OnTheMarket reveals best day yet for traffic and record leads

| Rosalind Renshaw

Zoopla has sailed back into the attack on OnTheMarket, saying that the new portal is seen by sellers and home hunters as unimportant.

It says that agents are largely chosen on the basis of which portals they advertise on, and warns that some could be trying to win instructions “with one arm tied behind their back”.

OnTheMarket has, however, revealed that Tuesday this week was its best ever day for traffic and that last week it delivered the most leads to agents in its less-than-five months history.

According to a new survey conducted by Zoopla of over 4,000 home owners, 89% would expect their properties to be advertised on Rightmove and 88% on Zoopla.

When asked which single website they viewed as most important to be on as part of the agent instruction process, 47% chose Rightmove, 47% chose Zoopla, and just 2% chose OnTheMarket.

Zoopla, which conducted the survey among those registered with it between June 11 and 15, also asked respondents where they looked for property.

Over 90% said they searched primarily through property websites, with 48% saying if they could use only one site it would be Rightmove, 46% opting for Zoopla and less than 1% choosing OnTheMarket.

According to the survey, 91.6% believe that where their agent markets their property is either important or extremely important, 94.2% expect their agent to automatically maximise the marketing exposure of their property and 91.5% would consider switching agents if they found out that was not the case, with a further 6% stating they would look to renegotiate fees as opposed to switching.

By far the largest proportion of respondents (41.5%) stated that the property websites the agent advertises on is the single most important factor in choosing which estate or letting agent to instruct.

In comparison, 21% and 15% stated that fees and valuation respectively were most important and just 2% who said that local newspaper exposure mattered most.

Lawrence Hall of ZPG said: “This latest data shows clearly that home owners expect their properties to be marketed as widely as possible and that agents who choose not to are operating with one arm tied behind their back when trying to win instructions.

“It also shows just how far local print has fallen and property websites have risen in terms of importance with sellers in a relatively short period of time.”

OTM chief executive Ian Springett said: “OTM launched just over four months ago and is continuing to grow in both size and momentum.

“On Tuesday, OTM enjoyed its best ever day for traffic and last week it recorded a record number of leads for our member agents.

“Meanwhile, our highly effective marketing campaign will continue across TV, press and online for the coming months to ensure awareness for the brand continues to increase.

“Last month, Zoopla revealed it had lost 23% of agents between March 2014 and March 2015.

“Less than 10% of our current members have retained Zoopla as their one other portal, so it is clear that Zoopla is losing market share to both OTM and to Rightmove.”

While Rightmove is mentioned in Zoopla’s latest press release, it says it knew nothing about it.

Its own latest statistics show that it received double the number of visits than any other property website, recording 115m visits in its busiest May.

* Rightmove’s staff conference is taking place today and tomorrow. A spokesperson said: “The customer service team will still be answering urgent email enquiries and phone calls from our customers throughout the two days.”

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48 Comments

  1. Robert May
    June 18, 2015 at 07:08

    The inverse proportional rule of agency; The volume of advertising defines the quality of the agency.
    The need to advertise  at all says something, the need to advertise a lot says a lot!

    Report
    1. Robert May
      June 18, 2015 at 07:48

      How about that? Bedroom Billy and his boss are up early this morning!
      I am fairly sure you don’t actually understand what I just posted but thank you for the dislikes.

      Report
      1. Ric
        June 18, 2015 at 08:17

        In fairness I think EYE should add a “Don’t Understand” button for some….. it would save them hitting “Dislike” when they don’t quite follow. PS How did you get on with our conversation?

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        1. Robert May
          June 18, 2015 at 09:47

          They understand only too well!  A dislike is like trying to sandbag a Tsunami; It confirms the problem but does nothing about it!

          Yesterday was too early to check!

          Report
  2. MF
    June 18, 2015 at 07:11

    It says that agents are largely chosen on the basis of which portals they advertise on…..   Really?  I know that’s the market the duopoly have worked hard to create, but I don’t think so – certainly not true for any of my clients.

    As for the quoted statistics; well, you can ‘create’ almost any outcome you want with ‘statistics’.

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    1. RealAgent
      June 18, 2015 at 08:32

      Couldn’t agree more, the statement is complete fantasy. It might be true that sellers assume their property will be on at least one portal but even then very very few mention it and certainly don’t care which.

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      1. smile please
        June 18, 2015 at 08:49

        Agents are chosen on ……… Local presence!

        Portals sometimes help achieve that but still in 2015 the most powerful form of advertising is “Sold Boards”

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  3. IndAgent
    June 18, 2015 at 07:14

    “On Tuesday, OTM enjoyed its best ever day for traffic and last week it recorded a record number of leads for our member agents.

    Come on. You could say this every Tuesday… Where are the numbers? Site visitor wise. Although I had a quick look on Tuesday and that could have made a difference I suppose.

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    1. GuardianIndependentObservor
      June 18, 2015 at 08:21

      I’m very glad to say OTM does use the national lottery to promote its brand

      big mistake we all seen whats been going on VERY BAD PR

       

      , oh if  Z was doing so well why do you need to keep putting out these surveys for your investors ?

      It”s so funny, how rightmove does not even blink at Z commentary circulars, designed for  their stock market investor , it makes z look even more desperate .

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      1. GuardianIndependentObservor
        June 18, 2015 at 08:27

        “OTM does not ” use  the national lottery for commercial gain

        Zoopla and Eat  , I’m absolutely disgusted and appalled at your behavior  …

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    2. JMC
      June 18, 2015 at 10:20

      I asked OTM market about these ‘unique’ visitor figures. I enquired as to whether , although they knew that they were unique on a home  or work computer, they couldn’t say whether these were the same people on tablets, phones or mobile devices.

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  4. BD_IndependentAgent
    June 18, 2015 at 07:20

    “The best day ever in traffic & leads”… But still no numbers from OTM. My guess is 60,000 visits (from Agents) and what…. Maybe 100 leads? That’s probably being generous. But I also remember the OTM PR machine saying traffic was not important. So which is it…?

    Vendors choose me for my local knowledge, market share, and digital marketing coverage; FACT. If you don’t agree marketing a property is important, you’re probably still spending money in print & sponsoring that lovely roundabout!!

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  5. Leeds Agent
    June 18, 2015 at 07:28

    If you conduct a survey with people who are already visiting your website surely the result isn’t entirely reliable?

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    1. Beano
      June 18, 2015 at 11:17

      Why on earth has PIE given this slanted propaganda airtime. Absolutely pointless survey. There was me thinking they had appointed an independant research agency, until I saw the results.

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      1. PeeBee
        June 18, 2015 at 14:00

        Beano – you ask “Why on earth has PIE given this slanted propaganda airtime.”

        Simples – NOT covering it doesn’t make it go away.  This is a news site first and foremost, and Ros has always tried to cover all sides of what is in the news in the years I have followed her.

        She does not go out of her way to deliberately show bias or to create “news” out of thin air or Chinese whispers, as is seen elsewhere.

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  6. Propman
    June 18, 2015 at 07:48

    I can’t be the only one who realises there is a huge skew on the ‘data’ compiled by Zoopla due to the fact the survey was conducted on people signing up to Zoopla?

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    1. M Barnard
      June 18, 2015 at 07:56

      Very true. Interestingly though from a survey undertaken on Zoopla ‘48% saying if they could use only one site it would be Rightmove’. That must be slightly worrying!

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  7. danny
    June 18, 2015 at 07:54

    Numbers please Ian , this is the equivalent of spinning a bad open house ” yes mr vendor , we had tremendous amounts of people through on Saturday ”

    “excellent…. How many”

    “lots and lots of people ”

    “ok… How many exactly ”

    “oh… Hard to keep count really, somewhere between 2 and 18,000 people , but it a was record day for an open house for us ”

    “was it two people ”

    “yes”

     

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    1. GuardianIndependentObservor
      June 18, 2015 at 08:11

      Google Analytic s Internal Data

      some advice ,teams in a rather well known stadium.., perform better than stocks and shares ,well who would have, thought of that

       

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  8. GuardianIndependentObservor
    June 18, 2015 at 07:56

    surveys… flannelists  …

    No FTSE ing about No stock market

    Just onthemarket

    BTW  what has Gareth Helm got to say about all this ?

    I thought he was their head of Z marketing, after leaving money supermarket expert ?

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  9. Ric
    June 18, 2015 at 08:15

    Who cares…… I am getting bored with this now. List list list based on sales sales sales coupled with service service service and you will be fine.

    It just shows how naïve Z are and arrogant perhaps to think a good agent (market leader) would be where they are because of being on Z. (not being on Z helped me win business and be different)

    My company’s area is showing RM no.1 OTM clear No.2 and Z being propped up by LSL and CW agents who have 10% or so of the local market. Good luck with that Z!!

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    1. Ric
      June 18, 2015 at 08:21

      I should add, since January 26th, the Z stock local to us and gap between them and OTM has widened, with OTM agents out listing the Z agents.

      Not because of OTM by the way before anyone thinks that is my suggestion, simply because the stronger agents are more capable of showing clients what works best and that the “internet” oh yeh, we have that also as back up!

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  10. Eastbourne1
    June 18, 2015 at 08:18

    With the current lack of stock, we have also seen an increase to our own website as house seekers are widening their search.

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  11. IndAgent
    June 18, 2015 at 08:24

    I agree that the survey is slightly unfair with the audience they chose but how many serious buyers do you think ONLY look on OTM…. Probably none. Maybe 1%. So that means that asking people who visit Zoopla isn’t such a bad idea as their visitors may have realised the stock numbers are lower and been looking elsewhere, as was predicted. This obviously isn’t happening based on the results for Zoopla and I expect the results would be the same if you asked Rightmove users. After that who do you ask to get a fair sample? Outside the Coop with a clipboard?

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  12. Typhoon
    June 18, 2015 at 08:51

    “Lawrence Hall of ZPG said: “This latest data shows clearly that home owners expect their properties to be marketed as widely as possible and that agents who choose not to are operating with one arm tied behind their back when trying to win instructions.” B0**OCKS. What customers want is their property sold. It may come as a disappointment  to Zoopla but we sell 86% of what put on the market without them. 

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    1. GuardianIndependentObservor
      June 18, 2015 at 11:13

      why is Zoopla saying it is the leading resource ?Look at Property from the UK’s leading market resource    Their  statement on google  search results ,contravenes  ASA advertising standards also . There is the land registry and ONS  UK Gov sites ,as well as a whole multitude of property resources  propertywire propertyweek  inc tabloids etc etc which information can be found they need to change there wording fast. Rightmove does not even purport to be No1 , though its has highest rank in UK.

      Report
      1. GuardianIndependentObservor
        June 18, 2015 at 11:14

        and propertyindustrye  of course .

        Report
  13. GPL
    June 18, 2015 at 08:52

    Dear Zoopla….

    If your Portal was indispensable so many of us wouldn’t have left….. you aren’t….. we did leave…… clients never bothered…… they don’t ask about Zoopla….. it’s the sad reality for you….. you have joined Countrywide on the Toilet Roll shelf!

    ….. and the award for least loved Property Portal goes to…… Zooplaaaaaaaaaa!

    Report
  14. GPL
    June 18, 2015 at 08:59

    Dear Santa….

    I’ve always dreamed of being a grown up portal…. can you make my dream come true?

    Yours hopefully…. Zoopla

     

    Dear Zoopla….

    After this length of time…. whilst you have stood silently in the shadow of Hikemove?

    Here’s a box of Hankies….

    No!

    Yours in reality…. Santa

    Report
  15. Herb
    June 18, 2015 at 09:09

    I know of many agents near me not on OTM who have recently given notice to quit Zoop to join OTM

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  16. fluter
    June 18, 2015 at 09:19

    In my area in South Wales RM are showing 471 sales properties, Z 239 and OTM 190 so all it takes is one of the other agents to drop Z and OTM will be clear No.2. Not bad for 5 months. How does this compare to other areas?

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    1. M Barnard
      June 18, 2015 at 10:12

      Here are the figures in Grimsby:

      Z – 299, OTM 735, RM – 849

      and in Lincoln:

      Z – 420, OTM 525, RM – 980

      Residential sales stock only. Assumes basic search criteria on each site is the same and excludes SSTC.

      Report
  17. HarryN
    June 18, 2015 at 09:24

    Wow – the juices are really flowing.

    In my area, the small number of OTM agents are being demolished by the corporates and smaller indies who stuck away from OTM. You can dangle the fig leaf, but consumers are voting with their feet…

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    1. GPL
      June 18, 2015 at 10:51

      sorry HarryN….. and your area is where?

      Report
    2. Ric
      June 18, 2015 at 13:12

      I assume if the above is true and I have no reason to think otherwise, said OTM agents were already well behind in terms of Market Share.

      If you are saying they were No.1 or No.2 agent and are now No.3 or No.4 and being overtaken by the corporates then that is a different story.

      demolished by the corps – sounds like an area I want to open an office in.

      Report
  18. Paul H
    June 18, 2015 at 10:03

    “It says that agents are largely chosen on the basis of which portals they advertise on”…..There are many differing views on the portal debate but there can’t be many (bonafide) agents that can agree with this comment from Zoopla, as to do so would mean that 1) You rely totally on where you advertise as opposed to service offered, 2) your customer service levels are not important, 3) the fee amount you charge is irrelevant, 4) the average time it takes your firm to sell/let a property is not important, 5) it doesn’t matter how you market property, 6) your rating on the Z100 which shows how socially active you are by posting pictures of yourself outside the local beauty salon, is also not important. And so on……

    If agents are mainly chosen based on which portals they advertise on then surely us OTM agents would have no listings right?

     

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  19. JMC
    June 18, 2015 at 10:21

    Can someone please clarify this ‘first’ and ‘exclusive’ as far as OTM claims. When we put a property on the market (not OTM) it appears on rightmove IMMEDIATELY. No delay, just uploaded and appears. How can OTM claim it is on their website 1st?

    Report
    1. smile please
      June 18, 2015 at 10:30

      You can change your settings where you wish it to show and when.

      Report
      1. GPL
        June 18, 2015 at 10:55

        JMC  Rmove has Live and not Not Live settings (you don’t know this?) …. I have 9 properties sitting Non Live currently and as I complete all the details I require I then opt to feed them first to OnTheMarket and receive enquiries from there first, then I feed onto Rmove.

        Report
  20. wilko
    June 18, 2015 at 10:59

    Our branches will post their best ever sales results this financial year (and we’ve been around a long time.)

    For 6 months or so we haven’t been on Zoopla and we have advertised our stock on onthemarket. We have received leads from OTM and tied up sales/taken instructions as a direct result of advertising there.

    I am not stupid enough to think that it is not down to many accumulative factors and not just OTM / not being on Zoopla but hey, it’s still brilliant news.

    My results are far more important to me than obsessing over numbers of people that have or haven’t looked at OTM yet!

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    1. Ric
      June 18, 2015 at 13:16

      “My results are far more important to me than obsessing over numbers of people that have or haven’t looked at OTM yet”

      Some will never get this clearly.

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      1. Robert May
        June 18, 2015 at 18:04

        Portals are a digital game, numbers matter, Property is a people game, people matter! The digital folk can’t get their head around that fact.

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        1. Paul H
          June 18, 2015 at 20:17

          “Portals are a digital game, numbers matter. Property is a peoples game, people matter! The digital folk can’t get there head around that fact.”

          Either that or they choose to ignore it. A great summary Robert!

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  21. GuardianIndependentObservor
    June 18, 2015 at 11:26

    why is Zoopla saying it is the leading resource ?Look at Property from the UK’s leading market resource   
    Their  statement on google  search results -contravenes  ASA advertising standards also . There is the land registry and ONS  uk gov sites ,as well as a whole multitude of property resources  propertywire propertyweek  inc tabloids etc etc which information can be found they need to change their wording fast.
    Rightmove does not even purport to be No1 , though its has highest rank in UK.

    Report
  22. Paul K
    June 18, 2015 at 12:23

    Is there any point in conducting a survey when you are asking supporters of your cause to belittle the competition. Why not ask a United fan what he thinks of Liverpool next time ! Does’nt the fact that Zoopla in generating such propaganda speak volumes in itself.

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    1. wilko
      June 18, 2015 at 13:08

      “Why not ask a United fan what he thinks of Liverpool next time ! ”

      A united fan would would probably say……”they were world beaters some time back in the days of Dalgleish, Barnes, Rush etc……….but they aren’t much cop nowdays. Liverpool are also responsible for bad “panic” player buys as well.

      mmmmmmm, now Liverpool remind me a bit of a company mentioned in this article???

      Report
      1. smile please
        June 18, 2015 at 14:02

        No they wont, Liverpool have always been c**p or cheats 😉

        Report
      2. fluter
        June 19, 2015 at 10:58

        Surely you meant “not much KOP nowadays?”

        Report
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