Can you sell property without Zoopla or Rightmove?

Given the huge portal costs and the attempts by the On The Market to break this duopoly, can you successfully sell a property as an estate agency without using these three behemoths?
Most industry experts would laugh and say no.
It’s impossible.
The reach of Rightmove and Zoopla is so extensive that you’d be seriously deluded to think it’s possible.
I though am not so sure.
I accept it’s standard industry practice but I think many of the hits on Rightmove and Zoopla are habitual net twitchers.
Personally, I check each daily still – having moved only 6 weeks ago.
I can’t imagine I’m alone either?
I think reliance on these two portals does lead to a level of complacency.
How many estate agents invest as much in their own websites, Facebook pages, Facebook ads and Twitter as they do onpaying portals?
An estimate of £1600 a month for portal fees I guess covers it.
That’s a whopping £19,200 with fees increasing annually.
Now what would a carefully crafted, SEO scaffolded website with linked social media pages cost a year to set up and maintain?
A fraction.
What would a blogging strategy cost estate agents per month? £100?
So I ask here in all seriousness, without any denigration of the giant portals with their giant fees, can you not consider alternatives?
Have you considered other options?
With Rightmove profits for 2015 running at £144 million with Zoopla Property Group amassing £33 million, don’t you as estate and letting agents think there could be an alternative marketing strategy?
Not dropping the portals, but thinking, negotiating better rates so the cash cow of portals doesn’t get overfed with your estate agency money?

Stuart Walton

www.getprocopy.com

 

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

Rental yields climb across London

Tower Hamlets and Newham deliver strongest buy-to-let returns as rental yields climb across London   The latest research from London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that Tower Hamlets and Newham currently offer the strongest rental yields for buy-to-let landlords, having also recorded the largest annual increases in rental yield across all London…
Read More
Overseas Property

World Cup host cities have seen house prices climb by 44%

World Cup host cities have seen house prices climb by 44% since 2026 tournament announcement   The latest analysis from Enness Global has revealed that property values across the cities selected to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup have increased by an average of 44% since the tournament was awarded in 2018, highlighting…
Read More
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Estate Agent Talk

Nearly Third of Homebuyers Choose Conveyancer Recommended by Estate Agent

New research from Lyons Bowe Solicitors has revealed that nearly a third of homebuyers choose a conveyancer recommended by their estate agent, while only 40% compare multiple firms before making a decision. The findings come at a challenging time for the UK housing market. According to the latest Zoopla House Price Index, annual homebuyer demand…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

FCA proposals to boost mortgages supply for underserved markets

Comments from Julian Sampson, Partner and Head of Lending Department at TWM Solicitors, a leading commercial law firm.   The FCA is announcing mortgage rule changes that should improve the supply of mortgages to underserved markets such as the self-employed, the elderly and borrowers with weak credit histories. Julian Sampson says, “There are still significant parts…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 9/6/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Why on earth is a tenant app exhibiting at an event for letting agents and landlords? Well known and respected lettings industry CEO Adam Pigott of Openbrix/tlyfe explains the logic behind showing a ‘tenant lifetime app’ at a premier agency event where there will be no tenants.…
Read More
Planning disputes on new build land
Breaking News

London land commands £105,213 per acre

The latest research from LandSale, the new property portal dedicated to land and rural property, has found that land in London commands an estimated average value of £105,213 per acre, almost eight times higher than the British average of £13,281 and higher than every other British region. This premium is being driven by a severe lack…
Read More