Is Rightmove becoming too expensive?

There is a growing feeling that the leading portal may be almost be at that point. Certainly eye watering fees of £20,000 per year per branch who carry out sales and lettings will make many small business think again. In fairness to them their most cost effective package comes in at around £16,000 a year. 

 

They will now doubt point to the fact they display more properties and have more web traffic than Zoopla or OnTheMarket and that their product is superior. As always, this is in the eye of the beholder and it is up to every agent to make up their own mind. 

 

There may be a tipping point where agents start to pack their bags and decamp to the other two in large numbers. Once that happens RightMove's comparative advantage vanishes. 

 

Now that they are a publicly listed company it's slightly ironic to remember they were formed by a group of agents keen to get in first so that outsiders did not control the market. 

 

The current situation seems very similar to the times when a large part of an agent's budget swelled the coffers of the local newspaper. That continued well beyond the point it should have done. Many agents continued to place big adverts in the local newspaper. I am sure the same will happen here. However, for those agents brave enough to make the move they may find that the world continues to turn without RightMove.