Zoopla reveals plans to be next big-hitting property portal

Property website Zoopla has raised a total of almost £5.5m new funding, including  £3.75m from venture capital firms Atlas Venture and Octopus Ventures – and expects to erupt shortly into the estate agency market.

Zoopla already claims to be one of the top five most-visited property websites in the UK (source: Nielsen, Dec 08) having achieved over five million visits and 40 million page views in its first 12 months.

So far, it has been best known for offering consumers instant house price data, including how much their neighbours’ houses went for and what their own homes are worth. It also helps users find local agents through its directory FindAnAgent and its AskAnAgent feature.

But now Zoopla will be turning its attention to the professional market.

Zoopa revealed that it expects shortly to be accepting estate agents’ listing feeds, with a pay-for-performance model, and says it will provide agents with the most cost-effective, no-risk portal for agents to use.

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Zoopla, said: “With our latest funding we will continue to champion transparency and efficiency in the property market and are focused on empowering users with information and helping estate agents make the most of their marketing spend.

“The challenging housing market outlook further increases the relevance of Zoopla.co.uk’s services at a time when consumers’ thirst for information is increasing in the face of difficult property decisions, and estate agents seek more cost-effective ways of obtaining enquiries and building their inventory pipeline.”