Rightmove has nudged up its earnings guidance for the year even as the property portal’s own figures point to a cooling housing market.
In a trading update covering the four months to 31 October, the UK’s largest property website upgraded its 2026 guidance for underlying earnings per share growth to at least 7%, from at least 5%.
Investors should note the upgrade is not accompanied by an expectation of top-line growth: Rightmove trimmed expected revenue growth to 6-7% (from 6-8%) and still sees underlying operating profit rising only “at least 3%”, so the sharper rise in per-share earnings owes more to cost discipline than a buoyant housing market.
It also cut its forecast for growth in average revenue per advertiser to £100-£110, from £110-£120, blaming weaker spending by housebuilders as new-homes development volumes fall.
Buyer demand down
Today’s update also included a string of downbeat stats. Rightmove said buyer demand was down 10% and agreed sales 9% lower than a year ago, with record stock levels weighing on prices, leaving the average asking price 0.3% below where it stood 12 months ago.
It pointed to rising mortgage costs and said that, following the Bank of England’s base rate increase this week, markets are pricing in further rises in 2027 that will squeeze affordability.
Only the rental market was firmer, with enquiries up and advertised rents 2.9% higher.
Rightmove’s AI push
Much of the update focused on Rightmove’s artificial-intelligence push, from its “Ask Rightmove” consumer chat tools to call-transcription software for estate agents.
The company was also keen to reassure investors worried that AI search might erode its traffic, stressing that more than 85% of visits are organic or direct and that large language models account for less than 1%.
For 2027, it guided to earnings per share growth of at least 10%, again well ahead of expected operating profit growth of 4-7%.
Rightmove shares were down 1% at the time of writing.