Rightmove says it is on track to grow its revenues in 2026 despite warning that home buyer affordability is under pressure
Estate agents’ signs outside apartments in Lewisham, south-east London.(Image: Yui Mok/the Press Association)
Rightmove has announced it remains on course to increase its sales this year, despite warning that homebuyer affordability is coming under pressure as mortgage rates climb and housebuilding slows.
The property portal confirmed it was anticipating full-year revenue growth, though it has modestly scaled back its outlook.
Conditions across the housing market, along with confidence amongst consumers and estate agents, remain testing, the company noted.
The average five-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 5.5% at the end of October, up from 5% at the end of June, it said.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England’s decision to raise its base rate on Thursday, coupled with expectations that borrowing costs will increase further next year, is weighing on consumer affordability.
Rightmove reported that estate agent confidence had weakened as a result, with buyer demand for resale properties falling 10% and agreed sales down 9% in the four months to the end of October.
The firm also highlighted a 6% drop in the number of new-build developments at the end of the month, compared with the close of last year.
However, the Government’s new First Homes scheme, unveiled in the autumn Budget, has lifted housebuilder optimism, though any meaningful uplift in new housing supply is unlikely to materialise until later in 2027, according to the company.
Rightmove, which generates income by charging estate agents a fee to list properties and through advertising revenue, is forecasting revenues to grow by between 6% and 7% across 2026.
This marks a modest downgrade from its previous guidance of between 6% and 8% revenue growth. The firm also reduced the upper limit of its guidance for growth in average revenue per advertiser, from £120 to £110, attributing the change entirely to housebuilders cutting back their spending on new homes.
Chief executive Johan Svanstrom highlighted the company’s ongoing efforts to innovate its platform and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
“After a meaningful step up in capability, we have a well-invested, AI-ready platform,” he said.
“We continue to roll out quality AI solutions to both consumers and partners, leveraging the intelligence layer we create with supply and demand data, and our platform.”
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “The property market may be struggling but Rightmove’s latest update was relatively robust.
“The property listings site is seeing steady demand from estate agents but housebuilders, an increasing source of revenue in recent years, are spending less.”
Mr Coatsworth said the fact that the Rightmove site has the most listings in the UK market gives it “pricing power” for securing subscriptions.
“However, as slowing growth in the average revenue per advertiser metric for the quarter shows, this pricing power is not unlimited,” he said.
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