Rightmove could lose three quarters of agents
Saturday, October 11, 2008
More than 75 per cent of UK estate agents are threatening to remove properties currently listed on the UK's biggest property website, according to an online poll.
The survey, by estateagenttoday.co.uk, found that more than three quarters of estate agents will not be renewing their annual subscription to the site because its fees, which can be as high as £500 a month per estate agent, are considered too expensive.
Should the planned defection go ahead, it would leave Rightmove, which boasts around 20,000 agents and developers, a less reliable source of information for homebuyers wanting to compare properties on the market.
The company, founded by Halifax, Countrywide & Connells estate agencies in 2001, saw estate agency membership fall by 3 per cent in the first six months of this year to 11,984. Its retention rate among estate agents was down to 84 per cent in the same period, which Rightmove attributed to the large number of estate agency businesses leaving the industry.
Article continues at Times Online
The survey, by estateagenttoday.co.uk, found that more than three quarters of estate agents will not be renewing their annual subscription to the site because its fees, which can be as high as £500 a month per estate agent, are considered too expensive.
Should the planned defection go ahead, it would leave Rightmove, which boasts around 20,000 agents and developers, a less reliable source of information for homebuyers wanting to compare properties on the market.
The company, founded by Halifax, Countrywide & Connells estate agencies in 2001, saw estate agency membership fall by 3 per cent in the first six months of this year to 11,984. Its retention rate among estate agents was down to 84 per cent in the same period, which Rightmove attributed to the large number of estate agency businesses leaving the industry.
Article continues at Times Online
Labels: Halifax, National association of estate agents, Rightmove
