Zoopla takes swipe at OnTheMarket's ‘New & Exclusive’ offer

Zoopla has taken a swipe at OnTheMarket by conducting a poll of sellers’ views about having properties listed exclusively on just one portal.

OnTheMarket has made much of its New & Exclusive feature, which allows member agents to list properties for 24 hours before they appear on the rival main portals.

Now Zoopla has conducted a poll suggesting only 19 per cent of people are happy to have their property listed on just a single portal - “with a smaller audience” - for its first 24 hours of marketing.

The study was conducted by 4media Group for Zoopla, and involved 2,000 vendors and house hunters across the UK.

Some 65 per cent of respondents would prefer for their home to be listed on multiple property portals, from day one, to ensure the largest possible audience. Fewer than a fifth (19 per cent) of respondents stated that they would want their agent to list their home "on a single, smaller, portal" for its first 24 hours on the market.

Zoopla’s press release on the subject comes 24 hours before OnTheMarket reveals its trading performance for the past year.

Zoopla adds that its listings have risen by nine per cent year on year, while website visits sat at 58m in May. 

It says that between July 2018 and April 2019, more than 2,000 agency branches have joined Zoopla. 

“These findings are loud and clear, on the whole vendors simply do not want to limit the number of eyeballs that see their properties. Strategies that seek at the start to limit a property’s marketing will prolong the time a property is on the market and limit actual numbers of all-important leads upfront” claims Charlie Bryant, managing director at Zoopla. 

“Properties that languish on the market are also at risk of selling at lower prices. In the current market, sellers cannot afford to miss the boat.” 

An OnTheMarket spokesperson this morning commented: "Agent feedback has been positive with many telling us that close monitoring has revealed the listings attract high quality leads from serious prospective buyers or tenants in the first 24 hours.”