The platform found that 07:00-07:59 is consistently the most popular hour for valuation requests – with over 20,000 coming in during this hour in January 2022. The next most popular hours are usually 18:00-19:59, also just outside traditional agent office opening times.
What’s more, the research also found that each month receives 3,500/4,000 valuation requests between midnight and 06:59, when most agents are of course likely to be fast asleep in their beds. In total, some 50% of leads are being generated outside of traditional agency office hours (9am-6pm).
Craig Vile, Director of The ValPal Network, said: “Agents could be missing out on thousands of pounds in fees if they don’t have the systems and tech in place to capture and respond to these leads out of office hours.
“This is where lead nurturing plays such a crucial role, ensuring prospects are engaged with at all hours of the day and night no matter when they make their valuation request. Our MovePal product can offer exactly this, to ensure agents don’t miss out.”
Vile says the platform's figures show that the market is continuing to boom, with large numbers of instant valuation requests in January and February 2022 (over 90,000 in both months). January witnessed more than 91,000 instant valuation requests, an increase of more than 55% on December 2021.
This is expected to continue in March and beyond, as spring is typically the best month of the year in which to sell a home. According to research recently released by Rightmove, March, April and May are the three best months of the year in which to sell a home consecutively.
Vile adds: “Last spring, we had an average of 77,000 leads generated per month – the highest average for a three-month period over the whole year – and we’re expecting even better results this year.
“We know how buoyant the market is in a normal spring, and there is still no sign of the market slowing down despite Covid cases increasing again, the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis and other major challenges.”
He said this is a sign of the resilience of the property market, which is arguably as strong as it’s ever been.
Vile concludes: “But, equally, we can’t afford to get complacent – and agents can’t afford to take leads for granted. The cost-of-living crisis is expected to really start to bite from next month onwards, so it will be important that agents put themselves in the best possible position to thrive even as the market perhaps dips ever so slightly. Pouncing on leads out of office hours, which is when they’re most common, is a hugely key part of that.”
