Strong growth in UK house hunting in traditionally quiet July
- Further sign that buyer interest is returning to market -
21st Aug 2009
The price is right, finally...or so it would seem. According to the latest figures, traffic to the UK's leading property websites, where the vast majority of house-hunters start their property search, was up an impressive 9.25% in July over the previous month. The statistics come from the leading independent monitoring services, Nielsen and comScore, who track UK website traffic.
The figures show that unique visits to the top 10 UK property websites jumped from 8.1 million visits in June to over 8.9 million in July, at a time that traditionally marks the beginning of a slow period in the residential property market. All but one of the leading websites in the sector managed to attract higher numbers of house hunters in July which may bode well for a recovery in transaction activity, the key driver of house prices, come the end of the summer holiday period.
Zoopla.co.uk, was once again the fastest growing website in the online property sector with an increase in visitor traffic of over 20%, more than double the average according to the statistics, as it continues to enjoy a very eventful summer following the acquisitions of both ThinkProperty.com and the Propertyfinder Group. The second biggest winner in growth terms was Propertyfinder.com itself, which grew by 17% in July.
Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, commented: "We have known for some time that pent up demand was building in the market whilst buyers have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the price to be right. Given the extraordinary growth in property window-shopping taking place on websites like Zoopla.co.uk in July, it would appear that pricing is now reaching levels where demand may turn into real activity in the market."
Fastest growing UK property portals
| July 09*g | June 09*g | MoMg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoopla.co.uk | 510 | 424 | 20.28% |
| Propertyfinder Group** | 1,317 | 1,125 | 17.07% |
| Nestoria | 577 | 516 | 11.83% |
| Trovit Homes | 426 | 383 | 11.23% |
| Globrix | 535 | 482 | 11.00% |
| Digital Property Group** | 2,132 | 1,932 | 10.38% |
| Rightmove | 2,783 | 2,634 | 5.66% |
| Trinity Mirror Network** | 276 | 272 | 1.47% |
| Home.co.uk | 158 | 156 | 1.28% |
| Fish4Homes** | 216 | 250 | -13.80% |
| Total for Top 10 Portals | 8,929 | 8,173 | 9.25% |
* 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
By providing FREE value estimates for EVERY UK home, sold prices and local information as well as hundreds of thousands of property listings for sale/to rent, Zoopla.co.uk is fast-becoming the ultimate destination for users to both search for property and to do their market research. We continue to be the UK's fastest growing property website and largest and most active property community, with over a million user contributions to our website in the past 12 months alone. We also offer 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 also help guide users to local professionals directly for their expertise.
Our value estimates are calculated using a proprietary algorithm (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 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).