OnTheMarket has told the City of its aggressive plans to recruit agents and ‘close the inventory gap’ between it and the incumbent portals, particularly Zoopla.
At an investor lunch yesterday, CEO Ian Springett and CFO Clive Beattie outlined their plans.
These include an aggressive recruitment drive of agents in the coming months through a mixture of a free 12-month trial or equity in return for long-term subscriptions.
They are promising “restrained pricing” in comparison with the incumbent portals, especially Rightmove.
Assuming the planned membership growth is achieved, implicitly closing the inventory gap, OTM then plans to aggressively spend on marketing – £50m over two years – to close the traffic gap.
Yesterday’s investor event was hosted by Exane BNP Paribas for OTM to meet investors.
William Packer of Exane said afterwards that he sees OTM’s new push “as potentially disruptive to the competitive equilibrium”.
However he said that Rightmove’s status was a ‘must have’ with vendors and was a key differentiator, liming the competitive threat. He also said that each element of OTM’s plans faces “significant hurdles”, although he added: “We see the potential for OTM’s actions to further pressure ZPG’s portal pricing and marketing spend.”
He went on: “Longer term, we see the key challenge for OTM as converting outsized marketing spend to web traffic market share gains. Market share has historically proven very resilient, especially for Rightmove.
“However we note Cargurus (NR) has meaningfully impacted the US auto classified market through a combination of fremium pricing and savvy marketing.”
Comments (40)
I don’t understand the animosity towards OTM. Is it not a portal that has been set up for estate agents?
Offering a years free trial is a no brainer. We will fully be behind it. I hope that their advertising really works and that through estate agents and good advertising, it will push vendors towards the site.
As we all know, vendors will go where the stock is. If it all can be on OTM then brilliant. RM will have to do something about their ludicrous fees. Every pound spent with RM. 76p goes to RM. Are we happy to continue to feed this cash cow? I know I’m not!
My leads are down with RM over the last 12 months. Yet my core rate goes up over £300???
i ditched Zoopla last year. I’m still receiving calls to take them back. Currently being offered £200 a month for 6 months. Shows how much they undervalue their product. I was paying £550 per month before.
For me , OTM should be backed. Look at the alternative. OTM goes in 12-18 months. RM will be laughing. Our fees will hit the £2500 per month as they have stated to the city. We will have no one else to blame, but ourselves.
Back it, or just bend over and pull your pants down to RM and brace yourselves.
The comments about Independent Agents not supporting OTM in the past etc?! Don’t get me started! Why would I and others ever trust OTM after their shameful treatment of original members, lamentable performance, failure to communicate and finally but finally The Rambling Sham Roadshow with more fiction than fact!
I’m well documentated on here and elsewhere re my for & against OTM and I’m still paying full rate for this debacle, locked-in whilst OTM give away free membership, balloons & candy floss.
OTM V1 was a failure first time around NOT because Estate Agents failed to support it, because it was failing to deliver on so many levels.
Can we just agree this, on April 26 2018 …lets forget about the huff, puff, bluster announcements from OTM. Let’s review their performance on April 26 2019.
My view remains COnTheMarket.com until they have proved they are OnTheMarket.com
To the “Disliker” of my comment…. have the guts to step forward and state your dislike reason in black n’ white. Nothing worse than a dislike stone thrower who hides behind a wall wearing a OTMV2 hoodie.
I stepped forward on Day 1 to support the OTM V1 utopian vision, and it fizzled out like a dislikers f@rt in a bath.
OTM V2? It’s a Babooshka running up a very steep hill ……however, 26/04/2019? …….let’s review V2, let’s ignore the huff & puff, let’s analyse the actual V2 performance. Till then, keep tossing your dislikes anonymously ……it’s a weak way to comment on any post.
Going to put my head on the block here…..If OTM succeeded and RM started to fail – Would OTM learn that we can fight back? Would they make the same mistakes? I think if OTM starts to succeed and Agents start coming off RM, I personally think they would also start offering cheaper deals……from what I have read on here recently they are starting to do this already.
If offered a free trial with OTM, take it. What is there to lose?
I’ve had enough of RM continually increasing prices and muddling up the packages to increase our spend. Their plan is simply to get £2k per month from all agents. I understand they have have stated this to shareholders!
OTM failed initially because small independents like me don’t all think the same and never act in unison. This is a plus to RM and a negative to all others.
I have just signed up to OTM for FREE and shall list it with them 24hours before I put it on RM. Its time I and you backed it.
if we ALL did the free trial it would be a rival instantly and we would have control of our spend again.
Im in RM17
And once OTM have critical mass, And lets say we all walk away from RM – What do you think OTM would do then ….
They will increse, increse and increse your fee,
If you really think that then you are lost.
If agents did walk away from Rightmove en masse and OTM could, they would undoubtedly act in a similar fashion to Rightmove. To think otherwise is just naive.
My point is not that they wont put up fees, no doubt they will, (albeit I believe they are founded on principles that mean they wont take the ssip)….. But that is not the point. A strengthened and successful third portal will surely put pressure on RM to act competitively rather than monopolistic-ally.
Just had a conversation with RM – my core is increasing from £545PM to £865PM. nothing i can do except pull my pants up
Rightmove stated that they wanted to get ARPA to £2,500 per month.
http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/rightmove-boss-sketches-out-possibility-of-charging-2500-per-month-in-long-term/
Rightmove stated that they wanted to get ARPA to £2,500 per month.
Thats £30,000 per annum…..so what about many smaller agent that only complete on three to four properties a month?
That woyuld be over £700 per completed sale!!!
Perhaps if we had a very low cost Independents ‘union’….. we could all start to think along similar lines at the same time….now just think of the power a collective speaking as one would have!
What a misleading moniker IndAgent has, and an unsustainable point of view. Why decline a free offer from the only realistic challenger to RM & ZPG there has yet been, despite its awful growing pains, and a surprising lack of support from our dysfunctional industry ?
As a true independent I see limited appeal in feeding the RM juggernaut an extra 10% p.a. through feast and famine, at the expense of other media. Such increases mean RM subs have doubled after 7 years, delivering profits of 70% + at our and our clients expense ! Hence I am poised to break away from RM as soon as I can. RM may soon realise the party is over and who knows, and I dream of the day when estate agents can regain control of their marketing spend.
Why decline a free OTM membership? – Well done to him. I wish we all had declined the free RM membership when it was offered. Then we would not be in this mess.
Smile please…can we please have your suggestions as to how we now get out of the mess if you think OTM is not the answer?
OTM could have worked in its original approach if they wanted it to.
Sadly now anybody coming in from the “right approach” will be tarred with the OTM brush.
I think the way we are searching for properties is changing, and perhaps portals are now on the way out.
If you look at Hystreet, OneDome, Rummage they are coming up with ideas that do empower the agent and not through a traditional portal.
I do not know the answer, but i know it certainly is not OTM.
Maybe with the new regulations we are having to commit to within our industry some of the no doubt incoming subs we have to pay can be used to pay for a true agent / industry owned portal. That would at least sweeten the bitter pill of regulation.
Yes,,,, i wont go on it until sprigget has gone and its owned 100% by agents again…
smile please
Rummage…. they are coming up with ideas that do empower the agent and not through a traditional portal.
I totally agree, we are working on things as well, that are totally different to a portal based system…..and they will primarily be for the benefit of our industry and particularly small independent businesses.
I’ve just turned down a free 1 year trial, and I hope everybody else does too.
You sir/madam need to leave your issues at the door and think about your clients. I have agreed to a years trial and I can say unequivocally that they are outstripping both Rightmove and Zoopla for leads. I can see why. When googling properties for let/sale in ””” they come up top. My suggestions is to put your business before your ‘principles’, whatever they may be (you don’t explain why everyone should decline a free year)
Great response. Facts really do speak much louder than expeculation!
OTM seriously let down those initial investors and continues to do so. It tells you a lot about their attitude to their customers. Once people are committed to OTM the portal charges will go up and up just like RM. Best stay away otherwise you will soon have three big portal bills each month instead of two.
I agree with this completely nothing is free in the long run, we need to kill OTM off before it gains any traction. Also from a moral standpoint i would feel awful if my company took up the free offering bearing in mind how many good local agents have flushed money down the toilet supporting Springetts vanity project
You want to “kill off OTM before it gets any traction”….
Are you actually suggesting that your prefered option would be to give RM & Z a free run at charging agents whatever they like with absolutely no way of restraining them?
Absolutely laughable response. Here must be the only agent in Britain that cares (morally?) so much about his local competitors that the thought of them flushing money down the toilet prompts him to tell everyone to avoid OTM.
Not laughable at all Beano and Eastside. Firstly obviously competition is competition but yes i do care about some of them, they like myself are people with families who are running a business employing people who also have families. OTM was set up, perhaps in the first instance with the right idea, but quickly downturned into entity entirely, a vehicle to increase Springetts worth funded by those independents keen to grab control of their destiny. OTM is offering free subscriptions to gain growth and market share, if it ends up a decent enough size it wont be a should i advertise on RM,Z or OTM loads of agents will end up on all three. If choice were a real option, why does anyone advertise with both RM and Z?? So in the long run every agent will end up spending more money.
We all have the options to restrain RM & Z, we all have the option to cease advertising with them, but the fear of losing business prevents us from doing so. So yes, i hope that OTM fails as quick as possible.
I’ve asked the same question a zillion times: “Why dont estate agents get together and start their own portal?” I thought OTM was the agents saviour; started up by agents. If this is the case, then why the hell havent all the estate agents simply left RM & Z simultaneously in favour of OTM. This would kill off RM & Z immediately. So………………?
Amazing how vocal and proactive OTM are with meetings and recruitment.
Shame they were not half as proactive When it was supposed to be owned by the agents.
How do gold members feel paying £400 per month when others are now getting it for free? Are you happy with your shares?
As for restricted pricing. Any agent beliving that needs to look at this companies history.
Why on earth would we as Gold members continue supporting a business we thought we owned after being shafted so royally by its morally bankrupt officers. Rubber gloves and bargepole spring to mind.
Just how many shares did gold members recieve for their commitment?
It’s all about inventory.
If enough agents put their properties OTM that will bring in the checks and balances with RM and Z.
Rightmove have offered agents £525 pm and Z have offered fees from £150-250 pm.
“Rightmove have offered agents £525 pm and Z have offered fees from £150-250 pm.” Changing my name to Cashcow, I presume these rates were for Rentals and Sales each?
Agreed. It is amazing to see the trolls trying to shout this down. OTM is moving forward nice and sensibly but to the horror of Hoopla and its followers – see below for some clear examples!
OTM is far from perfect but is going to be a great benefit to ALL estate agents in the medium/low term. I’m a Gold Member paying full wack and happy to do so if it means we can get rid of the Hoopla and Wrongmove and bring a portal into the hands of Estate Agents rather than city money men.
Onwards and upwards.
Newsboy – Is this sarcasm being lost on the page?
You cannot believe OTM is a success or that it will help us in anyway? – Every promise they have given they have broken. EVERY SINGLE ONE.
And OTM is in the hands of city men, they are a list company!
agree..by the time otm actually do anything all the saving will have been lost by being on 2/3 portals.
WHEN IS SOMEBODY GOING TO ORGANISE A STRIKE ON RIGHMOVE?
Lets make it start NOVEMBER 1st and END 31st DECEMBER:
We want
1) Fee capped to £600 for 3 years.
2) No New homes advertising houses that arent even built.
I tried this 18 months ago, think i managed about 50 agents who would have been on board.
If you have the time to coordinate i will sign up. I think you need circa 500 offices to be taken seriously though,
OTM is also still very much in the hands of the agents. Please show me a better alternative – apart from a strike – which only 5% of agents would join in.
Strike strike strike. !!!