MSE News: Why selling your home could get harder next week

Gonzo1987

Moneyer wrote: »

Can they really get away with doing this for existing customers? If I'd placed my house with an agent on the understand they'd market it on Rightmove and Zoopla, I'd say removing it from either would put them in breach of contract and allow me to end the sole agency agreement….

it would only be breach of contract if the contract stated what websites would be advertised on.

WestonDave

The other problem with this is that the founding agents are all large national chains (understandably). They could quite easily set up a payment structure which requires say a £50k per year membership fee per member firm and then a low fee per property advertised. If they succeeded in driving Rightmove or more likely Zoopla out of the market, that pricing structure would make it almost impossible for small independent agents to exist.

Gonzo1987

Each agent has an equal share in the portal regardless of size. They are working for the agents not against them. Rightmove doesn't help the small agents, it makes it very expensive for them to advertise.

silvercar

mjm3346 wrote: »

At the moment Agents can use Rightmove and Zoopla and any others they like, this move stops that and is an attempt to take over the market by only allowing one other site to be used and not allowing that site to have the properties until after they have been listed on the new site for at least 48 hours.

Don't think anyone is buying into the idea that houses will get snapped up within 48 hours, so better check the new website or you won't get a look in.

Article in today's Times suggesting that nothing can overtake rightmove, that this is an effort mainly to hurt online estate agents.

cwcw

silvercar wrote: »

Don't think anyone is buying into the idea that houses will get snapped up within 48 hours, so better check the new website or you won't get a look in.

Article in today's Times suggesting that nothing can overtake rightmove, that this is an effort mainly to hurt online estate agents.

Zoopla will be the big loser with this. All the agents will choose Rightmove as their second portal because it's so much bigger than Zoopla. No wonder the Zoopla share price has tanked over the last few months.

Online agents will continue to just use Rightmove but longer term, if and when OnTheMarket becomes the market leader, it may decide to kill Rightmove off as well by stopping the "one other portal" allowance. That would kill off the online agents then.

The whole thing leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

tea-bag

If I was selling my house with a agent I would expect it to be on all sites and advertising to maximise my return. I would not be happy with a agent that only uses two portals.

Gonzo1987

Tea-bag not advertising on all the portals isn't new, there are a lot of agents out there who already only advertise on one,some of them being market leaders in their areas.
you shouldn't be relying on a portal to sell your property an agent should be able to do that without a portal. Often properties are snapped up by people on an agency's books before it hits the internet - how many people on here complain that once they find something on rightmove it has already gone ?

Pincher

If we are lucky, Zoopla will be forced to entertain private sellers and independent estate agents at cheaper rates.

jamesd

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Where's the cartel?

Read about the objectives of the cartel and who is included and not included in it, then read the wikipedia page that I linked to, notably the "allocating customers, allocating territories" and "establishing of common sales agencies" aspects. Now read the EU law section of that page, notably the " Directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions" and "Apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage" part, with this cartel restraining which other trading parties can be used, mandating one and limiting the rest to only one other choice.

The specified objectives of this cartel are harming competitors in the online property listing business and excluding non-member estate agents from the new platform to harm their businesses. Also harming both selling and buying consumers by limiting their listing choices.

The claimed consumer benefits can be delivered by letting consumers choose which sites to use, with added or reduced costs for using various listing services.

The same organisation without the bar on some types of estate agent or the restriction to just one other listings site could be entirely fine. It's the restrictions that make the cartel.

Thrugelmir

jamesd wrote: »

Read about the objectives of the cartel and who is included and not included in it, then read the wikipedia page that I linked to, notably the "allocating customers, allocating territories" and "establishing of common sales agencies" aspects. Now read the EU law section of that page, notably the " Directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions" and "Apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage" part, with this cartel restraining which other trading parties can be used, mandating one and limiting the rest to only one other choice.

The specified objectives of this cartel are harming competitors in the online property listing business and excluding non-member estate agents from the new platform to harm their businesses. Also harming both selling and buying consumers by limiting their listing choices.

The claimed consumer benefits can be delivered by letting consumers choose which sites to use, with added or reduced costs for using various listing services.

The same organisation without the bar on some types of estate agent or the restriction to just one other listings site could be entirely fine. It's the restrictions that make the cartel.

Where's this been copied from?

I've highlighted sections which are the very least questionable.

Doesn't address the reasons behind my question either.