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OnTheMarket comes out fighting and declares ‘We are here to stay’
Original Author: Rosalind Renshaw
OnTheMarket has come out fighting after coverage of the open letter to agents yesterday published by the Competition and Markets Authority.
It said some of the response had been ‘sensational and preposterous’ and that the reality is that it has consistently given agents exactly the same advice as in the CMA letter – that agents should not collude in making choices over portals.
Separately an independent commentator, Rayhan Rafiq Omar, said he was astonished by the CMA open letter.
He said: ”The duopoly were pushing up prices. There are now three portals, thanks to this ‘collusion’.
“Agents coming together has enabled a situation that’s sustaining a three-portal market.
“If the CMA wants to look at anyone, they should look at the competition commission’s report that said the DPG/Zoopla merger wouldn’t result in reduced competition and raised fees.”
Yesterday evening, spokesperson for OnTheMarket said: “Some of the response from certain quarters to today’s open letter from the CMA has, in our view, been at best opportunistic and misleading and at worst sensationalist and preposterous.
“The reality is that we welcome the CMA’s stance of cautioning agents against colluding. As a business we have consistently given agents precisely the same advice to make any decisions independently.
“The virulence of some of the attacks only serves to underline yet again the sensitivity of some of our detractors to the progress we are making and to the impact we are having on the market. For instance, the idea that the CMA letter should somehow trigger Board resignations at Agents’ Mutual is frankly ludicrous.
“There has been no suggestion from the CMA that OnTheMarket has acted improperly in any way. Indeed, the CMA explicitly writes that it sees no reason to be in touch with us.
“After just 15 months, OnTheMarket has established itself as a competitive force in the property portals marketplace and continues to grow in terms of agent support and consumer traffic. It might be disappointing for some of our detractors, but OnTheMarket is here to stay.
“The overwhelming majority of our members remain supportive and determined to continue to build on the achievements so far.”
http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/onthemarket-comes-out-fighting-and-says-we-are-here-to-stay/
