Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by The Negotiator. Read the original article for full details.

Rightmove Fees Rise Sharply, Prompting Industry Scrutiny

A recent report has highlighted a significant increase in Rightmove's annual fees for estate agents, with one agency seeing costs rise from £35,661 to around £40,000. The report also compares the value of leads generated by Rightmove and its main rival, Zoopla, and notes a class action filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The report states that Rightmove requested a fee increase of roughly 12% for one agency, while inflation was reported at about 3%. For this agency, the new annual fee of around £40,000 would cover 806 telephone enquiries and 655 emails, totalling 1,461 leads. This equates to £49.63 per call, £61.07 per email, and £27.38 per enquiry.

In comparison, Zoopla generated 554 calls and 653 emails for the same agency, totalling 1,207 enquiries. The cost per lead from Zoopla was reported as £21.66 per call, £18.38 per email, and £9.94 per enquiry. The report notes that Rightmove delivered 254 more enquiries than Zoopla over the year, but at a cost approximately three times higher.

The report suggests that Rightmove's pricing reflects its market dominance, though it acknowledges that the situation may differ in other regions of Britain. In London, the report observes that estate agencies often receive leads from a variety of sources beyond property portals, such as personal contacts, international referrals, and company websites.

The report also mentions a class action filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal by Jeremy Newman, seeking damages of approximately £1.5 billion to £1.6 billion on behalf of around 7,200 estate agents and new home developers across Britain.

The report concludes by referencing the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the property portal market, suggesting that technological change could alter the industry's landscape in the future.