Three-quarters of all property buyers only conduct their property search after 17:00, when the offices of most estate agents are already closed. This is shown by a recent study from the platform Street.co.uk.
For the survey, 1,073 people who recently purchased a home were polled. The analysis highlights a pronounced shift of search activities into the evening hours and sheds light on the changed information-gathering behaviour of private buyers.
Shift of search activity into evening hours
The study findings break down the activity times of searchers in detail. Exactly 40 per cent of buyers surveyed stated that they browse online for suitable residential property between 17:00 and 20:00.
A further 35 per cent only turn to their search after 20:00. This means that a total of 75 per cent of prospective buyers shift their review of relevant listings into a time window in which estate agencies are typically no longer reachable by telephone or in person.
- —40 per cent of buyers search for property listings between 17:00 and 20:00.
- —35 per cent conduct their research after 20:00.
- —75 per cent of all search activities take place after 17:00, and therefore after official office closing times.
- —1,073 buyers with a recently completed purchase formed the basis of the survey.
Demands on agent availability
The figures document a clear discrepancy in timing between the working hours of brick-and-mortar agency offices and the actual user behaviour of buyers. As purchasing decisions and initial reviews take place predominantly during leisure time, automated acknowledgements of receipt and digital appointment booking tools are gaining in importance.
For agents, this user behaviour means that digitally incoming enquiries from late evening hours must be recorded in a structured manner. Prompt and reliable processing the following morning forms the basis for acting on client interest in good time.
