Rightmove is to trial a new valuation tool for consumers.
The launch, announced by email to agents yesterday, drew some worried responses from agents who contacted Eye. Another agent posted on Eye yesterday afternoon about concerns.
However, Rightmove claimed, pointedly but without naming names, that it will be offering “a better and more honest solution to the existing automated valuation tools freely available on the internet”.
It also emphasised that it neither wants to replace nor undermine agents, but hopes its new offering may help agents get new instructions.
Rightmove says the launch of its new ‘Move or Improve’ app, expected within a fortnight, is in response to home-movers’ curiosity which leads them to increasingly research property values online.
Rather than generate an exact figure like other tools which Rightmove says “can be misleading”, the new app offers a 15% range estimate of a property’s value – 7.5% up or down from a mid-point.
The app specifically prompts consumers to contact local agents for a more accurate valuation, should they be thinking of selling.
However, yesterday afternoon one agent told Eye: “Whilst I agree with it being a good idea to encourage the user to contact a local agent for ‘accurate advice’, I’m not so sure that it’s a good idea to do it through the use of a valuation tool, especially as agents have already shown a disliking to that particular tool.
“With a 15% price estimate the figure could vary considerably and in some cases by £100,000s.
“What happens if the estate agent does not agree with the higher price range? Will they lose the instruction to an agent that does agree with Rightmove’s top-end figure?”
Another agent told us: “It has to be better than the Zoopla method but it will still be wrong in some cases and we’ll have vendors telling us even more that it’s worth the top price they quote if we think it’s less.
“It will also make it very easy for inexperienced valuers to just go with the top price that Rightmove quotes to win the business and have something to back them up, even when it’s wrong.”
The demo app, showcased to Eye, starts by asking general questions about a property and giving a very wide price banding. The user can then refine the valuation by answering questions – for example, about the condition of the property, its features and size.
The app then prompts users to click on a local agent to request an accurate valuation, so that consumers can get local expert advice.
Where an agent is ‘clicked’, the app will email the agent with details of the property and the valuation range given.
Rightmove is, by its own admission, taking the launch cautiously. The free app will be a standalone product, and during the trial, not integrated on to the main Rightmove site.
The results of the trial will also be assessed before any further decisions are made, and Rightmove is keen for feedback from agents.
Director Miles Shipside told Eye: “We do not want to replace or undermine agents. We want to help them, especially at a time of low stock.
“We want to launch something that will lead potential vendors amicably to agents to have a conversation, rather than prepare them for a battle.”
The valuations given are based on Rightmove’s data set of property sold prices, surveyor valuations plus a number of other data sources.
The tool will be available for iOS8 – so really intended for mobile use – and also gives people some possible future value of their home if they were, for example, to refurbish or redecorate.
The trial of the app includes a form for users to submit feedback on the content, and Rightmove wants agents to test it out too.
Shipside said: “Rather than ignore consumers’ increasing thirst for additional property information online, what we’re trying to do is offer an alternative solution to the misleading automated valuation tools that are currently out there.
“An exact automated estimate figure is virtually impossible to get correct, but agents tell us that prospective buyers and sellers sometimes quote exact automated figures at them as though they are gospel.
“With a price range, a buyer trying to justify making a lower offer will struggle.
“Creating an industry-respected tool is critical, so this is a trial to try and deliver a part-way but responsible solution, to channel the undoubted consumer obsession with all things property.”
He added: “Agents are reporting a shortage of quality listings, so the hope is that this app will encourage owners to call in their local agents sooner and get an accurate valuation, and to discuss the benefits of moving.
“More home-owners need convincing that it’s a good time to move, so this, and other positive campaigns we have in the pipeline, should create more opportunities for agents to carry out more valuations and spread that message too.”
The app will be available to download from the App Store within the next two weeks.
Comments (72)
Switched-on sellers know that these tools are only a guide whilst those who blindly believe are more meat for the snake oil merchants.
A good agent can easily demonstrate the most likely selling price in any case and, often, these guides are very useful for showing customers just how important it is that they use an agent with proper local knowledge and not a soulless algorithm or a call centre hundreds of miles away
I dealt with a case in last summer where ALL of the proper local agents recommended by the soulless algorithm system belonged to the same firm- 5 shades of CW. Duff info confirmed by 5 agents all saying the same thing might get spotted by a smart vendor but sadly in the case I dealt with a good Agent would not have had a sniff at the instruction had I not intervened.
Ladies & Gentlemen… note this comment carefully… if the UK Estate Agency Industry does not Dump Rightmove after Zoopla you can say farewell to the business of being an Estate Agent! Rightmove’s audacity to continue increasing its control of our industry is mindblowing… we are being herded to the edge of the abyss? This is a company that plasters other products & services on your featured portal pages… can I ask this, would you all mind if I put my company’s products and services on your office windows, websites & local newspaper adverts… if so, let me know ASAP and I will send my chap around to get my competing advertising underway! I only hope that you all, like me are running with Rightmove up to the OnTheMarket tipping point… if not then you will have surrendered your business with monumental disregard!
Pwetty, pwetty pwease PeeBee……… I pwomise to be good forever if you tell me…….. They are not about to become a compare your builders website are they! ie builders and local traders tendering for jobs or at least advertising?
I reckon you’ve got it in one, bud!
‘Click HERE to be taken to your personalised B’n’ScrewIt Quotation/Shopping List/Pick-a-CowboyBuilder’
You can just smell it already… can’t you! ;o)
You can! (smell it that is)
I had my rate increase confirmed today 5.3% which wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated! but if I pay 9% more I could fix my rate until Apr 2016.
What I can’t understand (and asked) is if I take the 5.3% rise, my next review is Apr 2016 anyway, so why pay more to fix the price to Apr 2016 when it is fixed anyway. I questioned if they had said we will fix your rate to 2017 or 2018 if I pay for the products I could understand the offer but whatever I chose I am fixed to 2016 anyway so made little sense, to pay more for these.
Obviously in 2016 my % rise will be worked from what I am paying in March 2016 so if anything the motivation is to take the lower rate rise and at least future increase are worked from the lower of the offers now. (hope that makes sense)
I said, if I do not pay the 9% option with products are you saying my fee may rise again before Apr 2016 and they said no, so where is the deal.
I think in the meantime, RM could pull a master strike of a PR stunt and drop this tool even before its trial. How an earth can they possibly think any agent will be happy with them suggesting people should improve and not move! I can only assume Ms Beeeeennnnaay will be advertising the app.
Apologies in advance if I’ve missed someone else raising this point already – but has anyone thought anything of the significance of the name of this ‘tool’?
(first to say “what’s significant about ‘PeeBee’?” wins the special bonus prize, of course…)
Ive asked my rep the same question today! I wanted to know why it wasn’t called sell, sell, sell rather the stay put, don’t move, why bother!
Ask nicely and I’ll give you MY guess on the significance, Ric… ;o)
Imagine if there was a portal alternative where if we the members did not like a feature, product or suggestion they would not roll said feature out, because the majority paying members had spoken…..
RM have started slowly but surely to roll out a few features and systems which does not make it any easier for the agent, simply easier for the home owner to do it all themselves. It started with RM+ for me and this Autotrader style way of manually adding a property to their site. Considering (I assume) 95% plus of agents MUST use an auto feed, I see no reason they would have spent so much time on an idiots guide to manually adding a property!
I too have had to deal with potential vendors valuations using the Z tool, frustrating at first to say the least but my stock reply is “would you diagnose a medical condition on the Internet, or would you rather speak to your GP” usually gets my point across.
Stealing that line!
My pleasure…Hope everyone steals it!
This tool is the beginning of the end of Rightmove as a portal for agents to advertise on. They are starting to move towards online self sell and I think they will buy Zoopla (once they are practically worthless) on their way. Most annoying thing is they are able to do this with data produced by us whilst paying for the privelage.
Repeating a point I have made elsewhere, when did you give permission to Rightmove (or land registry for that mattter) to reveal your completion prices? Asking prices are obviously in put in public domain, Sale prices are not or at least IMO should not.
How do you stop them knowing the sold price Robert?
We have a choice in the matter!
That is a software supply issue, good quality agent centric software will have asking/marketing price, a valuation figure and offer details. Only the asking price should ever get publicly transmitted. Strict control over data permissions should prevent anyone outside the confidentiality of the sale finding out the details. Whether Agents are innocently/ inadvertently flouting DP legislation is probably something that will probably get tested in the courts. But I consider it in your interest to question who is doing what with your data. I know of one set of Ts&Cs that allow data transmission (data phishing) but most Agency owners are blissfully unaware the extent of what they are signing away and to whom.
Sorry Robert i don’t follow?
You said we should not allow them access (Land registry and portals) Access to sold prices, unless i misunderstood?
I don’t supply either with sold prices, the solicitors lodge the details with land registry – Am i missing something?
Very possibly you are missing something dependent on your software supplier. That isn’t a conversation for on here but Ros will always pass on contact details.
Not wanting to say “I told you so” this is what i said almost a year ago of one of the issues of OTM
We did need an alternative to RM and Z but they where not going to just go away.
“Not wanting to say “I told you so” this is what i said almost a year ago of one of the issues of OTM”
I think we all knew that Rm would eventually take private listings….they do at the moment (in an indirect way) with companies like my property advert and easyprop placing listings there for less than £100. I think they will become a kind of “ebay” for property sales with anyone able to list with an upfront cost…….Will it work? It will certainly attract some listings but this is why we MUST make OTM the place to look for property before this happens to safeguard our own industry. No one will look on a site if it doesn’t have the vast majority of property. This is why the “no online agents” was an essential part of AM’s initial proposal.
I can see it now, agents going into valuations with their Rightmove reports to confirm the value and then advising gleefully, that they have used the RM valuation tool this morning as well, which helped them get to their value. Don’t worry about the market moving on and the world being 3 months behind. RM etc can never replicate the market right now, right on your street and that’s why this and their reports are useless.
Robert is right when he says there are two camps, those that rely on this rubbish to do their jobs and those that don’t. But I don’t agree with you Robert about telling Paul H not to speak up and encourage people to get down off the fence. This is exactly what is needed, if everyone took the attitude to let others get on with it, no one would. Things get done when people speak up. There are people on here up in arms, not today, but week after week, month after month and the one thing they could do to change it all is here, yet they choose to do nothing and wait. What are you all waitng for? Because while you all wait, RM right under your noses is making moves to protect its business and its shareholders. Will you react when RM decide to rid itself of agents altogether and go direct? Do you think that can’t happen or won’t? Imagine the day OTM shuts and all RM have to decide is whether to double your fees or drop you all together and go direct and compete against you, but this time you have no portal at all. And if Zoopla can ride the storm and haven’t imploded by then, they do the same!!!! Yes RM and Zoopla may go direct if OTM succeds, but I’d rather be in that situation with OTM than without it….. Portals don’t sell property, people do!
OTM now have paid professionals to deal with sales and marketing, they rather than any of the membership should be doing this business media intereaction with very carefully scripted and considered replies or not replies.
Paul H has to be respected and appreciated for all he has done but now AM is live it is time to get RM professional about things. On message, on time.
(I love the way you have adopted and adapted my tag line)
True Robert, but I have a PR team here at my firm, but I don’t just leave it to them to tell the story of the business, I do it myself and so do the staff. I think there is a lot going on at the moment and AM are responding, yes they could focus in other areas, but this is a mutual, we all have to help. The key lies in the hands of the agents and I won’t stop trying to influence them, buts appreciate the decision is theirs, all I ask is don’t moan about something, when the answer to your problems is in front of you.
As for the tag line, Goldie Lookin Chain deserve the main credit, as its a play on their song, Guns Don’t Kill People, People Do! 🙂
Please see this as a tool to ensure that they draw buyers enquiries to their site rather than others. It will protect them for the future, gives them leverage when their membership starts falling in about 12-18 months and more services that can be offered for free to seduce those who question membership costs for 2016. 15% variation wouldn’t be good enough accuracy for a surveyor in a court of law, so its irrelevant really, just a good headline. We have all had to beat buyers back with a stick using the Z tool. It will help the online agents though, but the greatest help for them at the moment is a sellers market!
I got the email yesterday which shows the mock up of the APP. If you look on the right hand side you can see enhanced listings of agents with their logos entitled ‘local agents’.
Now that Rightmove have announced the rate increases for the year, the timing could not be any more perfect when in two weeks they advise all local agents of the additional cost to for this feature.
This strikes me as another tool for RM to beat estate agents with, if you PAY you will be one of the recommended agents and RM will provide you with valuations for clients in your area!
So glad I have pared back RM, now ready for the next short step, it is a shame that those of you who want to break the monopoly do not all do the same.
Thanks Rightmove..
Charge us through the teeth then take away a potential call from a client who we could advise more thoroughly than your online estimate ever could!!
The average sale price in my road is £700,000. Is a range of £647,500 to £752,500 really that helpful? Or will such a vague market price actually prompt me to call an agent to fine tune the same? Or does the ‘valuation’ reflect the figures of an honest local agent saying ‘you wont get less than £650,000…’ or Foxtons promise of riches and a 2.5% sole agency fee?
What is going on here Eric, you are the boss of a big firm whose turnover in fee commissions etc and the number of staff puts you right up there with some of the big corporate names who apparently can’t be expected to post on EAT or Eye?
We were discussing this yesterday and came to the conclusion that it is knowledge rather than time that prevents Senior Executives engaging with their customers and in one case their members.
Is that a good observation or a bad one? 🙂 I sincerely believe that agents need to communicate and share views. The fragmented approach is ineffective.
It is good Eric, you are well respected for your considered and sensible thoughts on most subjects. (Even when you are obviously wrong. I still disagree that CMP should be a retail product anyone can buy but given time and a real nasty embezzlement you’ll come round) (winky smiley)
Looks to me like they are trialing a tool which will allow consumers sell their OWN home..
Bang on that is what it is!
And also to help onliners ….
I actually couldn’t believe I was reading this today. Could a company demonstrate more that they are completely out of touch with their LARGER paying customers. Please do show yourselves if there is ONE agent that believes this is a good idea. Certainly RM haven’t been reading this publication!
I believe that RM have seen the business swing away from Zoopla and they no its only a matter of time before they too are under pressure and this is the first step they are taking towards FDBO because for the life of me I cannot see why they would introduce this otherwise.
I got the email yesterday, I had to read it twice to make sure i understood what i read!
You are right with what RM are doing (planning ahead unlike Z).
I really am so upset, if OTM was viable at this moment in time i would love to call them up and tell them to stick it up their a**e and exactly why!
Complete contempt for their paying subscribers.
What are you waiting for Smile, and while your at it bring all your comp with you.
Paul H – If the others around me would i would jump on board straight away.
Was discussed before OTM launched others (significant big agents as well) said no, nothing has changed with their stance.
I’m not brave enough / stupid enough to go alone.
I genuinely love you commitment and enthusiasm but Please stop trying to sell AM membership Paul. You know how some girls don’t get asked to dance, perfectly lovely sorts? they stink of desperation and that is a big turn off.
Best thing for you to do right now is pressure the exec to fix AM’s Hair and teeth and turn up next week looking Hot!!!
OTM has forced RM’s hand on this by including the FSBO/PI crutch of sold prices. Turn it off in OTM it isn’t helping. It demonstrate the wrong understanding of the industry and these comments confirm it
I’m also so upset with them I even put no instead of KNOW in my last post! You highlighted it SP but this is a massive warning light to any agents about the future its coming because there is more money in the city for tech firms than there is for traditional so its no surprise where RM’s allegiance will lie.
Again as has been said before, believe those of us that say there is no short term loss and even some gain from being with OTM because in truth its the only thing that can stop the enviable happening!
You know what i would love…….. And i know this is a dream and will not happen…..
I would love OTM to visit EVERY SINGLE agent over the next 6 months and propose a date 18 months from now to sign up with them and not be on Z or RM – Every single independent agent switches on mass, and offer a rate so low you cant say no. And the next 18 months they develop a back office system.
Really now is the time to strike!
Now that I would sign up for
I think every independent agent in the country leaving both RM and Z on the same day JUST MIGHT open the eyes of the CMA. Pretty sure that is a terrible idea.
CMA will not do anything!
To advertise you need to be a high street agent and be seen to commit to rules laid down. Simple!
The public can use any independent, they can use corporate, they can use online only agents – Its a myth it is anti competitive. If anything its more competitive allows other branches of the industry to develop.
Multi agency and go with online and independent or even a three way with a corporate (oh er). The public are not disadvantaged. Agents are just getting back their stock, data and not paying through the nose to be financially beaten by a provider that has at this time and for the last 10 year had a monopoly!
The new Dezrez system Rezi? looks good and strong, Justin Iain and Richard are good people who are and always have been 100% loyal to their customer base. There is no ‘Threat’ (to use 19-3-14 terminology) from them and what they have is already better than Agents commissioning a poor facsimile. would produce in 2 years. What is now Vebra Alto started life after PCS in 2001 and the modern, agile product in the stable, Jupix is now 7 or 8 years into development. Forget writing software you really don’t know what problems you are getting into.
This will slow down property sales imo, with vendors wanting the max price they will either want to list at the overpriced valuation and never get any enquiries, or the low valuation will put them off moving. Well done RM for another lot of rubbish. When I owned my online agency I had SO many properties that were overpriced but the vendors did not worry, I had charged upfront so I was not worried as there was a break even after 12 months and the property was not taking any calls or emails, but, if I was paying RM monthly to list an overpriced property I would be concerned.
Great! So a 3 bed semi in my area could be out by £90,000, please explain why this tool is useful to me or the consumer, I’m really interested
Gump, you couldn’t of hit that nail any better.
Ric I think you’re missing the point, this tech is already out there so why are you digging your head in the sand? For me this looks like the gbp will have a play with it and then contact an agent if they’re serious ! Please don’t go down the road of using this story as an excuse to promote OTM, it’s getting a bit boring.
This is a perfect reason to sell OTM and I am not even an OTM member!
It’s because of things like this that OTM needs to work, RM is taking our data and using it against us while charging for the privalige!
With respect, this exactly the reason to promote OTM, it isn’t boring to any agent who pays good wages to good staff, to have them trained. Any valuation, advice on value tool made freely available breaches the very basic premise of client supplier confidentiality. This is not Rightmoves data to go sharing willy nilly with anyone.
Can I guess that you rely on the valuation models as a guide on your valuations?
There will be two polarised views on this story, those that can’t do their job without referring to the internet and those that can.
**** as in Mr Nelson- country and western singer or an Orca with a bent dorsal fin
I would like to think we can all do our jobs without the internet, the problem is our vendors can’t, so they turn to the internet to ‘get an idea’ and when that idea, in my case can be 90k out, then we too have to do the Internet thing as a way of educating on the possible 90k (or whatever other people’s figures are) price difference
Fair point but they only do that because the facility is there. 3 informed appraisals is surely better than a guess based on a postcode and number of bedrooms, generated by a system that can only possibly be referring to one half of the supply demand equation and without the specific knowledge of a database of qualified applicants.
Being more blunt than I like, basing any value on the nonsense of hits and page view applicant is simply bizarre and favours only those trying to operate remotely from the selling area.
You clearly don’t have buyers Chrispy, that phone up quoting Z’s valuation tool as the reason they are offering £15K below asking price!
“We do not want to replace or undermine agents. We want to help them, especially at a time of low stock” you are and this one sentence demonstrates a fundamental lack of comprehension of the industry he is supposedly serving.
Leveling the playing field so any one can simply bypass the obligations of learning and betterment by simply turning to the back of the book or googling the cheat sheet for the answer is simply dumbing down the industry.
You asked for it.
sorry I asked for what?
I’m waiting! Before rattling off a quick one liner you would be well advised to do some reading. I have been against flawed online valuation algorithms since Zoopla introduced them.
Not only is valuation impossible to do based on the information available legitimately to Rightmove or Zoopla. It is not even possible with data they have no right to access or share across their customer base.
There is good reason why ‘property valuation for dummies’ isn’t available in WH Smiths- it has not been written, it is a book that can not be written.
The 15% tolerance is simply a nonsense, 15% cover the range from forced sale, probate through open market all the way up to estimated asking price. With no stick in the ground the range of error is 45%- Good try but another random number generator.
Just when I thought I could not hate them more!
A blatant attempt to start to bypass agents. Again another feature we do not need or want and we will be charged for!
And to think the members have paid the developers to create this… classic!
I was expecting the usual line from RM ….
“We have listened to our members and worked with them to develop …….”
I’m sure this will please the online only agents no end, exactly what rightmove is trying to do.
I completely agree and for them 15% probably sees a little more accuracy than they currently have in their valuations!
How about RM just get its users to call/email and talk to the agents so we can be specific to road positions, house types, local demand and all the other things no valuation tool in the land other than human knowledge can assist with.
I want my phone to ring RM and you are starting to go down the Z route…..
I will be able to use this against you quite soon! Note to OTM: Please simple continue to direct valuations to me and the members and let us TALK.
Someone pressed Dislike by mistake. Your forgiven. 😉
oh stop it…… you did it again ;-P
Sounds good to me, huge step forward from Z
Im searching for a word here: It describes the action of the hammer when priming a gun to fire and another word for a male chicken.
I actually see it as a good way to get vendor leads. I normally hate online valuation tools, but it doesn’t matter so much what the result is as long as I can get hold of them and tell them how rubbish the tool is, I should be able to win the instruction.