The number of estate agency branches that left Zoopla to join OnTheMarket when it launched in 2015 but have subsequently left OTM to rejoin ZPG has now reached more than 1,000.
Zoopla said yesterday that it now has over 14,750 agency branches.
It claimed that OTM’s branch numbers have fallen from a high of 6,500 to a new low of 5,500 branches.
The most recent agencies to rejoin ZPG include eleven Martin & Co branches, six Hurford Salvi Carr branches in London and five Andrew Milsom branches covering the Thames Valley and Chiltern Hills.
ZPG’s announcement came after it recently signed long-term listing agreements with Countrywide and Connells.
Mark Goddard, managing director of ZPG Property Services, said: “We are continuing to see agencies from around the country rejoining ZPG on a weekly basis as agents increasingly understand that they are at a competitive disadvantage when not partnering with us.”
In September 2014, before OTM’s launch, Zoopla had 16,373 branches listing.
This number fell to 12,902 at OTM’s launch towards the end of January 2015.
OTM implemented a ‘one other portal’ rule at launch, which it still operates today.
Zoopla’s membership figure did not pick up over OTM’s first year of operation – and in fact fell slightly, with 12,841 UK agency offices listing on Zoopla by January 31, 2016.
OTM has recently been quiet on its overall membership number, but has announced a five-year listing deal with the 100-branch Arun Estates group.
This is conditional on OTM’s stock market listing when the ‘one other portal’ rule will be dropped – meaning that Arun currently looks as though it will be the first major agent to be listing on all three major portals.
EYE has approached OTM for comment about Zoopla’s latest claims.
Comments (18)
The one thing OTM did highlight to me was that Zoopla was also of no use particularly. I can understand why you might run with just one portal, but no idea why you’d go back to Z instead of OTM. Some forlorn hope it’ll make the market all better again perhaps?
What On The Market Did Wrong and What We Should Do Next Time
In a nutshell they did what every other would be Rightmove rival has done – waste money trying to get the public to buy in. What they should have done is get every agent on board and get them all to abandon RM & Z at the same time. That move would have generated enough publicity in itself.
Anyway, I believe that OTM will fail and I want this post to be the start of something else. Here’s my suggestion:
I have more resources in this respect than most and my motivation is to crush both RM and Z. I (well the programmers that work for me) will build a portal if there is enough interest. It will probably take me about a year from the word ‘go’ but the time is going to pass anyway.
The portal will be able to receive properties by all the existing feed types as well as manual input, and will give you a free option to replace your existing feed software if you wish.
The portal will accept ALL agents on a level playing field. No ‘premium’ or ‘featured’ this or that, and no excluding the ‘wrong’ type of agent. Just properties for sale and rent.
Each agent will be a shareholder by company and not by branch count. That way ‘John Smith Lettings’ has as much say as a Connells or Countrywide.
Pricing will be per listing per day, with the price decided by the shareholders with a view to deciding whether they just want to cover the bare bones running costs, or amass money for other things.
The company will never go public.
The member agents will agree a date between them to turn off RM and Z and will sign a binding contract to do so. There will be no point agreeing this date until the majority of UK agents are members but this should be achievable given the benefits of eliminating RM and Z and replacing them with something genuinely under agent control.
Thoughts?
It’s an interesting idea and one I have looked at in the ever changing face of the industry. However, as much as Agents want to ‘be in control of their own portal’, I don’t believe they have the collective boldness to push on without RM & Z. The public love and use (pretty much) only those sites, advertising on these gets leads, so agents will continue to pay high fees as they know it’s guaranteed results. Maybe that just works?
I launched mootz.uk a few years ago and it never really stood a chance on the UK market. Even if the offer was:
– Agent ownership and control (Any changes to pricing/strategy/direction are decided by each agency voting).
– Fee to start at £100/month per branch.
Imagine if 5,500 OTM members joined this.. it would be a £500k+ monthly income. If I charged 10% for development and servers, you’re looking at approx £450k/mth advertising/promotion/expansion budget etc. It would take 1-2 years to compete with the RM & Z machines, but imagine if the numbers swelled to 15,000 agents and they all pulled the plug on RM & Z feeds overnight. By that stage, you might even half that fee to £50/mth. You’d have a well known and used, low cost advertising portal, that is controlled and directed by each agency. Okay, numbers are plucked out the sky and off the top of my head, but hey, it’s a thought…? Hang on, wasn’t that what OTM set out to do?!
The point would be to NOT spend any money on advertising to reach the public, but instead get agents to turn off RM and Z. At that point the public will browse the agent owned portal instead.
Did you find agents apathetic to your idea then?
Wow you do want to go for the throat! I think the public would need to be aware and hopefully warm to the website/app before suddenly throwing it out there. RM&Z have spent big on software development to distance themselves from the pack. Premium product with a premium price. An newcomer would need to be edging its way onto the top table before you could pull the plug. Meaning it would need to grow into an established product in its own right.
Of course, an agency opting-in, could in return, include promotion and advertising in their own material/shop which helps reduce costs and champion ‘their’ product. It would still need a hefty advertising budget. The big problem is that it only has a chance to succeed by agents signing up en-mass and buying into the movement. Unless that happens it’ll fall flat. Even to sell it to agents needs large initial investment, then because it’s not a ready made RM they aren’t interested. Again I feel I am describing OTM and if that is going wrong, the next challenger that comes along needs to know why that failed and get it right next time. Meanwhile RM & Z go, “That’s the end of them.. next…?”
AnonymousCoward79
Have we spoken directly before? You may be interested in an idea we have been working on. If you are….you can reach me at the ideas network in@agentV.co.uk
It sounds like this is a site that will contain a load of properties that no-one looks at . You may also have some legal raised eyebrows into signing an agreement with competitors in the same marketplace colluding to all do the same thing at the same time….just saying
Maybe they should concentrate on improving their software side of the business…
Christ no Andy, don’t say that. You’ve ruined my Tuesday.
I might have to do some work then.
See you at Sanjfest!
..
Several years of dedicated work and bucket loads of cash gets you the software they have today.
They were concentrating, just not listening.
Autocorrect changed ….dedicated work…. to ….defecated work….
Maybe autocorrect knows more than I do?
Never seen a company like ZPG more keen to shout to the world how many clients left their business in the first place. Every few months its another case of ‘some of the people who hated us don’t hate us as much but not all of them’.
Their obsession with OTM rivals my obsession with ZPG…..oh god i’m caught in my own circular argument ….. a property Groundhog day …..
Clearly if your business had gained 1000 clients from it’s smaller competitor, you would keep that under raps then… good grief man! And the use of the word obsession, seriously! From what I’ve seen, ZPG have brought more companies this year than they’ve had articles OTM related.
Zoopla… as always, never challenging Rightmove ….destined to settle as the weak challenger!
OTM – ANOTMYMOUS
they keep taking the money and hiding!
Sorry GPL I didn’ t mean to dislike your comment.
Z can make a great business as the No2 and unlike RM they have a strategy to grow outside of pure portal listings. There is no challenger to them and given OTMs complete damp squib of a performance to date, there wont be in the forseeable future.
AgencyInsider – I can take being disliked… because I’m an estate agent.
I’m well documentated on here re my less than positive views of Zoopla, and Rightmove for that matter! …..and OTM? …..don’t get me started on that fiascOTM!
I’ve commented before. I respect Zoopla for diversifying their business albeit by the easier route of acquiring others, however they have a strategy – albeit one where Estate Agents Data/Client stream offer them potentially rich pickings.
It’s strange, all those digi-business feeding off estate agents, and we pay them as well?!
Bonkers Estate Agents – there must be one somewhere, or there will be one registered as a domain very soon no doubt.
I’m off to throw more buckets of Cold Water over any PB Sellers to even the milk pouring numbers!
SPLOSH!!! ….You paid PB a £1000 upfront! Are you MAD?!
It is disappointing to hear the loss of market share by OTM, as it is the agents only chance to protect themselves against rising costs in the future and losing the value of their data on top of it as well. This will be increasingly important with all the challenges that the sales market is going to face in the future and of course the changes to the lettings environment with its costs rising against loss of income streams. Likewise agents investing so heavily in RMV & Z, how many of you are seeing your developer clients saying they will advertise on the portals as well as you…or maybe instead of…joined up thinking is needed especially amongst the corporates to protect themselves. The builders would love to strip the costs of sales down to the bare minimum. There are own goals aplenty dear estate agents! You have been warned again.
There is always a challenge that using a former guru to front up a new business. Do they still have the fire in the belly that made them great once? This is a question of Springett…or did he fall back on his laurels and play at being a city type with an IPO after getting the business off the ground. Has he got anything left after fighting to prove its legal position was sound on the 1 other portal rule…it needs someone to really drive OTM forward. Being an internet business, OTM has the chance especially with all of the bought in investors to be a success, but does that make it complacent now he has share options written into his package. He has an exit strategy, but where is the noise to make the portal a proper number 2 and number 1 in waiting?
The best way to keep RM in check presently is Z- which may be why Countrywide and Connells have signed long-term deals?
Once the OOP rule is removed are prestige agents likely to strike their own deal with Prime Location and Z?
After the very expensive court case, I imagine these agents are in a perfect position to negotiate now?
As a gold member firm, I am very concerned that this OOP Ace is in the hands of too few others?
Shame really as it would not take much to turn this around with a viable strategy that all independent agents may wish to participate in.
The stick never works with independently minded individuals.
Time for the carrot?