The company said that “supportive” property market trends in the early months of this year would support a rise in revenue of between 8% and 10% compared with 2024
Rightmove has predicted a revenue growth of up to 10% this year, as lower mortgage rates due to rate cuts attract more potential homebuyers to its website.
The company noted “supportive” property market trends in the early months of this year, with expected revenue to be between 8% and 10% higher than 2024. It attributed this to the Bank of England’s decision to reduce the base interest rate to 4.5% in February, the lowest since June 2023, which is starting to result in lower lending rates for home movers and industry participants.
Meanwhile, sales in the resale market surpassed 2019 levels in August last year and have remained there. Rightmove, the UK’s largest property sales and lettings portal, recorded over five billion views of properties last year, equivalent to 9,400 views per minute.
The company also expects more revenue this year from its Optimiser Edge product, designed to help estate agents increase views on their properties, along with another 1% growth in members.
In its financial results released on Friday, Rightmove reported a 7% rise in revenue last year, while predicting a significant increase next year. The company does not charge house hunters using it to find properties, but rather estate agents and builders who want to advertise houses to those potential buyers.
Average revenue per advertiser, a key indicator for Rightmove, increased by 6%, while membership grew by 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 £6.2bn proposal. Despite another tough year for the UK housing market, with sky-high mortgage rates putting off buyers, Rightmove’s boss Johan Svanstrom praised the company’s performance, highlighting “the resilience of our business model through property market cycles”.
Meanwhile, Nationwide reported this Friday that UK house prices have ticked up for the sixth consecutive month. Chief executive Johan Svanstrom said the results showed “the resilience of our business model through property market cycles”.
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”. He added: “This is likely to continue in our view as long as the UK remains fascinated by property.”
Rightmove shares rose 2% in early trading on Friday.
