OnTheMarket CEO sends letter to member agents

Ian Springett, OnTheMarket's (OTM) CEO, has recently stated that the industry is reaching what he has called a "crunch point."

Writing to OTM’s member agents, he said: “We have already disrupted the duopoly of Rightmove and Zoopla and believe we are reaching a crunch point for agents.”

He said: “It is no surprise that the number of agents listing with Rightmove has started to decline for the first time: down 298 offices year-on-year, with the greatest reduction – 257 offices – in the second half of 2018.”

Springett said that last year, Rightmove’s results showed it had hiked average revenue per advertiser by a further £83 and broken through the £1,000 per month barrier for the first time.

However, he said that for the third year in a row, Rightmove generated fewer leads for its customers – 171 on average per month last year.

He said that Rightmove also reported a further 10% decline in leads this January, which it attributed to “the fall in property transactions as a result of a slightly cooler housing market”.

However, Springett said: “Although NAEA Propertymark is reporting an overall downturn in buyer inquiries in January, we believe that the fall in Rightmove’s lead generation may also result from the substantial growth in leads delivered by OTM.”

He said OTM has increased its lead generation sevenfold since its admission to the stock market in February last year.

Springett’s letter goes on to say that OTM undercuts Rightmove, with fees typically a quarter of the price.

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