Revealed: agents drop Rightmove in favour of OnTheMarket

OnTheMarket has revealed several agents have signed up to the portal on long-term contracts and stopped listing properties on Rightmove.

The agencies include: Albion Sales and Lettings in Northampton, Camerons in Bournemouth, Clintons Management Ltd in Essex, Jungle Property in Somerset and James Pye & Son in Skipton. 

In recent months, several agents have expressed their dismay with Rightmove's price rises as well as reported instances of favourable pricing to corporate agencies or lager franchise businesses.

Several of the agents named by OnTheMarket noted that Rightmove price rises were making their subscription to the largest portal more expensive than their monthly rent for their office, while others said they had been impressed with the number of leads from OnTheMarket.

Aleina Cameron of Camerons, a lettings firm in Bournemouth, says: "I was a customer of Rightmove’s for over 10 years but the price increase of 20%, which put the monthly fee up to £900, was too much so I cancelled." 

"Annually, that’s more than I pay for my office rent, I refuse to be dictated to by Rightmove."

Tom Morgan of Jungle Property, a lettings firm in Somerset, says: "I've chosen to terminate my contract with Rightmove after nine years because of the successive price increases - many of which have been eye-watering and above inflation."

He adds that he believes the market has changed significantly in the last few years and agents no longer view listing on Rightmove as a 'necessity'.

Meanwhile, Kevin Clarke from Clintons Management, based in Ilford, Essex, says: "At the end of February we reviewed all the portals in terms of quality and price of each lead and decided to drop Rightmove in favour of OnTheMarket, alongside another major portal."

"We are now not wasting so much time on leads that don’t answer, don’t call back or don't respond to emails sent. We are talking to people who really want a property and we are performing better than expected."

Paul Schofield of James Pye & Son in Skipton, comments: "We've chosen to sign up to OnTheMarket for 12 months following a free trial and have ended our contract with Rightmove which was charging in excess of £12,000 a year." 

"For us, portals are about value for money and we could no longer justify Rightmove's fees."

Ian Springett, OnTheMarket chief executive, says: "We’re excited to welcome these agents and many others to OnTheMarket on long term contracts following the rapid acceleration of our strategy for an agent-backed portal."

"OnTheMarket aims to put portal ownership into the hands of agents who use it, to undercut Rightmove’s 75% profit margin, to deliver an exceptional user experience for consumers and to generate shareholder value."

OnTheMarket's most recent milestone was the announcement that more than one million people were using its property alert service. However, last week the portal's share price dipped 10% in a day with trading temporarily frozen.