could be proved wrong but all this will do is give potential clients false expectations, both below and above what is realistic.
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