Traffic to leading UK property portals down 8% in April
19th May 2009
According to the latest figures from the leading independent website monitoring sources, Nielsen and comScore, traffic to the Top 10 UK property portals was down 8% in April to 8.7 million combined unique website visitors from a figure of 9.5 million in March.
The figures will be particularly troubling for some of the first generation property portals with Propertyfinder Group down almost 15% and the Trinity Mirror Network down over 20%. In contrast, some of the newer portals continue to buck the trend and close the gap on the old guard, led by Zoopla.co.uk, Globrix and Trovit Homes.
The rankings are compiled by averaging the number of unique visitors in the month reported by Nielsen and comScore, providing a more stable picture of the market and eliminating any bias of an individual reporting method.
Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, commented: "With over 85% of UK buyers beginning their property search online, the traffic figures to the leading property portals provide a good proxy of buyer interest in the market at any given point in time and the 'green shoots' of growing buyer interest beginning to appear in March seem to have stalled in April."
Top 10 UK Property Portals
| Apr-09* | Mar-09* | MoM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rightmove | 2,766 | 2,923 | -5.37% |
| Digital Property Group** | 2,135 | 2,363 | -9.67% |
| Propertyfinder Group** | 1,177 | 1,373 | -14.31% |
| Nestoria | 593 | 644 | -7.92% |
| Zoopla.co.uk | 558 | 568 | -1.76% |
| Globrix | 428 | 410 | 4.27% |
| Trovit Homes | 408 | 388 | 5.15% |
| Trinity Mirror Network** | 248 | 325 | -23.69% |
| Fish4Homes** | 267 | 289 | -7.79% |
| Home.co.uk | 139 | 194 | -28.35% |
| Total for Top 10 | 8717 | 9477 | -8.02% |
* Average number of unique visitors per Nielsen & comScore
** Figures include combined audience from multiple websites
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
Notes to editors
About Zoopla.co.uk
Zoopla.co.uk is a unique property website offering users information and tools to help them make better-informed property decisions. Our aim is to provide the most comprehensive source of residential property market information in the UK to help buyers, sellers, owners and estate agents alike and give them an advantage in the property market.
In 2007, following the success of bringing DVD rental to the web with LOVEFiLM.com, Zoopla founders Alex Chesterman and Simon Kain realised that the UK property market had yet to fully enjoy the benefits of the internet in terms of its ability to deliver transparency and efficiency. They set out with the mission to transform the property market for both professionals and consumers by:
- offering users FREE access to instant value estimates, sold house prices and local information and trends
- enhancing estate agents' marketing efficiency by providing exposure/leads on a pay-for-performance basis
- helping users find local agents and other property professionals to assist them in the transaction process
- letting buyers make offers on ANY UK home and owners test interest in their homes before choosing to sell
- creating an environment where anyone can ask/answer questions and share their knowledge about homes
We have started by providing FREE value estimates, sold prices and local information as well as letting users add content by editing information and uploading photos. We are the UK's fastest growing property website and by far the largest and most active property community in the UK, with over a million user contributions to our website in 2008 alone. We have already launched some unique features, like TemptMe™ and AskMe™, which allow consumers to gain an insight into the market and discover information they won't find anywhere else. Our estate agent directory, FindAnAgent and our unique AskAnAgent feature allow users to contact local professionals directly for their expertise. Very soon we will begin accepting estate agent listing feeds and delivering buyer leads to agents on a no-risk, performance-based model, making Zoopla.co.uk the most cost-effective way for agents to gain exposure and develop their inventory pipeline.
Our value estimates are calculated using a proprietary algorithm (a secret formula) that we have developed by analysing millions of data points relating to property sales and home characteristics throughout the UK. The algorithm works by comparing relationships between home prices, economic trends and property characteristics in given geographic areas. Our estimates are constantly refined, using the most recent data available from public sources combined with our proprietary used-generated data and a variety of statistical methodologies, in order to provide the most current information on any home.
Zoopla Limited is a privately held company with a highly experienced and proven management team, backed by well-respected angel investors and leading venture capital firms Atlas Venture (atlasventure.com) and Octopus Ventures (octopusventures.com).
Zoopla.co.uk Awards
- Winner: 'UK's Most Promising Internet Company 2008' (First Tuesday)
- Winner: 'Best Property Website - Gold Award' (Web User Magazine)
- Winner: 'Best Real Estate website 2008' (Websiteoftheyear.co.uk)