800 branches quit OnTheMarket since 2015 as ZPG welcomes returnees

ZPG says the number of estate agency branches to have quit OnTheMarket and rejoined Zoopla over the past two years has now exceeded 800. 

A statement from ZPG says that last week alone saw a further 16 agency branches return to ZPG, taking the total to 808.

The statement also includes an extensive quote from Ian Odam, director of Somerset multi-branch agency Jeanes Holland Burnell.

“In January 2015 we decided to join OnTheMarket. After two years of supporting the OTM project, we felt unable to sustain our membership with them any longer as we believed we were missing out by not listing our stock with ZPG” he says.

“In December 2016, we re-listed with ZPG and such has been the response that our offices received as many leads in the first few weeks as we received in the previous six months with OnTheMarket and is on par with the number we receive from Rightmove” he continues.

In last week’s half-year trading statement from ZPG - at that time it said around 750 branches had quit OTM - the portal group led by Alex Chesterman revealed its revenue rose to £117.9m after enjoying record traffic of over 314m visits to the Zoopla and PrimeLocation's websites and apps.

“We will welcome any agent back who is not currently on ZPG and wishes to enjoy the benefits that most of their competitors do. Our agent partners benefit from the most cost-effective brand exposure and lead generation as well as a wide range of tools that allow them to understand their market and customers better and generate additional revenues” says Mark Goddard, ZPG Property Services managing director.

Estate Agent Today asked OnTheMarket for details about how many agency branches now subscribed to it, and asked whether that included all its founding agencies, but a spokeswoman for the portal did not respond.

However, OTM did issue a lengthy statement from chief executive Ian Springett who said: “We do not comment on individual agent relationships but the facts remain the same as they did last week when Zoopla gave a similar update. OnTheMarket continues to have a positive material impact on the property portals landscape. Many thousands of agents switched from Zoopla/Primelocation to join us. Many thousands of agents continue to support the objectives of the business by creating a genuine alternative portal for consumers and agents alike. Many thousands of agents have not returned to ZPG portals with their advertising budgets and their data.”