OnTheMarket records busiest ever quarter as housing demand rises

Online property company OnTheMarket has had its busiest ever quarter, as demand for homes surged after the Covid-19 lockdown eased.

The firm, which is majority-owned by estate agents and was set up to challenge Rightmove and Zoopla, saw some 80 million visits to its website in the three months to September 30.

That resulted in 5.9 million leads, such as viewing requests or calls, to estate agents and housebuilders that list on the site, acting chief executive Clive Beattie said.

Firms in the sector benefited from pent-up demand when the lockdown eased. At the start of the pandemic viewings were off the cards and people were urged to avoid moving where possible. The rules were relaxed in May.

The government tried to help the market bounce back with a series of measures, including introducing a stamp duty holiday until March next year.

Beattie said the stamp duty changes helped demand. He added that a number of people had been reassessing their housing needs during lockdown.

Beattie said: “We have seen some people looking to move from city centres to get more space, including gardens and home offices.”

In the six months to July 31 AIM-listed OnTheMarket saw revenue rise 28% to £10.2 million.

It slashed marketing costs during the period and made other cost reductions, and it recorded a operating profit of £700,000 compared to a £7.2 million loss a year earlier.