The first hour of a listing’s life is most crucial to success, Zoopla claims.
While this will not come as news to agents, analysis by the portal show just how crucial is the first hour after the property goes live.
The research is based on leads generated by consumers clicking on the ‘email agent’ button on a listing details page between January and March, which found that most enquiries are generated in the first 60 minutes.
Over the lifetime of a sales listing 11.4% of all leads come on the first day and, for a rental listing, this figure stands slightly higher at 12%, Zoopla says.
The data also shows that a third of sales leads over the length of a listing come in the first week, rising to 40.9% for rentals.
| Time to leads from first listing – lifetime of the listing | |||
| Day | Sale Leads by day | Rent Leads by day | Combined |
| Day 1 | 11.4% | 11.6% | 11.5% |
| Day 2 | 5.8% | 6.7% | 6.2% |
| Day 3 | 4.7% | 6.2% | 5.5% |
| Day 4 | 3.7% | 4.9% | 4.3% |
| Day 5 | 3.2% | 4.3% | 3.7% |
| Day 6 | 2.8% | 3.8% | 3.3% |
| Day 7 | 2.5% | 3.4% | 2.9% |
| Total | 34.0% | 40.9% | 37.4% |
Within the first week, 33.9% of all sales leads are generated on day one and it then slows to 16.9% on day two, 13.8% on day three and 2.5% by day seven, Zoopla says.
For rentals, 28.4% of enquiries come on day one within the first week and it slows to 8.3% by day seven.
| Time to leads from first listing – first week of listing | |||
| Day | Sale Leads by day | Rent Leads by day | Combined |
| Day 1 | 33.6% | 28.4% | 31.0% |
| Day 2 | 16.9% | 16.4% | 16.7% |
| Day 3 | 13.8% | 15.2% | 14.5% |
| Day 4 | 10.9% | 12.1% | 11.5% |
| Day 5 | 9.3% | 10.4% | 9.9% |
| Day 6 | 8.3% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Day 7 | 7.3% | 8.3% | 7.8% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Charlie Bryant, managing director at Zoopla, said: “Our analysis proves that listings generate a significantly higher number of leads immediately after launching to market so there is very little time to ‘test’ a marketing approach, try out a higher price or wait for better images.
“From the very first second, agents must ensure that they are marketing the best information to the widest possible audience in order to generate quality leads.
“In the current market, sellers and landlords cannot afford to miss the boat.”
Comments (6)
So is he also saying that after the first hour, it’s not worth being on a portal any longer as your home is tired and dead in the water! Doh!!
After 7 days you are more likely to win the lottery. Portal “property alerts” are the real key if you want to be reactive but as GPL commented working your own Registered Buyers and Hot List is far more effective and gets you referral business and a far better name in the local community where it really matters.
>After 7 days you are more likely to win the lottery
Woodentop, the data suggests 66% of sales leads come after the first week. The article is somewhat misleading in that most leads don’t come in the first hour, it’s really just a higher proportion than any other “hour”.
Am I wrong in thinking a significant number of an agents register come from the portals? Giving up portals would reduce the numbers on your own register surely?
Buyers want everything in one place, they like portals, especially Rightmove. When I was looking I created my own map which contained all properties within 10 minute walk of the local train stations. When I registered with Agents and asked to be informed of properties in these regions it seemed completely beyond their capabilities.
66% of leads do come after the first week …. think about it …. week two to year 3yr or any other date you wish to make up = 66% of lifetime of the listing. The story highlights that the largest concentration of leads is within the first week and is source of the greatest chance of sale or let and should be crucial to any agent to optimise a data base before a good agent steals their customers.
“Am I wrong in thinking a significant number of an agents register come from the portals? Giving up portals would reduce the numbers on your own register surely?” YOU SURE ARE WRONG and this is where you have no clue how to run an effective agency. Give up a portal and customers do not abandone an agency, not forgetting all the agents other marketing avenues actually entices them to make direct contact …. hey ho proactive and not reactive waiting for a buyer. Portals are the biggest culprits why agents find people saying , I don’t need to talk to you, I’ll do as and when I feel like switching on. The most successful agents are proactive create their own data base and section it into time wasters, not looking, having a nose, to those that can move today, desperately need to yesterday and very soon to a bit later. OR put it another way £XXXXm hits a month from portals = how come the agents stock isn’t zero?
As to how good the agent was in your experience, maybe they didn’t have the ring fenced criteria you were asking for or maybe, just may some were not lazy but were selling to their data base! Oh yes this happens everyday in agents offices, often called the hot box.
PS: Do you have a problem with the return key, you don’t need to make your posts obvious … we often can’t wait to read them!
Working your own Mailing System for your own Registered Buyers delivers outstanding results ……weaning actual buyers off the idea that they just wait for a portal listing or alert, by being proactive …….like the “old days”, pays real dividends.
Gradually reeducating the public the best way to find their new home is to go direct to the local agent …..it refocuses the whole process and potential buyers understand that the portals are really “catch all” digital newspapers …..whilst it is the local agents who are actually at the “property coal face”.
Rather like the “catch all” comparison websites portay themselves as the centre of their industry, however there are better deals to be found rather than by just reaching for the Online Blinkers.
I think that is probably a bit too much like hard work for a lot of the industry I’m afraid.