Independent agents not yet convinced about Boomin

The Federation of Independent Agents says a survey of member agencies suggests only around a fifth per cent would definitely be listing on the Bruce brothers’ new portal, Boomin.

While 18 per cent would definitely list, 50 per cent were still undecided and 32 per cent said a firm No.

The poll was of the federation's 40 agency group members.

"In the wake of yet another new portal being announced recently, I wanted to get a temperature check of sentiment from our independent member agents, particularly with ‘Boomin loom-ing’” says Graham Lock, the FIA founder.

The survey questions included ‘Which portals do you currently list on?’ the result of which was 100 per cent Rightmove, 90 per cent Zoopla, and 64 per cent for each of OnTheMarket and Homesearch.

Some 82 per cent of survey respondents felt that Rightmove still dominated the portal market, although 59 per cent said that they felt they were ‘held hostage’ by the portal giant; 18 per cent thought it provided fair value.

Only 4.5 per cent of respondents felt that Boomin would fundamentally change the portal market landscape; another 18 per cent wished that OnTheMarket could be better at lead generation.

Thirty six per cent of respondents said there were now too many portals in general.

Lock continued: “There’s a feeling that agents want a challenger to Rightmove. This sentiment has been around for some time but as of yet hasn’t really materialised into a portal that agents and the public love as one.”

“Could OnTheMarket come into sharp focus again? I wouldn’t rule it out: their new CEO Jason Tebb is a talented and likeable guy and I still think many agents are willing it to do better” continues Lock.

“It’s clear that Boomin does not have a great deal of support from FIA member agents at this moment in time, it remains to be seen as to whether this changes in the future” says Lock.

“There are currently more than 10 portals for agents and consumers to choose from, I don’t think agents will ever list on more than three or four and I certainly can’t see the general public accessing more than ‘a couple’ when searching for a home.”

Lock concludes: “Searches will always go to the sites with the most stock that’s why the big three have stood the test of time. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Boomin can force their way in. It’s a huge task if our survey is anything to go by.”