Rightmove Launches Online Valuation Tool for Estate Agents – TNT

Rightmove is launching a new valuation tool to help agents secure future sellers that want an online-first experience to have an estimate of what a home is worth.

Online Agent Valuation enables prospective vendors to send photos and detailed information about their home to selected agents, who can then reply with an initial valuation and begin a conversation.

Rightmove seller insights found that that while many potential sellers want the personal insights and experience of an agent valuation, other prefer to engage digitally first rather than in-person.

Online Agent Valuation joins Rightmove’s Instant Online Valuation and Local Valuation Alert tools, providing future sellers with more choice in how they engage with agents. In turn, agents would get more opportunities to attract future sellers at different stages of the decision-making process.

Curious future home-movers can track and get updates about a property’s value, to decide when the right time to sell is in the future.

Local Valuation Alert connects agents directly with prospective sellers who are ready for an in-person appraisal and want the most comprehensive valuation experience.

Rightmove’s research shows that being responsive and communicating well is the number one reason why homeowners choose an agent when selling, with 97% saying it is ‘essential’ or ‘very important’. With Online Agent Valuation, agents have the opportunity to showcase how responsive they can be from the first interaction.

Christian Balshen, Rightmove’s director of agency partnerships, commented: “Online Agent Valuation is a truly exciting step for the industry and a leap towards the next generation of instruction-winning products for estate agents. Many prospective sellers have told us that they like to communicate digitally first, and this gives our partners a unique opportunity to engage with them in this way.

“Responsiveness came out on top as the most important thing for a potential seller when selecting an agent, and Online Agent Valuation allows our partners to demonstrate this from the outset. With a new addition to our suite of valuation tools, those with a home to sell have even more choice in how to connect with an agent, and agents have more opportunities to win the next instruction.”