What does growth look like for London estate agents in 2027?

That was the question we put to agents, industry experts and the Zoopla leadership team at our Estate Agent Growth Forum at Fulham Pier.

It was an afternoon of market insight, product innovation, practical advice and some straight-talking from Harry Redknapp. Most importantly, it gave agents a chance to get in the room with the people shaping Zoopla and talk openly about what they need next.

Julian Persaud, our Chief Commercial Officer, opened the afternoon with a clear ambition: Zoopla wants to be an essential partner in growing agents’ businesses, not just a platform where agents upload listings for visibility.

Here’s a summary of what agents learned on the day...

London’s growth opportunity is changing

Richard Donnell, our Director of Research, challenged the room to look beyond the question of what house prices will do next.

London has experienced a decade of major shifts, from mortgage regulation and investor tax changes to Brexit, building safety, the pandemic and higher mortgage rates. But a challenging sales market doesn’t mean there isn’t growth to be found.

London is still a £3bn-a-year agency market, representing around 30% of UK sales agency revenues. The bigger opportunity is that around 70% of this comes from lettings and landlords.

And the picture varies dramatically depending on where you operate. Just 32% of inner London flats sell within six months, compared with around half of inner London houses and 54% to 58% of houses in outer London and the commuter belt.

So, more instructions aren’t necessarily better, but the right instructions are - and there will be plenty of these coming agents' way with 25% of London homeowners saying they want to move within 2 years.

For agents, that means finding potential movers earlier, understanding their local market and helping clients make decisions based on what will actually sell. London isn’t one market, it’s hundreds of micro markets.

Turning homeowners into future instructions

Stephen Geran, our Director of Product, showed agents the audiences and data powering Zoopla’s consumer platform, and what we’re building next.

Every month, 9 million unique visitors come to Zoopla, while 3.5 million people check house prices.

A huge opportunity for agents lies in being connected with these high-intent homeowner audiences through Zoopla.

Zoopla’s platform brings together listings, property data and homeowners in a continuous journey, from checking a property’s value through to requesting a valuation and ultimately becoming an instruction.

60% of valuation leads now come from homeowners, and nurtured homeowner valuation leads convert at 43% to instruction on average, compared with 16% for standard direct and PPC leads.

Agents who took part in our forum were also the first in the UK to see a live demo of what we’re building next in search, including how AI can read into property listings to help connect high-intent movers to the right homes.

That makes the quality of your listings even more important. Clear photography and rich descriptions give the technology more to work with, helping the right properties surface for the right buyers.

What agents told us

Ian Preston, CEO at Greenhouse OS, shared his approach to using technology to take admin out of the day, freeing teams up to focus on the activities that win and convert business.

He also shared the reasons behind his switch to flexible fees and what a difference it has made to his business' bottom line. It's a topic Ian goes into greater detail during the Masterclass series, exclusive to Zoopla customers on ZooplaPro with a sneak peek for non-customers here.

The panel discussion then brought the conversation back to the realities facing agents today.

The cost of doing business is a major pressure. Agents want to see a return on investment they can measure, and they want to understand lead quality, not just lead volume.

There was also a clear appetite for simpler products that are easier to understand and easier to use well.

And throughout the afternoon, one theme kept coming back: know your patch.

London may be one city, but it’s made up of hundreds of micro markets. Local knowledge remains one of an agent’s biggest advantages.

One last lesson from Harry

To close the afternoon, Harry Redknapp shared his lessons on gettign the best out of your team, spotting talent, and keeping management straightforward. His approach was simple: back your people and focus on what moves the needle... with some league predictions thrown in too, naturally. Agents continued the conversation with their peers over drinks, cementing our aim for the day: to bring the industry together, share insights, challenge each other and identify real growth opportunities.

Missed this one? Keep an eye on our upcoming events. We hope to see you at the next one.