An estate agent, whose company stopped using Rightmove in favour of keeping Zoopla under OnTheMarket’s one-other-agent policy, has reported that leads are down as a result, but he remains optimistic.
Head of Residential at Chestertons, Richard Davies, says: “For agents who are using OnTheMarket, it is a case of a bit of pain for future gain. Every month, there is more activity on OnTheMarket and momentum continues to build.
“Also, we have found that our leads from Zoopla have tripled. We think this is partly because a lot of agents came off Zoopla and we are getting the benefit, but also it isn’t just about portals, it’s about the market too.”
Chestertons went against the majority in dropping Rightmove, but Davies says the decision was carefully selected.
For the firm, which has 30 offices in London and 32 internationally, Davies believes it was the right option.
Additionally, Davies criticised letting agents that give the industry a bad name by charging “ridiculous” fees.1
Davies would like to see a fully regulated sector for both sales and letting agents, who should meet minimum standards.
1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/onthemarket-agent-says-theres-a-bit-of-pain-for-long-term-gain/