Rightmove raises key sales target in spite of housing market ‘uncertainty’
Online real estate firm Rightmove has increased a key revenues target as it cheered resilient demand despite “uncertainty” in the housing market and falling property prices.
Shares in the group lifted 6% in Monday morning trading as it said it is now expecting average revenues per advertiser over the full year of between £112 and £116, above the previous guidance of £103-£105, driven largely by new home developers.
It said this is helping boost overall revenues, with sales growth continuing to “marginally” beat expectations since it reported half-year figures in July.
Rightmove said both estate agent subscriptions and new homes development listings have remained stable, with its so-called share of consumer time also unchanged so far in its second half, at around 85%.
It has kept its wider full-year outlook unchanged, saying it remains “at least” in line with previous guidance for revenue growth of 8%-10% and underlying earnings growth of 7%-8%.
The momentum that we reported in July has continued through the third quarter and beyond
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove
Chief executive Johan Svanstrom said: “The momentum that we reported in July has continued through the third quarter and beyond.”
He hailed “the strength of our performance against an uncertain market backdrop”, which “illustrates the resilience of our business model in all phases of the property market cycle”.
It comes in spite of a slowdown in the housing market, with recent official data showing prices fell annually for the first time in a decade.
The average UK house price fell by 0.1% to £291,000 in the 12 months to September 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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It follows 14 interest rate rises in a row that have taken the base rate to 5.25%, although the Bank of England has now halted the barrage of increases and attention is turning to when it may start to cut rates in 2024.
More recent house price indices suggest prices edged a little higher in October, with Halifax data saying property values rose by 1.1% on average last month, compared with a fall of 0.3% in September.
