Why Rightmove is an essential part of advertising your rental property

If you want to find the right tenant and achieve the rightrent quickly, exposure matters.

For Hello Neighbour, listing on Rightmove is not an optional extra. We list every property we manage on Rightmove, and we include Rightmove as standard in our DIY product at no additional cost, because we believe it is one of the single most important drivers of tenant demand. Additionally, in 2026, every property we list on Rightmove is auto featured for the initial 7 days. 

Quite simply, it delivers more viewings, from better quality applicants, in a shorter period. And in a market that is becoming more balanced, that advantage matters more than it has for several years.

Tenant demand is cooling

The rental market has moved on from the post pandemic scramble.

Across 2025 and into early 2026, multiple indicators point to easing tenant demand and improving choice for renters.

Zoopla reports tenant demand down 20 percent year on year and at a six-year low, with agents receiving fewer enquiries per listing and experiencing longer letting times. Data from both Zoopla and RICS shows average enquiries per listing at around 5.8, the lowest level since 2019, while theRICS December 2025 survey recorded a net balance of minus 27 percent for tenant demand.

Rightmove reports an average of 12 viewing requests per property in 2025, down from 16 in 2024 and 22 in 2023.

Even with Hello Neighbour’s tenant friendly platform, we have seen average viewing requests fall from 88 in 2023 to 49 in 2025.

The direction of travel is clear. Demand is softer than it has been for several years, and landlords can no longer rely on automatic competition between tenants to do the heavy lifting.

Rental supply is improving

At the same time, choice is increasing.

Zoopla reports rental supply up 15 percent year on year, while Rightmove says the market is now seeing the best balance between supply and demand since 2020.

The total number of available rental listings is up 11percent in 2025 compared with the same period last year.

This combination of easing demand and improving supply is reshaping the market.

Rent growth is moderating

ONS data shows UK rent inflation easing.

Rightmove describes 2025 as a year of lower annual rent growth and a better balance between landlords and tenants, while Zoopla frames the market as returning towards more normal levels of activity, with slower growth expected in 2026.

This is no longer a market where aggressive pricing and instant bidding wars are the norm.

More landlords are reducing asking rents

Rightmove reports that in 2025, an average of 24 percent of rental listings had their price reduced after first marketing. That is the highest proportion seen this decade.

At Hello Neighbour, our figure is lower at around 18percent, but still higher than we saw in 2024.

This reinforces a simple point. Getting pricing and exposure right at the start matters more than ever.

What can landlords do in asofter market?

Landlords can improve presentation through professional photography, floor plans and virtual tours. They can sharpen their marketing descriptions and think carefully about pricing.

But one of the biggest single drivers of tenant demand remains the choice of portal.

Maximising how many prospective tenants see your property,especially in the first week, is critical.

Why portals matter

There are three main property portals in the UK rental market.

Rightmove.
Zoopla.
OnTheMarket.

All play a role, but Rightmove is by far the largest bytraffic and tenant engagement.

Independent rankings consistently place Rightmove as the UK’s most visited property portal, with Zoopla second and OnTheMarket third,and with a clear gap between Rightmove and its nearest competitor.

Rightmove reports that 84 percent of portal visits in London are to Rightmove, compared with 10 percent for Zoopla and 6 percent for OnTheMarket. It also states that 56 percent of its audience is unique, compared with around 30 percent for Zoopla and 33 percent for OnTheMarket.

Tenants do not search everywhere. They start where they expect to find the biggest choice and the newest listings.

For most tenants, that starting point is Rightmove.

A real choice for DIY landlords

Online letting platforms now allow landlords to advertise directly on the major portals, creating a genuine choice about where and how tolist.

That choice matters even more given that OpenRent now charges an additional £50, on top of its £29 listing fee, to include Rightmove.

Hello Neighbour includes Rightmove as part of its £29 listing package because we believe it is essential to maximise demand.

What Hello Neighbour does differently

For every property we market, we list on Rightmove as standard, and for the rest of 2026, each property will be auto featured for 7 days at no extra charge.

It is one of the reasons our average viewing requests per property remain around twice the industry average, and why we achieve an average of six days from listing to accepted offer.

We include Rightmove in our DIY products for the same reason.

It gives landlords the best possible chance of finding the right tenant, quickly, and at the right price.

If you would like to talk about advertising your property or our DIY letting options, you can speak to the Hello Neighbour team here.

To read more and see our DIY packages, click here