Latest news with #JohanSvanstrom
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Rightmove on track as homebuyers shrug off economic upheaval
Rightmove is targeting double-digit revenue growth this year as strong homebuyer and rental demand appears unmoved by global economic turmoil. The property portal told investors on Friday that available listings had risen to a ten-year high since the beginning of April, up 13 per cent on the same time last year. It said 2025 house price growth remains 'positive' with new buyer demand, listings and sales agreed up 5, 9 and 7 per cent, respectively, year-on-year. The positive update follows data from Halifax that showed property prices rose at their fastest pace so far this year in April, despite some forecasters expecting a fall in response to higher stamp duty. Rightmove's own research suggests house asking prices hit a record high earlier this month. Johan Svanstrom, chief executive of Rightmove, said the group was 'comparatively well insulated from the volatility that some other companies and industries are having to contend with', and could 'look forward with confidence'. Rightmove also highlighted a continued 'imbalance between supply and demand' for rental properties, which averaged 11 enquiries per property since the start of the year. While this is lower than the same time last year, it is still double the pre-Covid average. The group, which claims 80 per cent of all consumer time spent on UK property portals, sees tailwinds in further looming interest rate cuts and greater optimism among new home developers. Rightmove continues to target revenue growth of 8 to 10 per cent this year, with an underlying operating profit margin of 70 per cent. Svanstrom added: 'We're pleased to have started 2025 with good financial, operational and strategic momentum.' Rightmove shares were up 0.1 per cent to 744.6p in early trading. They have added 15 per cent since the start of the year. Anthony Codling, managing director at RBC Capital Markets, said: 'Despite the turmoil in global markets are macroeconomic uncertainty Rightmove continues to deliver a strong performance. 'Homebuyer and homemover demand for Rightmove's content appears unsated and undisturbed by higher level macroeconomic uncertainty, perhaps property portals are a welcome distraction from such concerns, fears and worries. 'Housebuilders, estate and letting agents are keen to tap into this demand for content aiming to convert it into transactions.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rightmove expects surge in revenue this year amid property market recovery
Rightmove said it expects revenue to grow by up to a tenth this year, as rate cuts feed through to lower mortgage rates, leading more would-be homebuyers to its website. The company reported 'supportive' property market trends in the early months of this year, while revenue is expected to be between 8% and 10% higher than 2024. It pointed to the Bank of England's decision to cut the base interest rate to 4.5% in February, the lowest level since June 2023, 'which is beginning to feed through to lower lending rates for home movers and industry participants'. Meanwhile, sales in the resale market edged ahead of 2019 levels in August last year and remain there. Rightmove is the UK's largest property sales and lettings portal, with users totting up more than five billion views of properties last year, equivalent to 9,400 views per minute. The company also pointed to more revenue this year coming from its Optimiser Edge product, designed to help estate agents get more views on their properties, as well as another 1% growth in members. Reporting its financial results on Friday, Rightmove said revenue rose 7% last year, while forecasting a sharp uptick next year. The company does not charge house hunters using it to find properties, rather estate agents and builders who want to advertise houses to those would-be buyers. Average revenue per advertiser, a closely-watched indicator for Rightmove, rose 6%, while it saw membership rise 1%. The year was not without its challenges for bosses, however, who had to repeatedly reject takeover offers from the Rupert Murdoch-backed real estate company REA Group. REA Group eventually abandoned its attempts to buy Rightmove after the fourth attempt, after Rightmove's board rejected a £6.2 billion proposal. And Rightmove's results come after another poor year for the UK housing market, with buyers hampered by high mortgage rates. Nonetheless, chief executive Johan Svanstrom said the results showed 'the resilience of our business model through property market cycles'. Separately, Nationwide said on Friday that the average UK house price has increased month-on-month for the sixth month in a row. Anthony Codling, an analyst at finance firm RBC Capital Markets, said Rightmove seemed to deliver profit 'whatever the weather or state of the housing market'. 'This is likely to continue in our view as long as the UK remains fascinated by property,' he added. Rightmove shares rose 2% in early trading on Friday.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Rightmove expects surge in revenue this year amid property market recovery
Rightmove said it expects revenue to grow by up to a tenth this year, as rate cuts feed through to lower mortgage rates, leading more would-be homebuyers to its website. The company reported 'supportive' property market trends in the early months of this year, while revenue is expected to be between 8% and 10% higher than 2024. It pointed to the Bank of England's decision to cut the base interest rate to 4.5% in February, the lowest level since June 2023, 'which is beginning to feed through to lower lending rates for home movers and industry participants'. Meanwhile, sales in the resale market edged ahead of 2019 levels in August last year and remain there. Rightmove is the UK's largest property sales and lettings portal, with users totting up more than five billion views of properties last year, equivalent to 9,400 views per minute. The company also pointed to more revenue this year coming from its Optimiser Edge product, designed to help estate agents get more views on their properties, as well as another 1% growth in members. Reporting its financial results on Friday, Rightmove said revenue rose 7% last year, while forecasting a sharp uptick next year. The company does not charge house hunters using it to find properties, rather estate agents and builders who want to advertise houses to those would-be buyers. Average revenue per advertiser, a closely-watched indicator for Rightmove, rose 6%, while it saw membership rise 1%. The year was not without its challenges for bosses, however, who had to repeatedly reject takeover offers from the Rupert Murdoch-backed real estate company REA Group. REA Group eventually abandoned its attempts to buy Rightmove after the fourth attempt, after Rightmove's board rejected a £6.2 billion proposal. And Rightmove's results come after another poor year for the UK housing market, with buyers hampered by high mortgage rates. Nonetheless, chief executive Johan Svanstrom said the results showed 'the resilience of our business model through property market cycles'. Separately, Nationwide said on Friday that the average UK house price has increased month-on-month for the sixth month in a row. Anthony Codling, an analyst at finance firm RBC Capital Markets, said Rightmove seemed to deliver profit 'whatever the weather or state of the housing market'. 'This is likely to continue in our view as long as the UK remains fascinated by property,' he added. Rightmove shares rose 2% in early trading on Friday.
The Independent
09-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Plans to digitalise key property data to speed up home buying
The Government is planning to digitalise data shared during property sales to tackle hold-ups in transactions and streamline the house-buying process. The changes aim to modernise the 'cumbersome' process by allowing information that is often paper-based or not machine readable to be shared more easily. The Government has announced a 12-week project to decide on the 'design and implementation of agreed rules on data' so that it can easily be shared between conveyancers, lenders and other parties involved in a transaction. 'We are streamlining the cumbersome home-buying process so that it is fit for the twenty-first century, helping homebuyers save money, gain time and reduce stress while also cutting the number of house sales that fall through,' housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said. Digitising the property market is key to helping speed up the moving process Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove It is part of Labour's plans for housing which also including overhauling planning rules, building 1.5 million homes and reforming leaseholds. Legislation will be introduced next week to give leaseholders power over the way their service charges are spent. When buying a home, conveyancing typically takes several weeks, but waiting for documents needed for property searches and other parts of the process can delay it. Rightmove said it takes five months on average from an offer being accepted to moving into a property, and that 'digitising' the property market is key to helping speed this up. A 'fully digitalised' home buying and selling process would mean mortgage companies and surveyors can access the information they need immediately with identity checks only carried out once, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said. Building control and highways information are among the documentation needed that is predominantly paper-based or not machine readable. A lack of protocol for accessing, sharing and verifying data that is available electronically also contributes to holdups, the ministry said. The ministry will work with HM Land Registry (HMLR) and experts from the Digital Property Market Steering Group on the 12-week project. The Land Registry will also lead 10-month pilots with councils focused on opening up more data and making it digital. Plans for digital identity verification services also aim to make property transactions move forward more quickly. As part of leasehold reforms, secondary legislation for the Right to Manage measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will be laid on Monday and come into force on March 3. They will give leaseholders powers to decide how their service charges are spent and remove the requirement for leaseholders to cover the legal fees of their freeholder when making a right-to-manage claim. This could save them up to £3,000 for the most costly claims and reduces the incentive for landlords to obstruct the process, the Government said. Mr Pennycook said the reforms would allow leasehold homeowners to 'more easily and cheaply take control of the buildings they live in and clamp down on unreasonable or extortionate charges'. Rightmove chief executive Johan Svanstrom said: 'Digitising the property market is key to helping speed up the moving process. 'If the plans set out today can further the access to information and an improved transaction process, it's also critical to drive industry-wide adoption of tech solutions and collaboration to make it a success. He said the company's latest data shows it takes five months on average from having an offer accepted to moving into a home, on top of the initial two months it usually takes to find a property and agree an offer. 'The current process also contributes to an average of more than one in five home sales falling through, and hopefully a better process can help reduce this as well,' he said.
