Total revenues surged by 53% to £4.9 million from £3.2 million, reflecting the impressive growth in numbers of estate agency offices registered with Rightmove.
The number of selling agents registered rose by 45% from 3,301 to 4,792, while the number of lettings agents also rose by 45%, from 560 to 811.
Rightmove’s managing director Ed Williams said: “Rightmove has proved a spectacular success among dot.com companies, generating positive cashflow early in its life. We’re delighted to announce a modest profit this year, at a time when many other high-profile Internet business are still in loss. Prospects for future business growth are excellent.”
Agents have benefited from a massive increase in visits by prospective buyers to the Rightmove website. Site visits increased by 96% from 2.5 million in February 2003 to 4.9 million last month, with pages of property details viewed up by 152% from 45 million to 114 million. Email enquiries to agents through the web site rose by 55% to 389,000 in February 2004, as compared with 251,000 in February 2003.
This growth in site traffic and enquiries reflects the growth in the number of estate agency offices registered, displaying almost 300,000 properties on the site – 46% more than a year ago.
Hitwise data shows Rightmove strengthening its position as the UK’s leading property portal, with a 32% market share by page impressions – far ahead of any competitor.
Ranking UK Web Sites Market Share
1 ebay UK 14.02%
2 Google UK 4.37%
6 MSN UK 1.66%
10 Auto Trader UK 1.11%
11 Friends Reunited UK 1.03%
13 MSN.co.uk Search 0.94%
14 RIGHTMOVE 0.80%
15 Lycos UK Chat 0.61%
17 Expedia.co.uk 0.51%
19 Yahoo! UK & Ireland 0.48%
20 Yahoo! UK & Ireland Search 0.42%
Hitwise also shows Rightmove strengthening its position in terms of overall UK internet websites by page impressions, with a market share of 0.80% in January. This places Rightmove just behind the popular MSN.co.uk search site, and above Lycos UK chat and travel site Expedia.co.uk.
Ed Williams concludes: “The Internet has clearly come of age as the best place for prospective homebuyers to start their search for a new home and Rightmove knocks the spots off its competitors. With the addition of new build, rental properties and homes in Spain to the site, Rightmove continues to expand and develop the service its offers to the consumer, the estate agent and the developer. Rightmove’s financial performance provides tangible evidence of our commercial success.”
