Rightmove takes step up profits ladder

The group delivered profits of 24.5 million in the six months to June 30 in a sharp recovery following a slump in interim results last year.

Rightmove enjoyed its best ever March for buyer activity and said home hunter interest remained high into the summer months, while it added group trading continued to grow in July and August in line with the half-year.

"This gives us grounds for confidence that revenue will continue on an upward path, given our underlying subscription model, and that our plans for 2011 will deliver further growth in the average spend per advertiser," said chairman Scott Forbes.

But there has been increasing unease over the housing market, with recent industry price surveys suggesting the bounce back is coming to an end.

According to Nationwide, the average price of a UK property dropped 0.5% to 169,347 between June and July, while the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' survey of property professionals also registered its first fall in prices for a year last month.