Zoopla says that despite the challenges posed to the industry by COVID, the number of agent branches and new homes sites currently subscribed to the portal is up 2% year on year.

The combined agent branch numbers and new homes sites on the portal currently stand at 16,545, with 84% of agents now in long term contracts compared to 23% at the start of the year.

EYE questioned Zoopla about the extraordinary leap in the percentage of agents now in long term contracts – which Zoopla say is defined as 12 months or longer.

A spokesperson told us: “We believe the two free packages we offered agents were the most generous in the market and the feedback we’ve had from agents suggests the offers, plus the service they receive, is a key factor in why more agents are choosing Zoopla.”

As well as the rise in agent numbers, Zoopla announced some other statistics, including:

Sales agreed on Zoopla are up 76% on the five year average

Leads delivered  per agent branch are up 38% since pre-Covid

Demand is up 34% in July 2020 compared to 12 months prior

Listings are making a marked recovery, up 27% since the start of March

Time to sell has reduced by almost two weeks, averaging just 27 days in the period since lockdown, compared to 39 days over the same period in 2019

Time to rent is averaging 18 days, with rents up 1.1% year on year

Andy Marshall, Chief Commercial Officer at Zoopla, said: “Delivering tangible value and exceptional service to our agent and developer partners has always been our priority, and this is clearly resonating. Our growth in customer numbers is outperforming the broader market considerably, despite the 50 day market closure, and we hope this is testament to us doing the right thing by our customers.

“This increase is in marked contrast to one competitor which recently reported declines in agency branches of 3.5%.

“Our £30m investment in the agent and house builder communities back in March, which afforded five to nine months of free portal usage at a time when agents most needed our support, has strengthened our relationships and opened more doors to us than we could have anticipated. Now that the market is rebounding with a genuine underlying strength, free portal usage has helped agents to rebuild their business pipelines, without any costs payable to us.”