Real Estate

Sluggish housing market pushes Rightmove agents out of business


UK property portal Rightmove is feeling the strain from a slowing housing market as a fall in transactions pushes some of its agents out of business.

The group reported a 4.6 per cent drop in housing transactions in the first six months of the year, which it said had knocked agency branch numbers by 3 per cent.

Peter Brooks-Johnson, Rightmove chief executive said the fall in transactions had “put pressure on some low-stock agency branches”, as the time to completion of deals was lengthened and delayed short-term cash flows.

Rightmove’s difficulties come as a slowing housing market in the UK has led to signs of strain over the past year among some property groups.

Estate agency Foxtons, which earlier this year reported its first full year loss since listing six years ago, on Friday reported a 3.5 per cent drop in first half revenue amid a “prolonged downturn in the London sales market” and “continued political uncertainty”.

“Low consumer confidence combined with challenging market conditions means selling or finding a property is more challenging than ever before,” said Nic Budden, Foxtons chief executive.

However, growth in new home developments over the half provided a ray of hope for the industry. A 10 per cent rise in development numbers pushed up Rightmove’s overall revenue by the same percentage to £143.9m.

But the group sounded a cautious tone in its outlook. Rightmove said the decline in transaction numbers may lead to a further reduction in the number of agency branches or new home developments — key revenue sources — as well as knocking advertisers’ marketing budgets, though there had been no evidence of this yet.



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