Rightmove tells Agents ‘Let them eat Cake’

Rightmove tells Agents 'Let them eat Cake'

Estate agents trading from premises with locked doors or from home are being hit with large new demands from Rightmove, as they have increased their baseline pricing model for at least one agent by over 11%.

In essence Rightmove covered a 30M loss, when they put on hold the revenue, they would normally get from Agents during Lockdown 1.0, now possibly they are clawing it all back and some.

Here is in part the one-sided communication to one agent who has been with Rightmove for nearly 20 years, it begins by telling the agent they are paying more – no discussion just – you will be paying an extra 11%. (We had the permission of the agent).

We’ll change your price for 1st April 2021  

Please speak to us by 26th February 2021 if you want to choose another option

I think it’s fair to say that we all expect some ups and downs in the property market, but I don’t think anyone expected the highs and lows we saw in 2020.  Last year started with the busiest ever January for time spent on Rightmove, then by March the market was in lockdown.  The resilience of agents during that period followed by a very quick pivot to a record-breaking mini boom, shows exactly how quickly our industry can respond to change.

 

During the six months that we supported estate and letting agents with a discounted Rightmove bill, we focused on delivering projects to help during a period of so much change.  I’ve shared some of the highlights and how to take advantage of them later in this email.

 

Many of the tools we released in 2020 can help you deal with the shifts in activity and demand we’ve seen over the last year.  The rise in demand meant we delivered 53% more sales leads at the end of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019¹, helping agents to agree an astounding 10% more sales over the year than in 2019².  Even with the uncertainty at the start of 2021, sales demand is 11% higher than in 2020³ and rental leads are up 27%⁴.

It’s clear from these numbers that despite the impact that coronavirus has had on all our lives, both professionally and personally, people are still determined to move. That also tells us that tools to help you anticipate and deal with change will continue to have an important role to play.  We also want to help you to do the important work that keeps the property market and the economy moving.

Change to your Rightmove costs

You currently pay £1,365.00 per month for your Essential package, as part of your Sales & Lettings membership.  That is made up of £1,150.00 for your core membership and £215.00 in advertising products.

The price of your Essential package will change on 1st April 2021 when your core Rightmove membership rate will increase to £1,295.00. This rate is made up of £1,095.00 to advertise properties for sale.  You don’t have to do anything, but you do have several options

I read this as – market has been boom for you Mr Agent we want an extra slice of that action.

The reality though is that in total the number of completions in 2020 was in line with the 1.1M completions most years, there is no magic uplift for agent’s revenue, it just came in spurts between lockdowns.

What the C-suite of Rightmove forget is that between 2016 to 2019, Rightmove made about 74% gross profit annually , so in 2019, from a turnover of 290M there was pre-tax profit of 213M. Most agents operate on a pre-tax 18% gross profit margin, or as low as 10%

Clearly the sentiment is that a boom for agents in 2020 should be a boom for Rightmove, and by hiking the baseline fee to each agent by, 8% to 12% the figures numerous agents have shown Proptech-PR, that is adding anything from 15M to 20M plus in turnover in 12-months, or 5% to 7%.

With new technology in other portals and platforms ahead of the game, and failure to innovate, the last thing I would do after last year’s schism and wall of silence is hack off your core clients. As Countrywide Plc shows, a disconnect between the c-suite strategy and grass roots reality – leads to decline and a toxic brand.

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

small house bird box
Breaking News

UK First Time Buyers better off than many other global nations

Is it really that bad being a first-time buyer? UK better off than many other global nations when it comes to affordability The latest market analysis from Yopa, the full-service estate agents, reveals that first-time buyers (FTBs) in the UK may be paying 63% more to get a foot on the property ladder than they…
Read More
new build homes colchester essex
Breaking News

Building Safety Regulator Reform

The Government has announced reforms to the Building Safety Regulator, including leadership, process and investment. The changes are hoped to deliver 1.5 million homes. The reforms pave the way for creation of a single construction safety regulator, as recommended by the Grenfell Tower enquiry. David Smith, property litigation partner at London law firm Spector Constant…
Read More
Breaking News

New anti-money laundering rules now in effect: what landlords need to know

New anti-money laundering (AML) rules came into effect this month, marking a significant change for landlords and the lettings industry as a whole. The new rules mean financial sanctions checks are now required for all lettings, regardless of how much rent is charged. Here, Steve Bond, managing director of residential lettings for Beresfords, explains what…
Read More
Breaking News

What landlords need to know about the upcoming Renters Rights Bill

The government’s long-awaited Renters Rights Bill is one of the most significant overhauls of the private rental sector in decades. While it has not yet received royal assent, the legislation is expected to come into effect late this year, or early in 2026. With the bill moving closer to becoming law, Steven Bond, managing director…
Read More
Breaking News

Mortgage approvals bounce back in May

The latest figures show that: – Mortgage approvals on house purchases for May sat at 63,032 up 3.9% from 60,656 in April. The monthly increase seen in May marks the end of four months of previous decline, with approval levels having fallen each month since January of this year. Approvals are also 2.5% higher than…
Read More
Breaking News

Money and Credit – May 2025

Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased by £2.8 billion to £2.1 billion in May, following a large decrease in net borrowing of £13.8 billion to -£0.8 billion in April. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased by 2,400 to 63,000 in May. Approvals for remortgaging also increased by 6,200 to 41,500…
Read More