Zoopla says it has delivered strong results for letting agents in the run-up to what is traditionally the busiest time of year for the letting industry.
The portal says its rental leads per listing are currently up 26% compared to the pre-election period. It also says that it has more rental listings than any other portal in key areas of the country including London, Scotland and Wales.
In effort to maximum ROI for agents, Zoopla says it also been working to optimise its rental listings as we enter the peak lettings months.
This includes adding a travel-time calculator to all rental listings so potential renters can understand their commute time from a particular listing, as well as improvements to filters on-site. Visitors to Zoopla.co.uk can now filter out student accommodation, house shares and retirement rental listings when searching for a property to rent.
Zoopla’s quarterly flagship report, the Rental Market Report is now received by 500,000 active renters (who have been in-market over the past 30 days) every month. This rental audience is also served with informative content on how to get on the housing ladder.
In terms of the broader industry, Zoopla points out that has also been driving forward change through its Lettings Advisory Board, which consists of well-known industry figures from estate agencies and the wider private rental market.
The Board continues to call for policy changes to support keeping landlords in the market alongside more rights for renters. The Board recently sent a letter to the government with recommendations that would raise standards in the lettings industry, safeguard the quality of privately rented accommodation and help tenants know that the property they’re renting is safe.
Rich Hayes, chief operating officer at Zoopla, said: “Seven million rental listings are viewed on Zoopla every single week and we’re doing everything we can to ensure this translates into value for our letting agent customers as we enter the busy period. This includes optimising our site and listings to drive maximum interest from renters looking for their next rental property.”
