With house hunters now plumping for the convenience of searching online across a wide spectrum of property listings on the portals, agents have little alternative but to ensure they market their homes online and that has meant a need to list stock on the major platforms. But that has come at a cost over the years as listing fees have soared.
Some agents have once again been told by Rightmove this week that they face significant hikes in their monthly fees.
EYE has been contacted by several agents who have been told to expect major increases on their existing monthly costs, while the co-founder and sales director of an online agency has taken to Twitter this week claiming that his firm’s Rightmove listing fees are going up by a staggering 60%.
Rightmove acknowledged yesterday that some agents face steep price hikes and said that is possibly because those firms are charged using what they described as ‘Geographical Advertising’.
The Rightmove spokesperson explained: “We use Geographical Advertising for some Rightmove agents, to ensure that all business models are charged consistently and fairly for their advertising.
“For agents who are charged this way we work out how many branches on Rightmove that they pay for by looking at the national average number of available properties that a traditional branch has.
“We review this several times a year and we give agents advance notice of changes that will affect them.
“Agents can manage costs by reviewing their stock and checking that all of their sale or let agreed properties are marked up on Rightmove.
“We’re committed to providing the very best exposure, products and tools to support agents.”
Agents were also told by Zoopla last week to expect significant increases in their monthly fees from early next year, after the property platform unveiled its new ‘vision’, insisting that it is now ‘more than just a portal’.
Comments (18)
Yesterday I was carrying out my annual shredding routine of old invoices and came across 10 year old newspaper invoices. £2500 per month which thankfully I no longer get mugged for. Bottom line is 10 years later my advertising bill is less than it was, for now.
“I was carrying out my annual shredding routine of old invoices and came across 10 year old newspaper invoices.”
Something’s wrong with this sentence.
In other news- day follows night follows day follows night.
Don’t care, not with them and don’t miss them £48,000 is better used on other marketing initiatives, although, we have probably only used half what we saved on getting traction to more eyes on our own website.
Nothing will change until most agents take action and remove themselves from RM, people will go where the properties are advertised so if everyone took decisive action change would happen. That relies on us all (working in a field where we are naturally competitive and wary of one another) taking decisive action.
If you are on there and you stay on there you cannot moan, its that simple, because if you were that cross about it and felt it was that much of an injustice and not worthwhile you’d take decisive action.
Prior to the portals, the bogey men were the newspapers, charging several hundred pounds a page, which appeared for one night, had one photograph and four or five lines of text, which you then repeated the following week. Used to be able to charge them out, to the very appreciative client, and bill them if they had the temerity to withdraw their home from the market. Then came No sale No fee, a dark day indeed I used to sob gently as I drove the Volvo 440 Turbo away from some newly instructed semi detached, with that particular box ticked on the agreement, the world didn’t end and I managed to retire last year after forty five years selling. Best staff, best and most accurate valuers, caring management and you will survive, but paying several portals all at the same time seems like madness, back in 1975 we would have never contemplated using three/four newspapers.Have a good new year.
yes but the papers didnt reduce our companies down to a logo.
the real money is made on the add ons, banners . featured property etc.
If your not paying out 2.5k a month to rightmove your brand is dying every day.
and the chap sittin in is mums lounge selling houses is making more profit by dillluting honest agents.
“the co-founder and sales director of an online agency has taken to Twitter this week claiming that his firm’s Rightmove listing fees are going up by a staggering 60%.”
Yes – poor old Solo Homes – who have had a good old moan that
“we’re hit with a fee hike of just over £1000”
Which, according to my maths, means that they were paying around £1700 previously – so roughly in the ball-park of what a single branch forks out. But this isn’t a ‘single branch’ by any definition. They offer a service covering the whole of England and Wales for starters – putting them in another category for Rightmove charging. And then you have the second deciding factor – they sell themselves as
“A modern estate agency specialising in shared ownership and new build properties.”
Sorry, chaps – but when over 60% of your register has “New Home” stamped on it, you are going to wake thebeast, and the RM bloodhound will know that there’s a juicy premium to be had from gnawing your ankles.
So – welcome to the world that real Estate Agents have had to put up with. But as they charge realistic fees and not just a paltry £499 (plus VAT) portal listing facilitation fee, they are maybe in a better place to bear the costs involved in offering a service,
Unfortnately, that’s what “an unnecessary middle man” (as they choose to describe the profession on their website) has to do – so suck it in, boys.
As the saying goes…
Awww, diddums.
There’s always Boomin 😉
I sense a statement from Bruce brothers is imminent over this.
One of us, one of us! Come to the darkside!
That actually made me laugh! thank you 😀
Happy “National lets get furious at Rightmove and threaten to leave, but never will” Day.
Every year it’s the same, the market drops they explain it’s to recover lost revenue and “marketing initiatives” to generate more leads. The market does well, they explain that it’s to create more “marketing initiatives” to generate more leads.
They put prices up because they can and what are you going to do about it? Nothing, nowt.
It’s as inevitable as the next portal who claims that they will challenge the dominance of Rightmove and only to disappear in a year.
Put simply, you don’t need Rightmove.
Mike,
You’re right you don’t need to be on rightmove but that’s like saying you can advertise in a newsagents window or on Google.
I’m sure your two listings will sell at some point but could you have got more people in front of them and sold them for more?
I’ve been 2 years clean from Rightmove now, saved approx £50k too. Detox now!
Got to keep the shareholders happy – but for how long is the question
And on this basis, for those agents with less than the, “national average number of available properties that a traditional branch has,” the price will come down.
You missed a bit.
National leave Rightmove day. 1st April 2022. Publicise it now. Share this wherever you can.
Because We Can.