Spokespeople and data

A directory of Rightmove data and spokespeople available to help your stories. 

Topic areas:

• National and local trends in resale, rental, new homes, mortgages and affordability, buy-to-let, build-to-rent, commercial real estate, energy efficiency, consumer behaviour, estate agency qualifications, home-moving reform and home-moving innovations 

• While we cannot give access to film inside properties available on our platform, we can put journalists in touch with the agents marketing them and help provide local agent expertise 

Regular reports

• House Price Index, our longest running report with over 25 years of historic trends 

• Rental Price Tracker, with data available since 2012 

• Daily Mortgage Rates Tracker 

• Quarterly Commercial Property Tracker 

• Annual Greener Homes Report  

Snapshot of data available, based on millions of data points (plus lots more)

• Prices, supply and demand, including buyer enquiries and sales being agreed 

• Price reductions and time to move home 

• Migration trends 

• Mortgage rates and affordability trends  

Available spokespeople 

Colleen Babcock

PROPERTY EXPERT: HOUSING MARKET & CONSUMER TRENDS 

Colleen is an experienced housing market expert, with over 20 years in the industry. She has previously worked in estate agency and brings Rightmove’s view of home-mover behaviour along with close knowledge of wider property industry. 

Topics for commentary 

• Sales and rental market activity 

• Asking prices, advertised rents, supply and demand 

• First-time buyers and affordability 

• Energy efficiency and greener homes 

• Consumer property trends 

Matt Smith

HEAD OF MORTGAGES PRODUCT: MORTGAGE RATES, AFFORDABILITY & DIGITAL HOME-MOVING 

Matt is Rightmove’s Head of Mortgages Product. He has decades of experience in mortgages, having previously worked at Nationwide and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. He can explain how mortgage costs, lender behaviour and affordability shape home-mover decisions, and how digital tools and product innovation can make it easier for people to understand their options. 

Topics for commentary 

• Mortgage-rate movements and buyer confidence 

• First-time buyer affordability and deposits 

• Relationship between rates, demand and activity 

• Digital home-moving tools and AI innovations 

Alex Slater

DIRECTOR OF NEW HOMES AND RENTAL OPERATORS: NEW HOMES & BUILD TO RENT 

Alex leads Rightmove’s new homes and rental operators business units. He has over ten years’ experience in the sector and brings a commercial, on-the-ground view of how new homes developers and build-to-rent operators are responding to changing environments. 

 Topics for commentary 

• New-build supply, demand and buyer behaviour 

• Build to Rent and the professional rental sector 

• Regional trends and innovations for new homes 

Christian Balshen

DIRECTOR OF AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS: ESTATE AGENCY, LANDLORDS & INDUSTRY ACTIVITY  

Christian is Rightmove’s Director of Agency Partnerships.  He founded a Home Information Pack business in 2006 before building a tenant referencing and insurance company that was acquired by Rightmove in 2019.  Consequently, Christian has first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by estate and letting agents, from navigating regulation to driving growth and profitability and the adoption of technology. 

Topics for commentary 

• Home buying and selling reform, including upfront property information 

• Housing market and its impact on estate and letting strategy 

• Technology and data in estate agency 

• Impact of legislation on agents and their customers 

• Rightmove’s qualification and training programme for agents 

Tarah Lourens

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: AI INNOVATION & THE FUTURE OF HOME-MOVING 

Tarah Lourens is Chief Operating Officer, leading Technology, Product and Operations. She has overseen major product and platform advancements during her time at Rightmove with initiatives including cloud migration, platform modernisation and AI‑driven product development. She can provide a senior operational perspective on how product development and technology can improve the experience and drive value for consumers and property professionals. 

Topics for commentary 

• Rightmove’s product and technology strategy 

• Innovation across the home-moving journey 

• Consumer and partner experience 

• The use of AI and digital tools 

• Scaling technology in the property sector 

Steve Pimblett

CHIEF DATA OFFICER: PROPERTY DATA, ANALYTICS & AI 

Steve is Rightmove’s Chief Data Officer with over 30 years in this field. He oversees Rightmove’s AI and data strategy and can explain how data, analytics and AI are used to understand the property market, identify changing behaviour and support better experiences for consumers and property professionals. 

Topics for commentary 

• Property market data and analytics 

• AI and machine learning in home-moving 

• Consumer and partner behaviour insights 

• Turning large datasets into useful market signals 

Media enquiries: Rightmove PR team | press@rightmove.co.uk 

Prepared September 2026