New land marketplace ‘well on way’ to becoming major player in sector
Addland says it has overtaken its key specialist rival in terms of listing numbers and research tech and has its guns trained on the big portals including Rightmove.
A land marketplace launched in April by a member of the McAlpine construction dynasty says it is well on the way to becoming the go-to resource for estate agents, developers, land agents and self-builders.
Addland, which is due to officially launch its new version 2.0 this week, was founded by Thomas McAlpine and offers both a marketplace for land but also somewhere to research on and off-market land and estate ownership, planning, valuation and agricultural information.
Its map-based website is gaining traction within the property industry and during August saw a 48% increase in agents signing up and a 38% increase in searches on its platform, it tells The Negotiator.
CEO Jonathan Williams (main pic, right) also says it now has more listings than its nearest rivals, many of whom he claims have not kept up with the huge expansion in tech and data within this specialist property market.
He also says it now a significant source of leads for agents selling country estates.
“Land is a very specific type of property because you need to know about so many constraints such as planning, environmental and ownership before you proceed to a purchase,” he says.
“Those operating within the sector have been faced with a fragmented offering that can be frustrating to use, while many land agents have been forced to advertise their property on portals like Rightmove which are not set up for land.”
Senior hires
Williams, who arrived in January from Autotrader, has been joined by several other high-profile senior figures including former estate agent and Zoopla senior Hannah Parker (main pic, centre) and former Rightmove area director Sinead Hatter (main pic, left).
The site can be used by anyone for free but professionals looking to use its Pro analytical and due diligence tools pay a subscription fee.
Data sources that it brings together on one platform include Land Registry ownership, land prices, Ordnance Survey info, flood zones, listed buildings, green belt, AONB and public rights of way data as well as average local house prices.
Addland says it now has 30% of the approximately 10,000 land listings available on the big portals, which it has achieved in five months. It says the overall marketplace in the UK is circa 100,000.
