Out-of-hours property enquiry data reveals industry gaps

The property industry lacks independent data on the proportion of enquiries arriving outside office hours, with widely cited figures stemming from suppliers’ own datasets rather than independent research, according to analysis by Clevaa founder James Mulholland.

Figures circulating in the sector range from 26% to 91%, depending on the source. Moneypenny reports 26% based on its own switchboard data, whilst Nested claims 91% from a commissioned survey asking whether agents receive any out-of-hours enquiries. Other suppliers cite figures between these extremes: Yomdel at 50%, ValPal at 57%, Greenhouse OS at 62%, and OneDome at 65%.

Mulholland, who operates in the out-of-hours technology space, argues these disparate figures reflect different self-selected samples rather than genuine market measurements. “Real measurements of the same thing converge. These scatter across 65 points because each rests on a different self-selected sample with a different viewpoint,” he wrote.

Misquoted portal data

A commonly cited claim that “40% of enquiries arrive out of hours” attributed to a major portal in 2024 is a misquote, according to the analysis. The actual 40% figure comes from a 2014 mystery shopping exercise measuring letting agent response times, which found nearly 40% of 213 agents failed to respond to viewing requests within 24 hours during office hours.

The figure relates to slow response rates, not enquiry timing. Only approximately one in ten agents replied by both phone and email within an hour when offices were open.

Independent data points

Three independent sources provide context for the sector. Propertymark’s Housing Insight Report for September 2025 shows the average member branch receives approximately 73 new prospective buyers and 111 new tenant registrations monthly, totalling 184 new applicants or roughly six per day including weekends.

Portal data from 2019 identified 8:48pm on Wednesday as the nation’s busiest home-hunting time, with 8pm to 9pm the busiest hour daily. A YouGov survey of 1,000 home-sellers commissioned by Zoopla in November 2025 found 26% expect a reply within one hour and 67% within four hours.

The timing mismatch presents operational challenges for agents. Sellers expect rapid responses, yet historical data shows most agents struggled to meet one-hour response times even during office hours. With peak enquiry activity occurring around 8:40pm, the gap between customer expectations and agent availability becomes more pronounced.

The analysis suggests technology can capture evening enquiries and qualify leads until morning, whilst human negotiators handle instruction conversion during office hours. This approach addresses the practical issue that prospective clients searching at 8:40pm face a choice between automated responses or voicemail, rather than between human agents and technology.

As agents adopt new technology solutions to improve service delivery, the lack of standardised industry data on enquiry patterns makes it difficult to benchmark performance or assess the true scale of out-of-hours demand. The sector’s reliance on supplier-generated statistics highlights the absence of independent research in this area.

The findings come as agents face pressure to improve response times in an increasingly competitive market where customer expectations continue to rise.