Agent Pens Open Letter to Rightmove After 12% Price Hike

A real estate agent in the United Kingdom has penned an open letter taking aim at Rightmove after his business received notice of a 12% increase to its subscription fee for 2026.

Rightmove has faced repeated criticism from agents for its price hikes, with several angry open letters and calls for regulator investigations for its property portal over the years.

Shaun Adams, co-founder at Cooper Adams in West Sussex, operates a three-branch estate agency business in the area, said the press hike was more than four times inflation in 2025, and branded Rightmove's pricing strategies as monopolistic and exploitative. His letter suggested that some agents are choosing to fold their businesses, regularly citing Rightmove subscriptions as a driving force behind their decision.

Rightmove continues to operate a financially successful portal with high renewal rates and a market capitalisation of nearly four billion pounds. However, Rightmove has suffered a major share price drop since August 2025, with shares dropping 41% (823.80 to 482.10) in the past six months, driven in part by the company's announcement that it would up its investment into AI.

The open letter is in full below:

Today, I have been told that my fees are increasing by over 12%, more than four times the rate of inflation. This follows a similar increase last year of around 20%, again without the delivery of any meaningful or worthwhile improvements to the product or service. In my view, this cannot reasonably be described as cost pressure. It feels disconnected from value.

Rightmove operates as a virtual monopoly. You know it, agents know it, and crucially the public expects their home to be listed on Rightmove. That expectation gives you a level of market power that fundamentally changes the nature of the relationship. When agents are told “if you don’t like it, leave”, that ignores commercial reality.

Leaving Rightmove is not comparable to switching software providers or marketing tools. It carries real and immediate risk to instructions, client confidence, and business viability. For many, it is not a realistic option. What is increasingly overlooked is the human cost. I am contacted regularly by independent agents who are struggling to absorb relentless above inflation fee increases. Some have been forced to cut staff hours, reduce investment in marketing, or scale back services. Others have told me that rising portal fees were the final factor in deciding to close their business altogether.

These are not inefficient or poorly run firms. They are long standing local businesses employing local people, training young staff, supporting communities, and providing genuine choice within their local markets. When they disappear, it is not just owners who suffer. Staff lose jobs, careers are disrupted, and local competition is weakened.

It is also increasingly difficult to justify claims of “good value” when comparable digital advertising platforms operating in genuinely competitive markets cost a fraction of the price. In many cases, equivalent services are available at around one tenth of the cost. That comparison matters.

There is also a wider industry context. Similar concerns are being raised in other sectors, most notably in the car sales industry, where Auto Trader occupies a comparable position as the dominant online portal. Dealers have publicly described the same pattern of sustained above inflation price increases, restrictive contracts, and limited practical alternatives, driven by the reality that consumers expect listings to appear on the leading platform.

It highlights a broader issue in an internet driven economy, where digital gatekeepers can accumulate significant pricing power faster than regulation can respond. Independent estate agents are already under sustained pressure. Rising wages, compliance costs, insurance, marketing, and technology all continue to increase. Agents are working harder to deliver better outcomes, while portal costs continue to rise at a pace many simply cannot sustain.

This does not feel like partnership. It does not feel like fair pricing. And it does not feel sustainable. Independent agents deserve better than being treated as a guaranteed revenue stream.