Rightmove claims the current feverish property market means first offers are likely to be the best, assuming they are correctly priced.

Five-bedroom detached house has been sold via Irish Rightmove equivalent MyHouse.ie during a successful online auction.

Jason Busby, who headed up the portal's sales operation for over a decade, is now a non-exec director of Breezemove.

Michael Bruce is said to have been courted by City investors in recent days as he looks for the million necessary to take on Rightmove and Zoopla.

Uswitch says slow estate agency websites can significantly impact earning potential for firms that rely on referrals from third parties.

Rightmove says surge in offers being made on freshly-marketed properties is in part down to the March stamp duty holiday deadline.

Property search firm Stacks says more agents are using the technique to reserve viewings for only the hottest and best prepared candidates.

Portal says it has also increased the proportion of agents on longer-term contracts from 23% to 84% during the pandemic.