OnTheMarket ‘should throw in its lot’ with unbeatable Rightmove, says leading commentator

One of the most respected figures in property journalism has repeated a call for OnTheMarket to throw in its lot with Rightmove.

Commentator Peter Bill, a former editor of Estates Gazette, said he first made the suggestion a year ago.

What has changed since then has been the ruling from the Competition Appeal Tribunal that OnTheMarket’s ‘one other portal rule’ is not anti-competitive, and that OTM has a perfect right to try and disrupt the Rightmove and Zoopla duopoly by insisting that its agents list with only one of the latter.

But, says Bill, the ruling has come “too little and too late”.

He now says that Rightmove’s astonishingly successful results delivered last Friday show that it is unbeatable.

Bill describes Rightmove as a licence to print money, and the Amazon of the property listings market.

Last Friday’s half-year results showed that Rightmove made a £91m profit on £120m of revenues. It is giving £72m of those profits to shareholders.

In his latest commentary, Bill repeats his article of last year, in which he said that the ‘one other portal’ rule had strengthened, not weakened, Rightmove.

He said last August: “A bargaining position exists: Why not hand over OnTheMarket to Rightmove some time before 2020? In return, take Rightmove shares for all members, not just original backers. Then enjoy Zoopla’s discomfort and dividends from a business that is run for profit.”

Bill now claims OTM suggested after seeing his article of 12 months ago that they were looking at how they operate. “Since then silence,” claims Bill.

Separately, at the City analysts’ briefing that followed its results, Rightmove is said to have played down the potential headwind from online/hybrid agents.

It told analysts that there was similar growth in advertising revenue from all types of agents, and that it was well placed to further monetise hybrid players.

OnTheMarket will go off-market unless it makes the Rightmove.

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10 Comments

  1. AgentV

    On The Market can still be very successful on its own, but it needs to engage with independents and bring new innovative ideas to the marketplace for them….. to revitalise its offering and attract new members.

    The ideas are out here folks, in the independent and associated community, but you need to open up, engage, ask and start doing.

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  2. Typhoon

    OTM please don’t listen to Bill. Keep going and  get bigger.  As the industry’s profit margins shrink RM profits soar at our expense. They (and Zoopla) opened the door for on-line to gain traction ignoring the fact it was the high street agents who made them successful in the first place.

    If OTM fail, the industry is exposed to being screwed year after year by RM and Zoopla demanding totally unreasonable and disproportionate rate increases.

     

     

     

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  3. Property Paddy

    why would RM want OTM?

    Nothing here tell’s me they would even spend 20 minutes thinking about it.

    Sorry OTM, you have made some serious wrong turns as one other portal proves.

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  4. Property Paddy

    why would RM want OTM?

    Nothing here tell’s me they would even spend 20 minutes thinking about it.

     

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  5. Woodentop

    He could just as easily say that about ALL web portals, so why single out OTM. Oh yeah they are a threat! One day agents will come to the conclusion that RM £91m profit on £120m of revenues sums up how they are being abused with fee’s. RM can only survive with stock from agents, if it should ever dry up!

     

    Talking OTM ….. so where is this appeal going? Is it not now out of time limit to apply or has been submitted and awaiting confirmation it will be allowed to proceed?

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  6. Cardiff Agent

    Don’t forget, that only OTM refuses to allow on-line only set-ups to advertise, they are on our side. I just wish they would list properties in descending (as RM) or ascending, price order.

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    1. Ric

      I think their default setting to arrange in “Most Recent” is the right thing surely?

      If you want ascending or descending order, then just reorder that way?

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    2. Chrispy

      Do you really think that by OTM not having online agents on site it will solve the issue of them sitting at our table???

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  7. Ric

    We (High Street Agents) are our own worst enemy.

    We have been brainwashed in to how quick we can get a property online and by doing so, buyers are now so conditioned to looking online first and have usually called the agent to view the new listing before the agent has “phoned the new instruction out” remember that! Phoning out!

    As a result buyers now remember how they found out about the house they now own! and if was not as a result of registering with the local estate agent after, they are slowly but surely thinking what’s the point in the estate agent.

    Agents have the ability to change this mind set, by servicing house hunters better and having the website work as a “back up”.

    Hate to say it but even OTM we should stay off for 48 hours, get on to your mailing list and then hit the websites after your staff have called the hot buyers. (This way, before you start – you are giving your vendors a double whammy of help – as they get the hot buyers first and the self serving proactive buyer soon after)

    Meanwhile, you sell to a hot buyer and they will remember you when it is time to move on.

     

     

     

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  8. MrM07

    So lets all sit back & allow RM to achieve their goal of an average monthly spend by agents to hit £2,500.

    Because that makes sense.

    OTM is there for us as agents, we can make it work if we all stand together.

     

    Do we? Not even close. Unbelievable really.

     

     

     

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