Graham Lock, chief executive of The Federation of Independent Agents (FIA), has revealed the results of a recent LinkedIn poll asking if estate agents had noticed an increase in leads since OnTheMarket were taken over by CoStar in December last year.
Only 18% of the 74 respondents said they had seen an increase in leads – a combined 82% said they had little to no change.
“This is a snapshot survey of course but quite telling that agents are largely not seeing an increase in leads from OTM. This isn’t to say that they won’t in the future as more marketing dollars are spent by CoStar to ignite the portal in the eyes of the general public,” said Lock
One the survey respondents, Jack Wilson, director of Wilson Estate Agents, commented: “The original concept behind On The Market (OTM) was a strong one—designed to challenge the dominance of Rightmove and its high fees. However, it’s not estate agents who decide which portal prevails, but the consumers.
“Rightmove has become synonymous with the UK housing market, while Zoopla and OTM offer similar experiences, their basic search functionality—filtering by price, number of rooms, and location—feels outdated. It doesn’t reflect how modern buyers really find their ideal property.
“When the property market is buoyant, reliance on portals like Rightmove diminishes, and OTM can serve its purpose for vendors. However, in tougher markets, efficiency becomes crucial, and Rightmove’s reach and tools deliver better results. This often makes alternatives feel insufficient from a business perspective, especially when trying to cut costs.”
Lock added: “The portal landscape is clearly dominated by the ‘big three’ and where OTM ultimately fits in under their new ownership remains to be seen, they claim to be more than just a portal and I think that strategy is working for them in some respects but ultimately I think it’s clear that what agents really want from their portals are regular, good quality leads.”
Although the survey is based on a small sample of agents, the findings will disappoint those in charge of OTM, which has set its sights on becoming the number one portal in the Britain, supported in part by a multi-million pound marketing media campaign.
EYE has approached OTM for comment but has so far not received a response.
