ZPG has revealed that the number of vendor leads it has passed on to its agent customers has increased by a third just days after OnTheMarket announced it is to raise £50 via a flotation on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM.
The company, which operates Zoopla and PrimeLocation, the UK’s second and third largest property portals in the UK by the number of agents listed on its sites and traffic, says it has so far sent 300,000 vendor leads and over 13.7 million applicant leads to its members so far this year.
This, ZPG claims, has created fees for its member agents worth £225m.
But although the company claims the pick-up is largely down to its online home valuation tools, the increase in vendor leads is also an early signal that the UK sales market may be picking up.
Leads from vendors seeking an agent to sell their home increased by 31% compared to the first six months of last year, ZPG says.
“[ZPG] continues to generate more appraisal leads than any other website as a result of [our] unique valuation tools,” says Mark Goddard, Managing Director of ZPG’s Property division.
“We continue to deliver the best value and most effective marketing solutions for our members, giving them a unique advantage in marketing their existing listings and winning new business.”
The latest lead generation figures from ZPG come at a sensitive time in the ‘portal wars’. OnTheMarket last week announced that it is to de-mutualise and become a PLC and ask member agents to transfer their mutual status to members in return for shares in the new company, which is to be known as OnTheMarket Plc.
ZPG vs OTM
In early June this year ZPG claimed said 800 agent branches had returns to Zoopla over the past two years since the launch of OnTheMarket, although at the time Ian Springett pointed out that “many thousands” of agents had opted to join OnTheMarket and that “many thousands” remained on it.
But the OnTheMarket flotation received a mixed response from the City. One analyst told the FT that he had “many questions [including] has Agents Mutual lined up new agents to join ahead of the IPO process? Will institutional investors support a valuation of £200m-250m for a loss-making number three portal lagging in traffic share?” .
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