OnTheMarket: What You Need to Know About the UK’s Fastest-Growing Property Portal
If you have ever searched for a home to buy or rent in the United Kingdom, you will almost certainly have come across OnTheMarket. Over the past couple of years, this residential property portal has grown at a pace that few in the industry predicted, establishing itself as a serious destination for buyers, renters, sellers, and estate agents alike. Whether you are stepping onto the property ladder for the first time or looking to let a home as a landlord, understanding how OnTheMarket works and what sets it apart can genuinely change the outcome of your property journey.
What Is OnTheMarket and How Did It Begin?
OnTheMarket, often referred to simply as OTM, was founded in 2015 by a collective of leading UK estate and letting agents. The motivation was clear: the property portal landscape at the time was dominated by two major platforms, and agents wanted a credible, fairly priced alternative that genuinely served their interests and those of their clients. The platform was built on the principle of transparency, straightforward listings, and sustainable pricing.
In December 2023, OnTheMarket was acquired by CoStar Group, a US-headquartered company widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost providers of commercial real estate data, online marketplaces, and property analytics. CoStar’s acquisition brought with it substantial financial investment over £46 million committed in the first year alone along with deep technological expertise. This partnership gave OnTheMarket the resources to pursue an ambitious transformation, and the results have been remarkable.
OnTheMarket’s Rapid Growth Across the UK
The scale of growth that OnTheMarket UK has achieved since its acquisition is worth appreciating. Within ten months of CoStar’s involvement, the platform recorded a 212% increase in traffic and a 348% rise in unique visitors according to Google Analytics data. Internal verified data showed a 76% growth in sales leads during the same period. By September 2024, for the first time in its history, OnTheMarket’s site traffic surpassed Zoopla’s a milestone that spoke volumes about the platform’s momentum.
By the end of 2024, total property stock listed on the site had grown by 45%, while the number of estate agents choosing to advertise on the platform had increased by 27%. When measured against competitors using Similarweb data, OnTheMarket recorded a 90% increase in total visits over twelve months, during a period when Rightmove and Zoopla experienced either flat or declining traffic. This makes OnTheMarket the fastest-growing major property portal currently operating in the UK.
Such growth does not happen by accident. It is the product of sustained investment in the user experience, removal of third-party advertising, and a deliberate commitment to serving both property seekers and agents with a product that is cleaner, faster, and more focused than anything the market had previously seen at this price point.
How OnTheMarket Works: A Platform Built Around the Property Seeker
At its heart, OnTheMarket is designed to make the process of finding property in the UK as smooth and straightforward as possible. The platform is free for buyers and renters to use, with no registration required to browse listings. Users can search for residential properties for sale or to rent across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, filtering results by location, price, property type, number of bedrooms, and a wide range of additional criteria.
One of the most distinctive features of the OnTheMarket search experience is its default map view. Unlike most competitors, which show properties in a standard list format by default, OnTheMarket presents search results on a map first, allowing users to orient their search geographically from the very start. This is particularly useful in urban areas where a few streets can make a significant difference in terms of commute times, school catchments, and local amenities.
The platform also supports multi-location search, meaning users can search across several towns, postcodes, or neighborhoods simultaneously and receive a single combined set of results. For buyers and renters exploring a broader area perhaps trying to balance proximity to work and affordability this feature saves considerable time and effort.
Property listings on OnTheMarket are detailed and professionally presented. Each listing typically includes:
- High-quality photography and, in many cases, virtual tour access
- Detailed floor plans to help assess room sizes and layout before a viewing
- Property descriptions written by the listing agent
- Local information including nearby schools and transport links via the map view
- Recently sold property prices in the local area for market context
- Direct contact options to request viewings or ask questions without leaving the platform
Only With Us: Early Access to New Listings
One of the features that most clearly distinguishes OnTheMarket from competing property portals is its “Only With Us” programme. Under this arrangement, participating estate and letting agents choose to list their new properties exclusively on OnTheMarket, either solely or at least 24 hours before those properties appear on Rightmove, Zoopla, or any other portal.
For property seekers, this is a meaningful advantage. In a competitive market where desirable homes can attract interest within hours of going live, being among the first to see a new listing can be the difference between securing a viewing and missing out entirely. Thousands of new properties enter the OnTheMarket UK platform under this arrangement every month, covering all property types from city flats and terraced houses to rural cottages, new-build developments, and equestrian properties.
Setting up a property alert on OnTheMarket is a simple and highly effective way to take full advantage of this early-access system. Users can define their search criteria location, price range, property type, number of bedrooms, and specific keywords and receive instant notifications directly to their inbox the moment a matching property is listed. For serious buyers or renters who want to move quickly, this alert system is an essential tool.
Searching for Property to Buy on OnTheMarket
The residential sales market on OnTheMarket covers the full spectrum of UK properties, from studio flats in city centres to large detached family homes in the countryside. The platform’s search functionality has been developed to handle both broad and highly specific searches with equal ease.
Buyers can use keyword search to find properties with specific features that matter most to them whether that is a south-facing garden, an en-suite bedroom, a double garage, or proximity to a particular school. The platform ranks results based on keyword relevance, meaning that what appears at the top of the search is genuinely tailored to what the buyer has told the system they are looking for.
New build homes represent a significant and growing category on OnTheMarket. Developers and housebuilders list new-build properties alongside resale homes, and buyers can filter specifically for new developments when that is what they are seeking. Given the increasing importance of energy efficiency ratings and modern construction standards in purchasing decisions, the ability to focus on new-build stock is a useful filter for many buyers navigating today’s market.
For those interested in property investment, OnTheMarket also provides access to sold price data, giving investors and owner-occupiers alike a clearer picture of what properties in a given area have actually achieved at completion, rather than relying solely on asking prices.
Renting Through OnTheMarket UK
The rental market section of OnTheMarket covers a wide range of properties to let across the UK, from short-term furnished flats in major cities to long-term family homes in suburban and rural locations. Every rental listing on the platform comes from a verified estate or letting agent, which means that each property meets a standard of professional presentation and accuracy that private listings on less regulated platforms cannot guarantee.
For tenants, the rental search experience follows the same clean, user-friendly format as the sales section. Filters allow renters to narrow results by monthly budget, number of bedrooms, property type, furnished or unfurnished status, and location. Instant property alerts work just as effectively for rental searches, giving tenants in fast-moving markets like London, Manchester, and Edinburgh a genuine competitive edge.
Once a tenant finds a property they would like to view, OnTheMarket makes the process of contacting the agent simple and direct. Users can request a viewing from within the listing itself, suggesting preferred days and times, without needing to call or email separately. The agent then responds to confirm the appointment.
OnTheMarket has also partnered with Canopy, a rental platform that allows tenants to build a verified rental profile ahead of making applications. Through this partnership, prospective tenants can prepare references, verify their identity, and demonstrate their financial readiness before they have even found the property they want to rent. In a rental market characterised by strong demand and limited supply in many areas, arriving at a viewing as a fully pre-qualified tenant is a significant advantage.
What OnTheMarket Means for Sellers and Landlords
For those looking to sell a property or let one out, OnTheMarket works through the UK’s extensive network of professional estate and letting agents. Properties on the platform are not listed directly by owners; instead, they are uploaded by agents who are members of OnTheMarket and who have agreed to the platform’s terms of use, including a commitment to accuracy and up-to-date information.
This agent-centric model is deliberate. It ensures that every listing on OnTheMarket reflects a property that is genuinely available, marketed by a qualified professional with local expertise, and presented to the right audience of serious, motivated property seekers. For sellers, this translates into enquiries that are more likely to result in viewings, and viewings that are more likely to convert into offers.
The platform’s growing audience also means that properties listed on OnTheMarket are reaching an increasingly large pool of potential buyers and tenants. With millions of visitors per month and a user base that is growing faster than any other major UK portal, the exposure available through OnTheMarket is now a compelling part of any effective marketing strategy for property sales or lettings. Firms that recognise this are already benefiting including Grainger, the UK’s largest listed landlord, which joined the platform in 2025 to showcase its portfolio of over 11,000 Build To Rent homes.
The OnTheMarket App: Property Search on the Move
For users who prefer to manage their property search from a mobile device, the OnTheMarket app is available on both iOS and Android. The app mirrors the functionality of the desktop website while offering a number of additional features tailored to mobile use, including:
- Voice AI search, allowing users to describe what they are looking for and receive matched results
- Stream View, a new way to browse properties that offers a closer, more immersive look at individual listings
- Current location search, which surfaces nearby properties for sale or to rent based on where the user is at that moment
- The ability to contact estate agents directly from within the app, arrange viewings, and save properties to a personal shortlist
- MyPlace, a collaborative saved search feature that allows users to share shortlisted properties with a partner, family member, or adviser
The app also provides access to sold price information and local market data, helping users make well-informed decisions before and during the property search process.
OnTheMarket and the Broader UK Property Market
Understanding OnTheMarket’s role within the wider UK property market requires a sense of the landscape in which it operates. The residential property sector in the UK involves a complex interplay of buyers, sellers, renters, landlords, mortgage lenders, surveyors, and solicitors all navigating a market shaped by interest rate movements, government policy, regional affordability, and long-term housing supply constraints.
In recent years, several trends have shaped the way people search for and transact property. Working from home patterns, established after the pandemic, have broadened the geographic range that buyers are willing to consider, making the multi-location search tools that OnTheMarket offers particularly relevant. Affordability pressures in major cities have increased interest in commuter towns and secondary markets a trend reflected in the platform’s own Hotspots Index, which tracks demand intensity across UK locations on a quarterly basis. Bradford, for instance, topped the index for much of 2024, a finding that points to the growing appeal of well-connected but more affordable northern cities.
The rental market, meanwhile, has seen sustained demand against a backdrop of constrained supply, pushing average rents upward in most regions. Tenants are searching more actively and more strategically than before, and platforms like OnTheMarket UK are playing a central role in connecting them with available properties efficiently and transparently.
Why OnTheMarket Stands Out as a Property Portal
The property portal market in the UK has never been more competitive, and that competition is ultimately good for consumers. What has allowed OnTheMarket to grow so rapidly is not simply the financial backing of CoStar, though that has clearly been instrumental. It is the conscious decision to prioritise the user experience above all else.
The platform carries no third-party advertising. There are no intrusive banner ads, no promoted content from unrelated commercial partners, and no distractions from the primary task of finding property. This is a deliberate design philosophy that makes the OnTheMarket search environment noticeably cleaner and more focused than some alternatives. Every element of the interface is built around helping property seekers find what they are looking for, faster.
Agents who list on OnTheMarket consistently highlight the quality of leads generated through the platform. Because OnTheMarket attracts users who are actively and seriously looking for property rather than casual browsers the enquiries that come through tend to be from people who are ready to act. This high-intent audience is valuable for agents and, by extension, for the sellers and landlords whose properties they represent.
For estate agents considering where to focus their marketing efforts, and for property seekers weighing up which portal to use as their primary search tool, OnTheMarket’s combination of clean design, exclusive early listings, growing inventory, and a rapidly expanding audience makes it a compelling choice. Reuterings, along with forward-thinking property professionals across the UK, recognises the increasing importance of being well-represented on platforms that are genuinely serving the evolving needs of today’s property market.
Getting Started on OnTheMarket
Starting a property search on OnTheMarket is straightforward. The platform requires no registration to begin browsing, though creating a free account unlocks the full range of features including saved searches, property alerts, and the MyPlace collaborative shortlisting tool.
For buyers beginning their search, the recommended starting point is to use the map search to identify the areas that are within budget and meet key practical requirements such as commute distance, school availability, and transport connectivity. From there, narrowing the search with specific keywords and filters will bring results that are genuinely relevant rather than merely geographically close.
For renters, setting up an instant property alert as early as possible even before a move is imminent is good practice. The rental market in many parts of the UK moves quickly, and receiving notifications the moment a matching property is listed gives tenants the best possible chance of getting ahead of the competition.
For sellers and landlords, the conversation begins with choosing an estate or letting agent who advertises on OnTheMarket. Given the platform’s growth trajectory and the quality of its audience, ensuring that a property is listed here alongside other major portals is now an important part of any comprehensive marketing strategy.
OnTheMarket continues to develop its platform, with new features and enhancements being introduced on an ongoing basis. As the UK property market evolves and the way people search for homes continues to shift, it is a platform that looks well-placed to grow with those changes and to remain a valuable tool for anyone navigating the UK property market with purpose and focus.
