Why are Estate Agents running with OnTheMarket?

I have spent time to visit a few estate agents who have declared they are running with OnTheMarket, simple to spot many as they’ve crowded their window displays with, as consumers say, RAF logos! Infact, I spoke to one of two consumers who said, some actually went inside their local agency to ask, they thought the new logos were some kind of show of support to our RAF – I can see their point!

onthemarket RAFSpeaking with one estate agency, who had very light reference to OnTheMarket in their windows, said that other agencies that are running with similar, are not sticking to the rules agreed, ie not an overkill on displaying banners until the website is launched on January 26th (they did have all the boxes ready in the corner of their office, to re-design their window displays – They had taken down though all reference to Zoopla whom they had dropped).

So, what did the estate agents say about them choosing to run with OnTheMarket:

“From what we see, it’s the independents who are championing OnTheMarket as it’s us who really suffer from the rates that Rightmove and Zoopla are charging. In all honesty, if I could drop both the major platforms then I would have done, I am now hoping our faith in OnTheMarket works out as if it does, we could very well see us not needing to bow down to the extortionate prices they we have been charged over the last few years.”

“We thought long and hard, but it’s more down to a common sense decision than anything really. We are paying for OnTheMarket as a property portal that will be run by us, ie estate agents, as opposed to independent property portals who do not listen to, or really care about our needs.”

“Many of the agents in this town have already gone with OnTheMarket so we know it’s the right thing to do. They (OnTheMarket) have been clear on how they see their portal working and how a collaborative effort from us, the estate agents across the country, can help us to lower monthly portal fees. We attended a recent local meeting and we like the way they work, we are looking forward to the television adverts and the consumers visiting our offices wanting to know more. We have paid into supporting OnTheMarket and we are pleased to know that we are seen as part of ‘the team’ going forward.”

“We had issues with Zoopla and this Smart price valuations on property. It makes our job harder trying to convince vendors that their house isn’t worth the value Zoopla’s software predicts them to be worth. At times, we have valued a property at one price and next door have approached us demanding twice the price simply because Zoopla says so. We are running with Rightmove who we feel are still charging too much and we are behind OnTheMarket – Happy  to know that we are part of the team as the portal grows.”

“Let’s see how it goes. This is something coming along at the right time, a lot of agents were unhappy with the two major property portals, so OnTheMarket could be exactly what the industry needs.”

I hope to add to this blog, so come back and check for updates. I hope to be able to share some quotes that agents are happy to put their names to, currently out of respect, they prefer to remain uncredited on the above comments…

 

 

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Housing Ombudsman’s report demonstrates necessity of vibrant and growing private rental sector

Following a recent report from the Housing Ombudsman titled ‘Spotlight Report: Repairing Trust’, which revealed that 2024/25 witnessed a 474 per cent surge in complaints about poor living conditions compared to 2019/20, Propertymark has stated that this demonstrates the necessity for a vibrant and growing private rental sector. Referencing the UK Government’s ambition to construct…
Read More
Breaking News

Inheritance Tax Receipts raise £1.5 billion in two months

Inheritance tax receipts hit £1.5 billion in the first two months of the current tax year, according to data released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) this morning. This is £98 million higher than the previous tax year, and continues an upward trend over the last two decades. Nicholas Hyett, Investment Manager at Wealth Club…
Read More
Breaking News

Propertymark Responds to Boiler Scheme Consultation

Responding to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Certification requirements for clean heat schemes consultation (England, Wales and Scotland), Propertymark has stressed the concerns of property agents that landlords are struggling to afford energy efficiency improving measures and warn that the scheme must evolve to protect the availability of…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Industry Reaction to Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 4.25%

Following a previous cut in May, the rate has today been held at 4.25%. This comes as a result of inflation easing slightly to 3.4% (May 2025), but remaining higher than the Bank of England target rate of 2.0%. The decision to hold the base rate by the Monetary Policy Committee was the result of…
Read More
Breaking News

Rents Climb as High as 17.4%

The latest market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has found that rents across Britain have surged by as much as 17.4% in some areas since the Labour Government adopted the proposed Renters’ Rights Bill which is likely to become law later this Summer after the Bill enters the House of Lords…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 19/06/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Cloud-based practice management platform launches at Taylor Rose Taylor Rose parent AIIC Group rolls out cloud-based practice management platform AIIC Group (“AIIC”), the legal group behind law firms Taylor Rose, FDR Law and Kingsley Wood, is rolling out a new fully cloud-based practice management…
Read More