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.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Fast track to London: The Essex villages offering country living and commuter convenience

For London buyers looking to exchange city life for more space, greenery and a stronger sense of community, Essex offers an appealing combination of countryside living and convenient connections into the capital. The rise of hybrid working has changed what buyers expect from a commuter location, and rather than simply searching for the shortest possible…
Read More
Breaking News

‘Spider season’ hits UK bedrooms

‘Spider season’ hits UK bedrooms – expert shares FIVE expert tips on keeping eight-legged visitors at bay As autumn sets in, millions of UK households are bracing themselves for ‘spider season’, the surge of male spiders entering homes in September and October in search for a mate. One of the most common places that spiders…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Good-view homes command 81% premium

The latest research from UK Property Development (UKPD) reveals that new-build homes that boast a good view command an average price premium of 81.4% compared to overall new-build prices, with the premium in London approaching 110%. UKPD has analysed the estimated average asking price of new-build homes in England marketed as offering a ‘good view’,…
Read More
Christmas Decorations - Good or Bad for Selling
Breaking News

Want to Be in Your New Home by Christmas?

Moving house can be a complex and stressful process, with delays at various stages potentially putting completion dates at risk. Government data shows that the average home purchase takes around 120 days to complete, while around one in three property sales fall through, costing sellers an estimated £400 million each year. With Christmas now just…
Read More
what is happening to house prices
Estate Agent Talk

Help Buyers to get Britain Building

Tim Foreman, Managing Director of Land and New Homes, LRG, comments: It is clear that Labour cannot meet its housing ambitions just through planning reform. It is imperative that Andy Burnham uses time at the upcoming Labour Party Conference to back a targeted successor to Help to Buy – one that restores demand without repeating…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Landlords say managing rentals has become harder

Three-quarters of portfolio landlords say managing rentals has become harder   The latest research from residential property management specialist, Rushbrook, has found that almost three-quarters of portfolio landlords say managing their rental portfolio has become harder in recent years, with the changing legislative landscape now prompting many to reconsider whether they need professional help with…
Read More