What Is Rightmove and What Can You Do on rightmove.co.uk?

Rightmove is a UK property website that describes itself as the UK's number one property site for properties for sale and to rent. On rightmove.co.uk you can search homes to buy or rent, look up sold house prices, get a free or instant home valuation, and read buying guides. You can also create an account to save properties, set alerts, and track enquiries. It is a listing and information site, not an estate agent, so you contact the agent advertising each property to arrange viewings or make offers.

Core searches: buy, rent, and sold prices

The homepage presents three search paths side by side:

The sold prices search is the one people most often overlook. Listing prices tell you what sellers are asking; sold prices tell you what buyers agreed to pay. If you are weighing up an asking price, checking recent sold prices in the same area is a more grounded comparison than looking at other listings alone.

Rightmove also states it offers "the UK's largest choice of homes," which is the basis for its claim to be the leading UK property site.

Tools beyond searching for a home

Home valuation

Rightmove offers two valuation routes:

• Free home valuation — an expert agent valuation, described as a way to find out how much your home is worth "from an expert."
• Instant online valuation — described as the fastest and easiest way to get a figure.

The two serve different purposes. An instant online estimate is quick and useful for a rough starting point; an agent valuation involves a person assessing the property. If you are deciding on an asking price or considering a sale, the agent route gives you a human judgement to discuss, while the instant route is better for a first sanity check.

Guides and news

The site carries first-time buyer guides aimed at helping you "feel confident in what you can afford and understand the buying process," plus a property news section. Recent coverage highlighted on the homepage discusses whether a new first-time buyer scheme could help people get on the ladder. These pages are explanatory rather than transactional — read them before you start viewing if the buying process is new to you.

Overseas and commercial property

Two further entry points sit alongside the main UK residential search:

• Overseas property — search homes for sale overseas.
• Commercial property — search commercial properties for sale and to rent in the UK.

If your search is for a shop unit, office, or a home abroad rather than a UK residence, start from these sections instead of the standard buy/rent search.

Accounts: what signing in actually gives you

Rightmove invites visitors to "stay organised" by signing in or creating an account. The stated benefits are:

• Save properties
• Create alerts
• Keep track of the enquiries you send

This matters most once you move past browsing. If you are enquiring about several properties, an account keeps those enquiries in one place instead of relying on your email history. Alerts are useful when your search area is competitive and you want to hear about new listings without checking the site daily.

The site does not state on the pages reviewed that these account features carry a charge, but nothing in the material confirms they are free either — treat pricing and any login restrictions as something to check on the site itself rather than assume.

How the pieces fit together

A practical sequence for a buyer looks like this:

1. Use sold house prices to understand what homes in your target area have actually fetched.
2. Search properties to buy and save the ones worth a second look.
3. Set an alert so new listings in your area reach you.
4. Enquire through the listing and track the response in your account.
5. If you are also selling, book a valuation — instant for a quick figure, agent-based for a considered one.

Renters follow the same pattern using the rental search, skipping the sold-price step unless they are weighing a purchase later.

What Rightmove is not

Rightmove is a portal that displays listings supplied by agents. It does not itself sell or let properties, so the next step after finding a home is always the advertising agent. That distinction explains why enquiries are tracked rather than handled on-site, and why the valuation service connects you with an agent rather than producing a binding figure on its own.