Estate agents are under pressure to respond to most property sellers within 24 hours, it has been revealed.

The findings by Street Group suggests that customers have this expectation for almost every stage of the sales process.

Updates, answers or action within a day are the standard now for hard-pressed agents, it claims.

Rapid responses

Agents are increasingly being measured against Amazon and WhatsApp-style communication standards, as consumers bring expectations for instant updates and rapid responses into the property market, according to Street.

The findings suggests that home sellers are getting agents to compete against each other based on how fast they respond – either when sellers are choosing an agent or during the sales process if they have two agents.

Expectations

The Street survey of 1,830 current and recent home sellers found that expectations for fast communication extend far beyond the initial enquiry stage.

Whether waiting for viewing feedback, updates on buyer interest, news of an offer or answers to questions once a sale has been agreed, most sellers expect to hear from their agent within 24 hours, and often much sooner.

At the beginning of the process, 85% of sellers said they would expect an estate agent to respond to an enquiry about selling their home within 24 hours.

One in five believe anything longer than four hours is too slow, while only 4% think waiting more than two working days is acceptable.

Across almost every stage of the sales journey, the expectation is that communication happens within 24 hours.”

Heather Staff, Co-Founder of Street Group, says: “Sellers increasingly expect estate agents to operate on a same-day timescale.

“Across almost every stage of the sales journey, the expectation is that communication happens within 24 hours. In many cases, sellers want updates within just a few hours.

“These expectations have been shaped by the wider digital experiences people have in their everyday lives.”