Nearly a third of estate agents spend nothing on marketing outside Rightmove and Zoopla. Among agencies that are actually growing, that number is zero. New industry data makes the connection hard to ignore.
The Portal Problem
Let's start with what portals do well. Rightmove's 2024 annual report shows the platform attracted 2.3 billion visits and 16.4 billion minutes of browsing time in a single year. 97% of UK agents advertise on Rightmove. 57% use Zoopla. The portals work.
But here's the catch. You're paying for access to an audience you don't own, on a platform you don't control, alongside every other agent in your postcode. The average branch now pays £1,524 per month to Rightmove alone. That's over £18,000 a year for what is essentially a shared shopfront.
When a vendor picks an agent, they're not choosing based on who has a Rightmove account. Everyone has a Rightmove account.
What the Data Actually Shows
The 2026 Voice of the Agent report, published by Unchained Insight and based on responses from 495 UK estate and letting agents, split the market into two groups: agencies that grew in 2025 and expect to grow in 2026 (which the report calls "Growth Agents"), and everyone else.
The differences are stark.
The average agency spends 6.8% of income on marketing beyond property portals. Growth agents spend 11.9%. That's not a rounding error. It's a fundamentally different approach to how they win business.
Even more telling: 29% of agents across the industry report spending nothing at all on marketing outside portals. Among growth agents? Zero. Not a single growing agency relies on portals alone.
The report also found clear patterns in how growing agencies market their listings:
- 83% of growth agents use property listing videos, compared to 71% of the wider market
- 76% actively use social media for business, versus 56% overall
- Only 8% of growth agents use no video at all, compared to 17% industry-wide
These aren't agencies with bigger budgets doing more of the same thing. They're agencies that have decided marketing is part of how they operate, not an afterthought.
Your Listings Are Your Shop Window
There's a gap between what agents say and what their listings show. Rachel Ollington put it well in Property Industry Eye:
"Agents say, 'We do professional photography.' But when you check the listing, the curtains are closed, the lights are off, and the photo's taken at a weird angle. They say, 'We write great descriptions.' But the listing just says: 'Two-bed flat. Close to station. Available now.'"
Every agent in London has access to the same portals, the same listing formats, the same upload tools. The only thing that differs is execution. And when a landlord is comparing two agents before deciding who gets the instruction, they look at your current listings. That's your pitch. That's your proof.
If your listings have phone photos, no property video, and no floor plan, the landlord draws one conclusion: that's how you'll market their property too.
Owning vs Renting Your Audience
Toby Martin, writing in Property Industry Eye, ran an interesting thought experiment: what would happen if Rightmove disappeared overnight? His conclusion wasn't doom. It was that agents would be forced to build what they should have been building all along — their own audiences, their own channels, their own reasons for people to pay attention.
His phrase stuck: "Own the media, don't rent other people's audiences."
That doesn't mean abandoning portals. Rightmove claims responsibility for 7 in 10 vendor instructions and 8 in 10 lettings instructions. Walking away would be reckless. But treating it as your entire marketing strategy means you're competing purely on portal visibility, where every agent looks roughly the same.
The agents pulling ahead are the ones who also have:
- An active social media presence showing their work (Instagram is the most effective platform for business generation, according to the TVOTA report)
- Professional video content that works on portals, social media, and their own website
- Consistent visual quality across every listing, every channel
None of this requires a marketing department. 76% of agents run their marketing internally. But it does require a decision: that the quality of your marketing matters as much as the quality of your service.
What "Beyond Portals" Actually Looks Like
This isn't about running Facebook ads or hiring a social media manager. For most London agents, marketing beyond portals starts with the assets they already need for their listings.
A single professional property photography session produces images that work on Rightmove, on your website, and on Instagram. A property video plays on Zoopla, gets cut into Reels for social, and embeds on your listing page. A floor plan adds value on the portal and gives you another piece of content to share.
The investment isn't separate from your portal strategy. It strengthens it. Better marketing assets mean better portal listings and a presence beyond portals. You're not spending twice. You're spending once and using the output everywhere.
This is exactly what the TVOTA data reflects. Growth agents aren't throwing money at different channels randomly. They're investing in quality marketing assets and distributing them across every available touchpoint. Our guide on how property videos help sell houses faster covers the portal-specific returns in detail.
The Instruction Pitch Has Changed
Ten years ago, winning an instruction meant a good valuation and a firm handshake. Today, vendors and landlords research agents before they make contact. They check your website. They scroll your listings. They look at your Instagram.
If what they find is phone photos and bare-minimum descriptions, they move on. If they find sharp photography, walkthrough videos, and a consistent visual identity across every channel, they pick up the phone.
The TVOTA report confirms this. Growth agents don't just market properties better. They market themselves better. And the gap between them and the rest of the industry is widening.
Where to Start
If you're currently relying on portals alone, you don't need to overhaul everything at once. Start with the basics:
- Audit your current listings. Open Rightmove and look at your properties next to your competitors'. Be honest about the quality gap.
- Invest in professional photography and video for your next listing. Use those assets on the portal, your website, and your social channels. One shoot, multiple outputs.
- Post your best work on Instagram. It's where the TVOTA data says business generation actually happens. You don't need a content calendar. You need three good posts a week showing your work.
The agencies that grow aren't the ones with the biggest budgets. They're the ones that decided their marketing should look as professional as their service.
Ready to raise the standard of your property marketing? See our property photography, property videography, and floor plan services. Check our pricing for transparent costs, or book your first session online.
Not sure where to start? Get in touch — we work with agents across London and we're happy to talk through what would make the biggest difference for your listings.
Sources: The Voice of the Agent 2026, Part 2 — Unchained Insight (495 UK agent respondents). Rightmove Annual Report 2024. Property Industry Eye — Toby Martin, March 2026. Property Industry Eye — Rachel Ollington, March 2026.
