OnTheMarket boss Ian Springett has said that Rightmove is delivering 35% fewer leads per £100 of fees than it did in 2015.

He made the claim yesterday, speaking at the NAEA’s annual conference.

But afterwards, Rightmove said it had deliberately chosen to reduce the number of leads sent to agents, back in 2016, choosing to prioritise quality over volume.

Yesterday, Springett said that OTM has already disrupted the “duopoly” of Zoopla and Rightmove and is on track with agent backing to be able to deliver a genuine alternative.

He claimed that OTM has “dampened down” Zoopla’s price increases and that leads from Rightmove have been falling.

Using Rightmove’s full-year results in 2015, Springett said that Rightmove had provided an average of 210 leads per UK residential office per month.

In 2016 this fell to 195, and in 2017 fell again to 178.

Springett said that in 2015, every £100 spent by agents with Rightmove generated an average of 27.9 leads.

He told delegates that in the first half of 2018 this figure had reduced to an average of 18.1 – a 35% fall. For that period, Rightmove’s average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) was £987 whilst its average costs per advertiser were around £247 – a 75% profit margin.

For Zoopla, its full-year results for 2015 revealed that its leads per UK residential advertiser per month were an average of 136 while its half-year results for 2018 showed this figure had reduced to an average of 92.

Zoopla’s most recently published average revenue per partner was £359.

Springett told delegates: “The willingness of agents to switch away from Zoopla has meant their ability to increase prices has been curtailed.

“Agents have not so far been prepared to switch away from Rightmove which continues to push through substantial annual price increases despite the apparent decline in the value for money it delivers in terms of leads.

“In some cases, agents are paying Rightmove more than they are paying in rent for their office, so we are coming to a crunch point when we believe more and more agents are starting to seriously consider their options.”

Springett pointed to a Liberum report from as far back as April 2016 which stated that: “Rightmove’s Finance Director came in to brief our sales team. Management are fully focused on the current market opportunity where they believe £2,500/Month ARPA is a realistic medium/long term goal.”

Springett went on: “Aiming to increase agent costs to this extent shows that over time, there has been a separation in where the value of portals is created and where the ownership lies.

“Portals are reliant on agents not just for their revenue but also for the content that draws consumers to them.

“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.”

Springett said that OTM has made strides since its launch on the AIM stock market a year ago, with listings now over 80% of Zoopla’s stock, and about 60% of Rightmove’s.

OTM has grown to 12,500 contracted branches and is delivering more than seven times as many leads as a year ago.

He said: “Our progress to date and the encouraging support for an agent-backed portal give us confidence that we can continue to build on this early growth to develop a market-leading agent-backed portal.”

A spokesperson for Rightmove said last night: “Our focus is on delivering quality leads and brand awareness for our customers from the biggest and most engaged home hunting audience.

“In addition, we provide products to help agents win instructions, tools to help their business be more efficient, and training to help them grow their business.

“In 2016 we removed a tool on the site that let home hunters send one speculative enquiry to a number of agents in one go as we had a lot of feedback from agents saying that these leads were poor quality.

“This means that the leads agents receive are more relevant and better quality, as they are sent about a specific property listing.”