OnTheMarket is to go live on January 26.
The launch will be supported by a big national media campaign, including television adverts, currently in production. These will be aired nationally on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and other satellite channels.
There will also be a high-profile press campaign which will include The Times, Telegraph, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Country Life, Evening Standard, Scotsman and Glasgow Herald.
Other launch marketing will include agents’ branding on their marketing material, plus a co-branded email campaign to the databases of all Agents’ Mutual member firms.
Email templates and promotional leaflets will be provided to agents.
A series of meetings has also been announced, taking place across the UK between December 8 and 11, with invitations going out this week.
These meetings will give agents the chance to see, pre-launch, what OnTheMarket.com will look like. Agents will also be sent a pack of branded materials.
Chief executive Ian Springett said: “It is the outstanding support from agents which has put us in such a strong position for launch.
“We are as confident as ever that we are on track to deliver together a high-impact market entry.”
He also warned agents to manage their other portal contracts.
Comments (87)
Right, let's blow the knackers off this old hound and while we are at it knock all this cobblers on the head about not being on this portal or the other. So, two EA businesses that have changed hands for quite a lot of money and have pretty strong market share, are know to be a bit savvy and know more than most………..what do Romans (19 offices for £50m?) and Foxtons (20 odd offices for a billion quid or whatever it was) have in common? Neither are on Zoopla. So if you are a puffed up angry budget agent, an arm chair property smart ar53 or one of these odd little wet ends that thinks that if their competition isn't on Z they can have them over on instructions then you are either a daft little berk, ill informed and should find a forum full of equally dull IT bores or a sexless nylon suit wearing under achieving mug – Jonnie
so by 25th January 2016 (yes sixteen) you will know if the site works or not. Best of luck to everyone involved, you're going to need it
"MEN! Fifty of you are leaving on a mission. Twenty-five of you ain't coming back."
Rightmove's adverts are directed at their clients – the agents. They want vendors to use a RM agent they want the vendors to ask their agent to spend more money promoting their property. RM dont care one little bit about their clients their greed has given them tunnel vision. It will take OTM a while but bit by bit they will destroy RM!
They have a lot of products to support brand marketing, not just those focussed on vendors. I am on a waiting list for some! I think there are massive opportunities to promote my company online through these portals, I don't feel in a corner over it. Just seems silly to not offer the same option on OTM to me. I use the current two to attract vendors and landlords as much as advertise individual properties. Not sure on balance I would be happy with the compromise offered by OTM. Dunno
This is embarrassing.
Do you not see how this is going to go? Already negative articles are creeping into the consumer press & of course the message is 'greedy agents are up to it again'.
We will be reading very negative headlines about OnTheMarket once it launches – I wonder who will be so openly supporting it then…
Sorry, I'm not sure I understand your point? Are you referring to my questions? Sorry if so, I though here we could have a secure discussion about this stuff. If we are going to invest in this, we need to ensure it is sustainable and will serve our needs without us pretending that we work in a cooperative, not for profit sector.
As a new player (in SE London) I am really interested to know how OTM will allow me to differentiate from more established, big brand players.
Will I be able to pay for upgrades to my listings, to get my brand seen by more people on the OTM website? Do you know if they are working on Apps? In my neck of the woods, it seems everyone runs their entire life on their Mobile. Any insights appreciated……
Give them a call. But for starters they will not even have a back office system such as RM plus for AT LEAST 6 months after launch so I would not expect apps or so for AT LEAST a year
To smile please…I was told at a recent AM meeting that there will be a state of the art APP in place as well as a back end service similar to both rightmove plus and Zoopla pro and all ready and in place for the launch in January.
Okay, thanks guys. That sounds encouraging. I'll contact them to find out more.
I would check that out Paul H as I was advised different.
I'm sure you should be able to find this out if you go along to the regionalised meetings between the 8th-11th December.
Hi Ian, I had an OTM representative visit my office and I expressed these exact concerns. We all get the idea that OTM is aimed at giving more control to agents and above all, saving money but what I said to the rep is that I don't JUST want to save money, if anything we want to pay more in order to set ourselves aside from other agents – unfortunately she stated that OTM won't offer anything that sets you aside from another agent such as premium listings, valuation alerts, local homepage ads etc
Sounds a shame, selfishly for me anyway. I really need to grow awareness of our brand to keep getting instructions. Without something that I can pay for/invest in, I hope it won't be too hard to stand out against the big boys. Surely this will become a bigger deal over time, I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't be interested to take business away from some others (no names mentioned obviously). Thanks a lot.
It astonishes me that any real agent would have a single negative thing to say – anyone who has built a business ( I've been in this for 11 years) did not start their business knowing 100% it would be a success, It was tough, especially through 2013-14 but we are here and we are surviving and its time to put that faith into a new business – our business. I don't know about the rest of the UK,but their account lassie operating in the bonnie banks is dynamite and I trust they have folk just like her behind the scenes.And for the record I am keeping WMve – Its a short term pain for a long term gain and its only a matter of time before we say cheerio Jo! OTM2015!!
Don't make me laugh and don't take offense over that, but if this is right … "Google's keyword tool shows 9,140,000 and 3,350,000 average MONTHLY searches BY NAME for RM and Z respectively" is a joke. My agency gets 250,000 hits alone every month according to RM, so it must be that only a another handful of agents are getting leads from them …. err, now who's not been telling the truth and how effective they really are? I know where I have always been pointing a finger. As for the public, they will move to who ever the agents tell them to move to. That is how RM and Z have been able to get to where they are today. Bring it on AM and watch the stock market jitters on RM & Z share prices. It won't be long before only AM will be the web site to go to and no sensible agent would need to be on any other site! They took us for granted and robbed us, now the sleeping lions are showing their teeth.
"Bring it on AM and watch the stock market jitters on RM & Z share prices."…Perhaps it's a coincidence that today Rightmove are down 1.8% and Zoopla down 2.7% and now at it's lowest ever share price of £193.50. It will be interesting to see the share price in January!
Coincidence market is cooling especially in the city? – I honestly admire how OTM has marketed themselves to a number of agents that are convinced they are our saviour. I want them to succeed but guys please pinch yourselves and think about some of the claims and expectation you are all making.
Come on Russ the three keys to holding a grudge are betrayal, **** and vengeance and dude, you just aint playing it right so quit trying to spoil the prom. Me, I’d rather they launched as soon as today but hey my closet agoraphobia has got me sleeping till noon and pointing at the ceiling a lot so what do I know. The mechanics of this relationship had AM all dilatory but way to finally get to first base guys and if we park our proclivity for doom, I figure next year should tighten up those six degrees of separation.
Ever since we have been on with Zpla we have little or no contact with them. Until last week when, a rather awkward chap bounced into my office, smelling of smoke, no tie on and a very overly strong hand shake!
His opening line was "I see that you are not currently advertising with Zpla at the moment and I'm here to find our why!" I pointed out that I have two offices both advertising with them, he checked his list and realised he was wrong. After that embracement, I asked if he was busy trying to keep all the members that would be leaving to go to OTM, he spoke very loudly about how confident he was that it would only be a few months before said agents would all be coming back with tails between their legs!! I did not reveal how heavily invested I am in OTM as I wanted to see just what lengths ZPL would go to and try to keep my business. He confirmed that we only have to give them one months notice and that he would be calling me the very next day to book an appointment to show me all the new products on offer and how OTM would be a "fools" choice, I have yet to hear anything further from him. If this is the quality of the ZPL representatives then I think Zoopla will take themselves out of the market in no time at all. My dealings with OTM have been professional, informative and I feel valued as a member. Ian Springett and his team have always been available to take my calls and have kept us up to date on the developments since its conception. We are excited about the launch date and can't wait to see the advertising campaign. Good luck to everyone involved.
I guess this is very much what area you are based, I found the exact opposite. Zoopla are aware of the threat but were professional about it, OTM was like a used car sales man and RM was just very sure of themselves but professional. I as with anything these days in sales its a peoples business. The local agents to me are dropping Z but I wanted to drop RM so for the time I will sit on the fence!
dave_d … I have recorded all of the buyer enquiries received from RM and Z since January this year deliberately so that I could make a reasoned unprejudiced decision on dropping Z for OTM (no way would I consider dropping RM) … To my surprise, 62% of buyer enquiries come RM and 38% from Z, I had expected the Z figure to be far lower … In addition, we asked buyers "is this the only property site you use" … 36% of Z enquirers say Z is the only site they use.
This is the dilemma.. Rightmove have a better market share compared to Zoopla BUT you end up paying extra because of that. We have never, ever advertised on Rightmove which has probably hurt us over the years because we hate their "you must pay this" or "we are increasing your fee and you should pay this" attitude. Do we stick with Zoopla and OTM, even though we believe Zoopla is going to loose out in all this bigger, or do we bite the bullet and switch to Rightmove and OTM and take it on the chin or see whether Rightmove adjust their pricing. The latter of which I don't see happening as they probably fully expect to be used alongside OTM by the majority of agents.
Hi James – yes it is a dilemma which has now come to a focus – the time to decide has arrived and for our part, we have decided to drop RM despite their larger market share. The reason for this decision is that we receive 80% of our new client leads from recommendation – always the best source – and our reliance on RM and Z for client leads is minimal. We do need the internet to market their properties but we believe the leads generated from our town centre location, our own web-site, from Z and now from OTM combined will allow us to seamlessly continue to do our job. We are confident that within 4 months OTM will be well-known enough to drive at least as many leads to us as Z – perhaps more. Before anyone asks, we have never made any commitment to any of our clients that we will advertise on any particular web-site or portal so that's not an issue. If OTM is as good as it is shaping up to be the rest of our local competitors will be queueing up to follow us by the summer 2015. If not, as I said before, at least we did our best to halt the otherwise inevitable domination of the internet by the existing insatiable portals.
Your the same as us pretty much! Just wanted to clarify, your sticking with Zoopla and OTM or just using OTM?
Hi James – yes we are leaving RM and staying with Zoopla and OTM. The savings we can make by dropping RM are enormous and are already earmarked for a much more locally focussed marketing campaign together with upgrades to our web-site which will hopefully raise our internet profile even further. We do not expect to need RM in the future but if all goes pear shaped we are prepared for the consequences….
Nice to see you have done your homework rather than Wilko's "i'm just going to drop them because it's going to happen" arguement. Based on the stats you've found so far, are you still going to be dropping Zoopla this month in preparation for OTM in Jan? Losing 38% of your enquiries with no gain is surely a risky decision to take?
This really is a mute point that has already been debated to death – Those 38% of leads that currently come through Z will simply find the property though another means be that RM, OTM, walking down a high street etc. Any committed buyer and tenant will make sure to find every available property on the market at the time of looking.
Paul ,the other very real option is that they a property from a rival agent as they only look at Zoopla,or through Rm if you drop them, lets just gloss over that though …its inconvenient
Nonsense Danny, if your a committed buyer or tenant you will look everywhere to ensure you've seen the whole of the market before commiting to offer on a property. It will hardly affect someone's life if they have to spend an extra 5-10 minutes on google until they find OntheMarket. In any case some agents currently only use either RM or Z and it doesn't affect them at all in fact some are market leaders and only use one main portal.
And I would add to that Danny by saying if your business relies on the leads from both RM and Z to sell houses then you may as well see if PB or Emoove will give you a franchise!
If a shop has half empty shelves it doesn't take long for the public to start shopping next door. There's never much doing in December wherever we advertise.
I've read a lot of "the public will do this " , "the public will do that " , truth is I suspect a lot of my fellow agents haven't asked "the public" , we will get an answer on what "the public" will do very soon
This is shaping up to the most eagerly awaited launch in the estate agency industry just after the launch of HIPS ;-). There will be a huge fanfare caused by all participating agents along with a huge chunk of the £15m marketing budget that will no doubt be spent in the first few months. I saw an interesting post from someone on another site yesterday who asked what vendors and landlords are going to think in January when they see many reputable and long established leading agents in an area holding a huge majority of the stock on this new site. They are going to wonder why the smaller agents are not on it. It is indeed a fair point and I think it now fair to summise that not going on to OnTheMarket is going to seriously leave many agents in some areas behind and affect their chances on a valuation.
Are you serious? Can you imagine the conversation 'Why aren't you with OTM'
'Who'?' 'OTM, another agent told me all the good agents round here are with them, why aren't you'? 'Oh OTM, yes of course, please, let me explain, first may I ask if you are familiar with the term 'Cartel'? ………….
I am totally serious. In many areas it is the leading agents/the big brands that have signed up to OnTheMarket. So Mr Vendor/landlord invites round 4 agents, 2 are OnTheMarket agents that have big market share and explain where they advertise, the two lesser companies with hardly any market share and who are less established come round and tell the vendor/landlord where they advertise. Are you seriously telling me that the customer is not going to ask the lesser companies why the big 2 are on and the smaller companies are not?!
Take also in to account that in January/February there is going to be a massive tv and press campaign with all agents co branding and pushing with all their might. Of course the customer is going to trust the bigger and more established agents judgement over a smaller agent. I appreciate that this may not be the case for every area but in many areas this will be the case in January.
How about South Shields where agents with 87% of listings are OntheMarket, it's going to look even more odd that those agents with only 18% of listings are not on board.
"Cartel" will not even be used by any of the agents for risk of looking even more silly on the val.
This is what OTM is up against … Google's keyword tool shows 9,140,000 and 3,350,000 average MONTHLY searches BY NAME for RM and Z respectively…. These figures aren't people 'stumbling across' RM and Z they are from buyers/sellers who habitually type 'rightmove' or 'zoopla' … Take note of that Z figure – 3,350,000 direct searches by name a month – and I can tell you that is only for the exact search word 'zoopla' – add in those who search for 'zoopla estate agents' 'zoopla estate agents in X town' 'properties for sale in X town on zoopla' etc., etc., and there with be 100s of 1000s more. And some of these buyers ONLY search on Z – and that's a fact … And yet, the majority of AM agents will drop Z for the unknown, untested OTM and deny their clients property exposure to guaranteed 'eyeballs' purely and simply to save a couple of hundred quid per month per branch … This is a massive gamble not at AM agents potential expense but at the potential expense of their clients … and don't be surprised if they start banging on your door for an explanation once they realize what you have done … And remember, the visitor figures I have quoted are Google's monthly search figures NOT figures issued by RM or Z.
Very impressive, can you tell us how many of those searches go on to buy? Once you've done that, would you then like to tell me where either Rm and Z were involved in the deal Ive just done on Mr & Mrs Jones' house which I sold to Mr & Mrs Smith who have just sold through me to Mr Nubuyer, who lives with his parents and called me when the For Sale board went up?
@ CP I have just read this (twice) and can't help thinking "so what?" And as for the comment "(join OTM)at the potential expense of their clients" what about the potential expense to clients of online agents/agents not on OTM who won't have their properties on OTM-their properties WON'T be seen on the new site…but I'm not banging on about potential expense of their clients who stay on the duopoly!!. Like I said earlier these sorts of post sound both old-fashioned and not without a strong whiff of sour grapes…..for whatever reason these posts continue…… it sure as hell isn't out of care or worry of our sellers!
Not sure if serious.. Your comparing search word results for two well known property portals to a property portal that isn't listed yet.
I thought the same…… a few times this has been done. Some people seem to think the world as we know it now will be the same forever more with no new business or portal in the world ever topping what we have now. Hilarious really!
Just 'feel' all this positive energy – energy that will be spilling out of agents' offices up and down the country come January! I doubt the public will have ever experienced so much positive energy toward a property portal before. Wonderful news!!!
Obviously everyone who's signed up to OTM has done their research so may I ask, what percentage of lets/sales are converting into instructions/lets between Rightove and Zoopla?
dave_d. I assume you are not an estate agent, but if you have a question would you like to rephrase it as lets/sales converting to instructions, makes no sense.
I'll try rephrase..
In your business what percentage of instructions in sales are Rightmove and what percentage are Zoopla? – likewise for lettings.
I.e. of all the business you generate through portals(actual conversions), what percentage is RM and what percentage is Z?
40% of our sales and lets have come directly from web enquiries, or at least the buyer has been introduced to us at some point via RM or Z. Of those it's 70/30 in favour of RM.
Again are you asking what valuation leads come from RM and Z that convert into instructions? because of course not everyone pays for that service with either company.
"Obviously everyone who's signed up to OTM has done their research" I didn't do any research because I know that the sellers rate Rightmove higher than Zoopla…..and one of them had to go to make way for OTM….simple as that.
It's difficult to explain but I guess what I'm getting at is, how much of your businesses revenue comes from RM and how much from Zoopla as a percentage? Where did the buyer start their search, where did the person to LET the property start their search? If estate agents are going to drop one portal then they must have an idea of how much that portal contributes to their business?
@dave_d In truth…a really good agent doesn't depend on RM/Zoop for leads. Therefore it is a total irrelevance. As long as sellers see that an agent will advertise their property on the internet then that's it…end of. Those that are totally dependent on RM/zoop for all leads ie online agents are proving this fact as they only have 2% of the market.You really need to not get so wrapped up in this…it sounds like you are more interested in lead generation than service….which is probably why you are so worried.
Wilko – spot on re: relying on leads from RM/Z. Agencies that do will suffer the most in a SHIFT, which has happened, from a sellers market to a buyers one. Self-generated leads (marketing led/prospecting enhanced, with more emphasis on the prospecting the more the market moves to a buyers market) is required to get ahead. As has rightly been stated, it is why onliners have only 2% of the market share and they will suffer the most in the coming sellers market. My 74 year old mum can sell in a sellers market.
…I meant the coming buyers, not sellers market of course!
By the way …cheers for recommending SHIFT the other week….reading at moment…..not long now before I move from "average"! Beginning to increase the things I don't like doing. Obvious, but pays dividends. Cheers again.
Well dave, I'm sure you will either get answers or be ignored, however its not a simple question to answer. Its easier to perhaps compare it with the online only agents who JUST advertise with the portals. They achieve on average, in the south of england, a rate of 38% of their properties going under offer. Most high street estate agents in the same area will achieve a conversation on say 88%, so on that basis you could say that less than half of an offices sales do come from RM or Z. But its not clearly defined because the pro portal people would argue, even if they are on an agents mailing list, did the applicants originally come through RM or Z. The purists of course would argue that of that 38% that enquire via the portal how many of those in fact saw a board, or found the property some other way. If your point was that without either RM or Z an agent might lose business, then I think you are going to struggle to make a conclusive arguement either way!
Don't worry, you will be welcomed whenever you feel it is right for you….For me and my group? We are committed to making the most of OTM (paired with RM) before it becomes "the norm" ….sellers will love the newness of the site coupled with the security of Rightmove. Beauty is that, initially, we will be one of only a handful who can offer this exclusively in our areas. Can't wait.
Sorry comment @ Phoenix…..and anyone else that will be considering OTM in the new year.
Yep same for us Wilko….. looking forward to leaving the corps even further behind as they try desperately to defend RM and Z.
A warm response after a bit of a battering above. Much appreciated and, as I have now subsequently said, I'm on board.
That's blown most of the budget in one foul swoop then. What happens in 3 months time when the public are telling me they've never heard of it! The thing with advertising is a constant drip as it needs to be a brain washing exercise to make it a household name and unfortunately that costs millions. Zoopla spend well over £10 million on advertising and have done for the last 3 or 4 years and yet still only have 21% of the market share. Get real guys and think about what the public (your customers!) want and what is best for them when selling their home.
The survey that is going to be carried out this afternoon is pointless as so few agents actually look at PIE.
The delayed launch will give some, like me, more time to consider the options having, as a silver member, decided over the last week to hold fire as a result of the lack of education of the market. IF the advertising steps up and awareness gets off the ground it will, quite rightly, give me and others something to think about. I really hope it kicks off with a bang as the opportunity to break the duopoly is one that shouldn't be missed. I just feel that the ball has been dropped up to this point when it comes to any public awareness.
On the other hand it's better to go big and plaster the brand around everywhere for maximum brand awareness straight off the bat. Personally I think it looks to be a good strategy and to be fair, after the initial announcement, it's up to the agents to carry on spreading the word. Essentially they will be getting free advertising from us. Can't wait, very excited to see what they are coming up with. Biggest problem for us is now deciding what to do with the other portal. Do we stick with Zoopla or drop them and see what offer RM have at the time to try and 'grab agents'
Morning Phoenix, I think the ball has been juggled perfectly! I think: the longer people know about OTM when it has no property the worse it will be!! The impact is when people know about the site and see property or at least do not have to wait that long, AND 26.1.2015 does not seem to far away now……. Just a couple of months and BANG OTM full of property, rather than what could have been a constant bid to keep peoples attention on the basis it was nothing but a name! just my thoughts.
I've now met with my OTM BDM and am firmly back on the fence as one of my main competitors will be joining as soon as their contract is up with Zoopla…I think that I will be taking the plunge with OTM after all and feel better for it.
Can't see the reason for spending money on advertising when.. there is nothing to advertise? It's all very well saying "OnTheMarket is on it's way" but there is nothing to actually show for it apart from a holding page? Agents should be the ones spreading the word out at the moment, asking clients whether they know about it, to keep their eye open for it in January, etc.
Why do you think it needs public awareness at this point. Any would be vendors that had been told earlier wouldn't have seen either a website or had their properties included. Its a fallacy to believe that people even identify with half the estate agents in their town until its time for them to want to move, the only time that matters is when the website has the uploads in place and it launches. If you are part of that then you will be able to go out and tell sellers that you will be listing and uploading, to a new nationally advertised portal, that will put a spotlight on their property at the time it really matters to them!
Are you privy to the accounts and membership information at AM then to know what budget they do or don't have? As for getting real my customers want me to sell and let their home, where I advertise their properties doesn't require me to be on both RM or Z. If yours does then I would suggest you need to take long hard look at your business. That is assuming you are in fact an agent which I doubt.
Many thanks for your concern about my business. It's fine thanks and yes, I am an agent and proud of it. The beauty of this site is healthy debate and most of the posts I have read in the trail are articulate and come from the heart. I've been hammered a bit but, that just goes to show the passion the agents supporting AM have, which can only be a good thing. I proffered an opinion and received enthusiastic responses accordingly. I'll note your comments but am only envious of someone who can apparently win instructions on charm alone, without having to discuss advertising with their clients.
jmeapps01. 16,000 recipients of the daily news email. 12,000+ pageviews a day (and rising). Hot stories with 5,000+ reads. And advertisers who tell us they get great responses. If we have so few agents looking at EYE just think what those numbers could be when the others find us…
jameapps01 – "owned" or "schooled" as my 9 year old boy would say!
To the defence of jmeapps01 he does have a point although maybe a little aggressively. Nick a "hot story" would mean most subscribers or viewers will look at this. Multiple click from posters and readers I would expect the true number of agents subscribing and interacticting (And that is the most important thing not how many email addresses on your database) is approximately 800 -1000 Still a fair number but not a industry majority by any stretch. I do love the content (although slightly bias towards certain subjects / items ) and sure the subscription will grow over time. I know this is your baby Nick but with stats coming out like that you run the risk of sounding like one of those dreadful online agents 😉
Phoenix…Any teaser campaign to the public right now would be a complete waste of money. Better the budget is spent when people actually have something to look at.
#otm26.1.15 EXCITING times ahead!
Launch time has arrived! I acknowledge the many AM Members active/vocal support on here and other forums. Amidst all of this positive support and expected negative response, whether from true objectors or those from RM/Zoop masquerading as agents, AM itself has worked away in the background, avoiding the hype, avoiding the theatrics…… so, I welcome a true competitor launching into the duopoly portal market, supported by real estate agents fed up with being mercilessly milked! We don't expect to be No1 from Day 1, Week 1, Month 1 or Year 1!…… however we do expect to grow and develop and attract more members who see the real benefits of turning away from the profit share portals! Target No 1 achieved….. the duopoly and their sales force said it would never happen?……. Oops!……. it has!
ep…..and what is interesting is how, from a small fraction of supporters on forums like this, in the beginning, the arguments have been had and the support for OTM has grown massively. Many of the doubters have been won round and those who either have their own agendas, are barred, or still think that Zoopla is the answer/future now sound completely out of date and are signing up for their increased rates for 2015, as someone else often says on this forum "BRING IT ON"
I think its a clear definitive announcement mapping out concise advertising strategy and one that I hope the genuine fence sitters (as opposed to the Z reps masquerading as fence sitters) look at and can identify the instruction winning potential, that I believe will be associated with such a high profile launch.
Here here Robin…The only thing that will stop this is Agents ( oh Im too worried about losing a portal – really?!! You can't swap a portal for a fancy new one all over the TV and promoted by every major Agent in the country? I'f you don't back this, we'll be telling the grandkids about the time we almost did something together to stop the £5K month WrngMove and Zpla bill back in the good old days. Its on track, its coming and the opportunity is there so take it! OTM 2015!
Lets not mince words – those of us that have backed this venture have taken a gamble that it will not only bring substantial improvements to the control we have over our own advertising costs, but also hopefully reduce the chance of huge, profit driven portal companies taking our business away from us in the future. These are not the only benefits which might be expected but they are probably the most important. I continue to be extremely happy with my investment and my view is that even if OTM fails completely and I lose my money AT LEAST WE TRIED. However, in the event that this venture succeeds, I know my business will be stronger and better protected in the future and because I know we provide an absolutely top quality service which is NOT profit driven I also know that this is in the long term best interests of my clients. I am looking forward to the launch with great anticipation.
Very nicely put. We are all in this together. Of course it is a very big risk and we have all gone into it expecting to lose our money but hoping that it might, just might work. If we do succeed we, and ALL estate agents, will be much, much better served by a portal acting in our best interest and not taking 70% of income for shareholders.
Well said Robin.
Well said Robin, once OTM has nearly the majority of agents and their properties on board and those agents start to drop both rm and zoopla the public will gradually learn the place to look is OTM. Traditional agents will benefit from paying lower fees to just one portal and also having one vote per company. There won't be the hassle of parasite online pop up agents or private sellers on the portal, thus they will gradually disappear.
I guess this means that 'the 4000' agents that have 'committed' to AM will now be giving notice to either Zoopla or Rightmove to terminate their contracts, if they haven't done so already. How many agents have actually done that I wonder?
Great News. A good start to a long hard slog. Time to can my Zoopla subscription. 🙂
I gave notice (for the end of the year) in august.
We left Zoopla 1st November – Great news!!
Excellent News!