As 20% of agents shut up, Rightmove hangs on to the rest

Around 20% of estate agents have gone out of business in the last year, Rightmove told Estate Agent Today.

It could mean that 2,500 estate agents left the portal in 2008, although Rightmove will be unable to give exact figures as it is in its ‘closed’ period before issuing results to the stock market late next month.

But of the member agents who have stayed in business, the portal claimed this morning that over 99% have remained on Rightmove.
 
It means that a number of agents who threatened to quit the portal in protest over its prices have not done so.

Speculation about a mass departure was prompted by strong views expressed on Estate Agent Today and in a story by a business journalist in a national newspaper. It was suggested that Rightmove might lose up to 75% of its member agents as it moved into 2009.

However, Ed Williams, Rightmove’s managing director, said today of the agency customers still in business: “We are looking at the figures right now, but it looks that for every one estate agent or lettings agent who decided to cancel its membership during 2008, three decided to join.

“While not immune to the significant contraction in the overall size of the agency market in 2008, the vast majority of agents who have a choice chose Rightmove.” He also said that some agents who had previously chosen to terminate their membership now wished to rejoin.

He added that the numbers could reflect agents’ desire to be associated with Rightmove’s largest-ever marketing campaign, while continuing to cut their newspaper advertising spend but still needing to put properties before the UK’s “largest audience” of home-movers.

However, in December, Rightmove admits that more offices chose to leave than to join: 130 offices chose to leave, compared with over 100 joining. Again, the numbers choosing to leave do not include numbers who left because they were going out of business.

In late 2007, Rightmove quoted a membership of 12,680 estate agents, excluding letting agents. Today, Rightmove quotes overall membership of over 13,000 branches, including for the first time both sales and lettings branches. Until Rightmove’s results next month, it will not be known what the overall numbers will be.

Williams said of the stories that agents were planning to leave en masse: “Some of the speculation may have been prompted by a small minority of agents disadvantaged by leaving Rightmove.

“However, I think that much more of it is wishful thinking from competitor websites and self-interest on the part of a handful of people who are trying to set themselves up as middle-men to handle negotiations between agents and the leading website, while seeking to cream off a fee for themselves.”

But Henry Pryor, who has tried to handle negotiations on behalf of a buying group of agents, angrily said: “I wonder if a company that make £25m profit on £50m turnover last time around is in a position to cast the first stone.

“I look forward to knowing what agents will do about their subscriptions when some can barely afford to keep their offices open in the worst market conditions we have known.”