Bank's review says agents may leave OTM but not all will return to Zoopla

A report by Barclays Bank based on a survey of the three major portals and interviews with estate agents shows that nine per cent are considering leaving OnTheMarket with another 35 per cent saying they will review membership. 

Some 56 per cent of agents on the new portal say they are committed to OnTheMarket for the long term.

About 36 per cent of agents questioned say they have had a drop in leads since joining OnTheMarket while 23 per cent say they have had an increase in leads. 

However, Zoopla is not necessarily the big winner as a result of agents leaving OTM according to the Barclays report, which has been sent to its investor service subscribers.

Only 34 per cent of OTM agents say they will definitely return to Zoopla should they leave OTM but 22 per cent are 'unsure', while 17 per cent say 'unlikely' and 27 per cent say 'no'.

The analysis, conducted over the summer by Barclays, involved interviews with 100 estate agents that were OnTheMarket members and 50 agents that were not, as well as analysis by the bank of the three portals themselves.

The bank says the report was prompted by what it calls a "stalemate" between OTM and Zoopla: "OTM has not meaningfully increased its customers since the January launch. And while traffic is ticking up gradually, there is no significant momentum, and it is a very long way behind Zoopla. Equally, there is little immediate sign that agents are intending to leave and the gradient of any Zoopla recovery remains a major question mark."

The report summarises its findings like this: "Our conclusions are: 1) agents leaving OnTheMarket will be a gradual process, 2) by no means will they all come back to Zoopla, and 3) we have even greater confidence in Rightmove's ability to deliver on top-line forecasts." 

Estate Agent Today has asked OnTheMarket, Zoopla and Rightmove for its comments on the report.