Property Portals What Is The True Value For Estate Agents?

Many are questioning the real return on investment for portals, Homehere have done some deep analytics on the subject and set out below is their findings based on a sample group.

New HOMEHERE report reveals disparity in value for money and lead conversion rates from online property portals

1. Research found less than 3% of all leads from property portals converted to sale or let

2. Report analysed nearly 25,000 email enquiries and 9,000 telephone calls from UK estate agents over a six-month period

A new independent report, written by digital property lead software company Homehere, has found disparity in lead quality and value for money between online property portals.

The report analysed the sales, lettings and valuation leads from estate agents around the UK all of whom had subscriptions to Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket from July 2020 to January 2021.

The research found that Zoopla offered the best value for money per converted lead with an average cost of £83.92, while OnTheMarket cost per lead was almost double the price at £161.76. Rightmove’s cost per converted lead came out as £112.15.

When tracking all incoming leads and their outcomes, none of the portals achieved more than 3% success. The researcher found that Rightmove converted 2.65% of leads into a sale or rental, Zoopla 1.9% and OnTheMarket just 1%.

Valuation leads also showed a big difference between the portals, with Rightmove delivering 54% of all email valuation leads to participating agents, Zoopla 43% and OnTheMarket just 3%.

Founder of Homehere, the digital lead conversion system designed for estate agents, Lou Quinn said: “’We’ve published this data to bring some transparency to the ongoing conversation around portal performance.

“What we found was surprising. Areas that we thought the portals would be stronger in, such as valuation leads, actually aren’t, with very few of them actually converting to instructions.

“The number of late leads – those that arrive after a property has been taken off the market – was also something that we were shocked at. The research revealed a massive difference between portals, with OnTheMarket reporting 40% of late leads compared to 6% from Zoopla and 5% from Rightmove.”

Lou explained: “The data suggests that there’s areas that the portals can improve on, maybe focusing more on quality over quantity. As our customer base grows, we plan to issue a quarterly industry report which will hopefully make it easier for agents to see which channels are generating the most value for them.”

A full downloadable copy of the property portal research can be found here: http://zpr.io/RR3FX

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate. Want to contact me directly regarding one of my articles or maybe you'd like a chat about future articles? Email me via editor@stagingsite.estateagentnetworking.co.uk

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

How to Transition from a Fixed-Term Tenancy to a Periodic Tenancy

Transitioning from a fixed-term tenancy to a periodic tenancy is a common occurrence in the UK rental market. It offers flexibility and convenience for both landlords and tenants by continuing the rental agreement on a rolling basis once the fixed term ends. Whether you’re a landlord managing a property or a tenant seeking clarity, Martin…
Read More
Breaking News

Housing sales end 2024 on a high, but buyers more cautious about how much to pay for homes as mortgage rates drift higher

Buyers and sellers returned to the market over 2024 building a sales pipeline 30 per cent larger than a year ago with 283,000 homes worth £104bn progressing to a sale in 2025. This is the largest end of year total value for four years. House prices have returned to growth with the average house price…
Read More
Breaking News

£21 million to live on UK’s most expensive street

· Knightsbridge in London now the priciest UK street · The UK’s 10 most expensive streets all in the capital, with an average price tag of £16.5 million · East Road in Weybridge the most expensive address outside of London · Priciest UK properties are 60 times more than a typical home Lloyds has revealed…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 20/12/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Why estate and letting agents must embrace innovative technology in 2025   As we step into 2025, the UK property market continues to shift, and estate agents face mounting pressure to meet the evolving expectations of buyers and sellers. The days when static images sufficed…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 19/12/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   High street Auctions’ initiative launches to revive Britain’s town centres   This month the UK Government rolls out its highly anticipated ‘High Street Auctions’ scheme, a flagship measure of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. This initiative grants local authorities the power to take…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Moving Up In The World: Finding Your Dream Home

Finding your dream home is one of life’s most exciting and transformative experiences. Whether you’re looking to upsize, relocate, or finally purchase that ideal property you’ve always envisioned, the journey is both thrilling and filled with important decisions. As you embark on this path, it’s essential to plan carefully, consider your priorities, and approach the…
Read More