Rightmove is launching its first broker product, which will allow customers to access mortgage advice through the property website.
The portal, now over 20 years old, says the move builds on the mortgage-in-principle product it launched with Nationwide last year.
It says: “Rightmove makes money here through a revenue share model. Revenue growth here will come from providing Nationwide with more leads and better leads.
On Monday, Rightmove will be taking an important strategic step by launching its first broker product, to enable consumers applying for a mortgage to access brokered advice through our site. To begin with we’ll be working with a small number of estate agents’ brokers to work out how to maximise the benefit to estate agents and homemovers as we evolve this proposition.”
The business targets annual sales of some £25m through mortgages alone by 2028.
Rightmove chief executive Johan Svanstrom has told the BBC: “We are constantly developing usable services for consumers. We want to give everyone the belief they can make their move – especially at these times of high rates. We will work with partners to facilitate a digital more transparent process, because we have one of the biggest brands in the market, where a lot of consumers are able to read up about what they can and cannot do.”
In a trading statement the portal reveals that it has increased its key revenue target in a bullish set of results which shows it has not been beaten by the volatile housing market.
The statement said the controversial Average Revenue Per Advertiser – a key metric – was expected over the full year to be between £112 and £116, above the previous guidance of £103 to £105: the rise is ,driven largely by new home developers.
Both agent subscriptions and new homes development listings have remained stable, with its so-called share of consumer time also unchanged so far in its second half, at around 85 per cent.
It has kept its wider full-year outlook unchanged, saying it remains “at least” in line with previous guidance for revenue growth of eight to 10 per cent and underlying earnings growth of seven to eight per cent.
Svanstrom adds: “The momentum that we reported in July has continued through the third quarter and beyond. The strength of our performance against an uncertain market backdrop demonstrates the strength of the UK consumer affinity to our platform, the value of the established network effect of our business model, the depth and richness of our consumer data, and the value that our customers place in our products to build their businesses. It also illustrates the resilience of our business model in all phases of the property market cycle.
“We continue to look to the future with confidence and remain focused on the delivery of our strategic plans, both in our core business and in strategic growth areas. We look forward to providing more detail at this afternoon’s investor day about our plans to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities ahead.”
