Vast Disparity in Portal Fees Paid by UK Agents While Trust and Satisfaction Remain Low
New research from Wiggywam, the all-in-one property platform, highlights the vast disparity in fees that UK estate agents are paying to the major property portals. But despite some agents paying tens-of-thousands of pounds each month, trust and satisfaction levels remain starkly low.
The insight comes via WiggyWam's Movers and Shakers for 2020. An extensive industry survey of UK lettings and estate agents, analysing everything from business structure, innovation, growth aspirations and finances.
The average monthly fee being paid by UK estate agents to the three major portals (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket) is currently £1,122, with the highest monthly portal fee hitting an incredible £25,000.
It's important to note, however, that some agents, and especially those who report spending many thousands on portals, will not only be paying to list properties, they will also be buying additional 'marketing' products as part of their monthly subscription.
If we dive into the fees for each of these three portals independently, it becomes clear that the difference is significant.
To work with Rightmove:
- 2% spend less than £150,month
- 23% spend £1,000-£1,499/month
- 27% spend £1,500-£1,999/month
- 24% spend £2,000-£2,499/month
- 6% spend more than £5,000/month
To work with Zoopla:
- 2% spend less than £150/month
- 47% of UK agents pay an average of £150-£499/month,
- 40% spend £500-£999,
- 2% spend more than £5,000/month.
Results for OnTheMarket are markedly different:
- 39% of agents spend less than £150/month to work with OnTheMarket,
- 51% spend £150-£499,
- 10% spend £500-£1,000/month.
The disparity between what different agents are spending on portals is stark, and the data confirms what many already suspected - Rightmove is the most expensive portal for agents, followed closely by Zoopla, while OnTheMarket is charging significantly lower fees.
Dissatisfied, but still spending
Despite all of the money agents are spending to list on the big three portals, Wiggywam's research shows that satisfaction and trust levels remain incredibly low.
When asked how satisfied they are with the portal service they receive in exchange for this monthly expenditure, agents offered an average score of 2.8/10 for Zoopla, 2.6/10 for OnTheMarket, and 2.1/10 for Rightmove.
Trust levels also remain low. Agents gave Zoopla a trust rating of 4.5/10, Rightmove a trust rating of 3.6/10, and a rating of 3.2/10 for OnTheMarket.
Furthermore, 42% of agents think portals should cut fees to provide more satisfactory service. Despite this, 57% of Rightmove's agent customers report that portal fees were higher in 2020 than they were in 2019. 32% said the same about Zoopla, and 18% for OnTheMarket.
Looking forward and pondering the arrival of another major player in the residential portal/platform space, 55% of agents state that they intend to avoid working with the much-discussed company, Boomin.
WiggyWam CEO, Silas J. Lees MRICS, says:
"With recent news of Rightmove imposing a further 11% hike in fees to agents, the findings of this survey couldn't be more relevant.
"The vast disparity of fees being paid by some agents compared to others is striking to say the least. And when considered alongside the dire trust and satisfaction ratings, it does not paint a happy picture for 'the big three', showing their customers have very little faith in their businesses.
"It all raises the more curious question of why agents continue to remain with service providers whom they don't trust? Is it really down to lack of options? Or does the 'once bitten twice shy' idiom prevail in this situation, a situation where agents believe that the devil you know is a far smaller risk than trying to create a Rightmove 2.0
"But sticking with business partners for whom there is no trust and no satisfaction doesn't seem like a viable option. Certainly not when there are more cost-effective alternatives which offer a greater suite of services to agents. If I were an agent, I would be sick of having my loyalty abused time and time again and I would be busy exploring the alternatives."
Rightmove
| Monthly Fees | % of Agents |
| Up to £149 | 2% |
| £150 - £499 | 12% |
| £500 - £999 | 2% |
| £1000 - £1499 | 23% |
| £1500 - £1999 | 27% |
| £2000 - £2499 | 24% |
| £2500 - £4999 | 4% |
| £5000+ | 6% |
Zoopla
| Monthly Fees | % of Agents |
| Up to £149 | |
| £150 - £499 | 47% |
| £500 - £999 | 40% |
| £1000 - £1499 | 7% |
| £1500 - £1999 | 0% |
| £2000 - £2499 | 0% |
| £2500 - £4999 | 2% |
| £5000+ | 2% |
On The Market
| Monthly Fees | % of Agents |
| Up to £149 | 39% |
| £150 - £499 | 51% |
| £500 - £999 | 10% |
| £1000 - £1499 | |
| £1500 - £1999 | |
| £2000 - £2499 | |
| £2500 - £4999 | |
| £5000+ |
ABOUT US
WiggyWam is a full service property platform that provides leads, listings, personal development training, instant tenancy referencing via its Tenant Passport and video conferencing capabilities to estate agents. It's also a means of enabling transactions to complete much more quickly and efficiently than is currently possible.
It's an eco-system and the route to re-establishing the Sellers Pack – the much maligned and misunderstood attempt by HM Govt in 2005 to provide upfront information to home buyers to ease and improve the home buying process.
'It's Facebook, Linkedin, CheckaTrade and TED Talks – all in one" says Silas J. Lees.
More information on WiggyWam can be found here at www.wiggywam.co.uk/joinnow
Estate Agent's interested in finding out more about our 'Conveyancing Concierge' service are invited to Attend Our Exclusive Webinar
Links to other publications on this subject:
Research highlights vast disparity in portal fees paid by UK agents while trust and satisfaction remain low
New research from Wiggywam highlights the vast disparity in portal fees that UK estate agents are paying to the major property portals.
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Comments 1
As an ex-Agent (the following comment being my own personal views), I find it frankly unbelievable that this article has to date attracted over 15,500 views... but not one single syllable has been posted here in the comments on the thorny subject of portals and costs of same. This is perhaps the most divisive subject in Agency - everyone has an opinion - yet none of the readers are prepared to give theirs? It's FOUR YEARS since the article was published, apparently - that's an awful long time to attract not a single post. Are Agents frightened to say anything? if so - what the heck is it that are they frightened of?
Personally, I find the quoted pricing research statistics fascinating, highly informative - and the likely origin of a million questions. But, as no-one else has... I'll ask just a few of them myself and see what flows...
Firstly, can someone explain how it is possible to spend less than a hundred and fifty quid per month on Rightmove? I didn't think such a product existed... yet two percent of respondents apparently have it! I wonder if whoever it is spending TWENTY FIVE GRAND per month is getting over 166 times more 'value' for their product? I sincerely doubt it - maybe they should downgrade and find out!
Conversely, I wonder how many of the OTM users who are paying "under £149 per month" are actually paying the princely sum of zero... nowt... nada... while other Agents are shelling out their monthly dues to allow the others gratis access to what they pay for?
What percentage of the Agents in the research are on only one portal - and what proportion of these only on RM; on Zoopla; and on OTM?
Why are only 42% of the portals' customers unhappy with the price they are (were) paying? If that's across all three, then I take it that those using Zoopla and OTM are somewhat happier, thereby keeping the numbers down.
And how did 57% of RM users report an increase in monthly fees during 2020 to 2019, when the ARPA dropped by 28%? Did the other 43% get it for nothing?
Questions that don't now keep me awake all night... but surely there are 000s of readers that they do?
Come on - free speech is a wonderful thing that our ancestors fought for the right to have. Vent your spleens... I guarantee it'll make you feel better!