OnTheMarket's performance for agents shows that since the Federation of Independent Agents (FIA) was acquired by US real estate giant CoStar last year, only 18% of agents surveyed have seen an increase in leads from the portal. The fact that this has been revealed has attracted attention.
Graham Locke (main image, inset) The FIA chief executive said the figures were based on an online survey in which a total of 82% said they saw no increase or no change. 
“Of course, this is a snapshot study, but it's very telling that agents are seeing very little increase in leads from OTM,” says Locke.
“This is not to say that this will not happen in the future as CoStar spends more marketing funds to activate the portal in the eyes of the public.”
concept
Jack Wilson, director of Wilson Estate Agents, said: “The original concept behind On the Market (OTM) was a powerful one aimed at countering Rightmove’s dominance and its high fees.
“But consumers, not estate agents, decide which portals become popular. Rightmove has become synonymous with the UK housing market.
“Zoopla and OTM offer a similar experience, but basic search features like filtering by price, number of rooms, and location feel outdated.
“It doesn’t reflect how modern buyers actually find their ideal property.
“When the real estate market is booming, there is less reliance on portals like Rightmove, and OTM can serve that purpose for vendors.
But in tougher markets, efficiency is key, and Rightmove's reach and tools deliver better results.
“Because of this, the alternatives often feel inadequate from a business perspective, especially when trying to reduce costs.”
Lock added: “The portal landscape is clearly dominated by the 'big three' and it remains to be seen where OTM will ultimately fit under new ownership, but they insist they are more than just a portal. There are a few things to consider, but ultimately what agents really want from a portal is regular, I think it's clear that this is a high quality lead. ”
An OTM spokesperson said:
“According to verified figures from OnTheMarket, we have over 16,500 advertisers and have delivered 43% more leads to our customers (H123 vs. H124). Meanwhile, Rightmove has They reported a 10% decrease in leads over the same period.”
“We are the UK’s fastest growing agent-friendly property portal, with website traffic increasing by 83%, while Rightmove only grew by 1% over the same period.
“Although some of our agents are not OnTheMarket customers, this ‘snap vote’ of a small sample of agents truly represents the scale of growth we have achieved in such a short period of time.” That's not true. We continue to invest heavily in sales and marketing and aim to become the number one portal in the UK. ”
