Rightmove has been the undisputed champion of the UK property portal market for over a decade, occupying a position of dominance that few other national websites can match.

Its success has fundamentally changed how the public searches for homes, but this market strength comes at a significant cost to the estate agents who rely on it.

The Unrivalled Public Success

For the vast majority of the public, Rightmove is the starting point and often the only point for a property search. It has become a generic term for house-hunting, much like "Hoover" is for vacuum cleaners.

• Traffic and User Engagement: Rightmove consistently commands over 80% of all time spent on major UK property portals. It receives far more monthly visits than all its competitors (like Zoopla and OnTheMarket) combined.

• The Breadth of Listings: Because almost every estate agent “must” list on Rightmove to reach the market, it offers the most comprehensive inventory. This creates a powerful network effect: users go to Rightmove because it has the most listings, and agents go to Rightmove because that's where all the users are.

• Brand Trust: The platform’s longevity and consistent user experience have cemented its reputation as the most trusted and reliable source for listings, making it indispensable for both buyers and renters.

The Agent's Dilemma: Sky-High Costs

While the public loves Rightmove, the relationship between the portal and its primary customers - Estate Agents - is deeply strained, primarily due to cost.

• Perceived Monopoly Pricing: Since Rightmove is seen as essential for survival, many agents feel they have no choice but to pay whatever the company charges. These fees have risen consistently, often by double-digit percentages annually, even as the number of listings remains constant.

• High Profit Margins: Rightmove consistently reports exceptionally high profit margins, often exceeding 70% - a figure indicative of strong market power and minimal competitive pressure. Agents argue they are funding this massive profitability while receiving little proportionate increase in value or service.

• The "Cost of Doing Business": For many agencies, Rightmove is now their single largest operating expense after staff salaries, leading to resentment and a constant search for alternatives to relieve the financial pressure.

Agents Themselves Cemented Rightmove's Dominance

The story of Rightmove's unchallenged success cannot be told without acknowledging the critical mistake made by the estate agency industry, which inadvertently crippled its competitors.

The Zoopla Threat

For a period, Zoopla (which absorbed PrimeLocation) posed a genuine challenge to Rightmove. Zoopla invested heavily in consumer marketing and, crucially, began achieving a close second in terms of listings. This competition provided agents with some negotiating leverage.

The Birth of OnTheMarket (OTM)

Driven by frustration over rising fees, hundreds of major agents attempted to challenge the dominance of the 'big two' (Rightmove and Zoopla) by creating their own portal, OnTheMarket (OTM).

Crucially, OTM was launched with a restrictive "one other portal" rule (often called the "mandate"). This rule required agents to list on OTM and then choose only one of the other major portals (usually Rightmove or Zoopla).

• The Flaw: Most agents recognised that abandoning Rightmove entirely would be commercial suicide because of its superior public traffic.

• The Decision: Faced with the choice, agents overwhelmingly decided to list on OTM and Rightmove, choosing to drop Zoopla instead.

This move which was pushed by the NAEA, intended to break the duopoly, effectively eliminated the only viable competitor capable of challenging Rightmove's user numbers, ensuring that Rightmove retained the most comprehensive list of available properties and cemented its position as the market leader.

Is Rightmove a Monopoly?

While technically not a pure legal monopoly (as competitors exist), Rightmove operates with monopoly power in practical terms.

Its network effect - where its value increases with every agent and consumer who uses it—makes it virtually impossible to dislodge. Estate agents must use it to stay in business, and their own attempt to create a viable competitor only served to reinforce the very dominance they sought to overthrow. Until a new industry model emerges that shifts consumer behaviour, Rightmove will remain the essential, high-cost gateway to the UK property market.