Whether it’s updating clients, hosting visits, or handling inquiries, today’s real estate industry is far from a nine-to-five affair for the majority of agents. real estate.
A new survey of UK estate agents commissioned by Nested asked how often they had to work outside the traditional nine to five in an average week and found that 28% said they do it every day, while 23% said they also work weekends in order to keep control of their workload.
20% worked overtime only on one day of the week, while 12% worked overtime three times a week, 10% did it twice a week and 7% four times a week.
The reason for the overtime is clear, with Nested finding that 91% of agents said they would receive inquiries from buyers and sellers outside of regular nine to five hours, as well as on weekends. 64% say they receive them very often, 27% see them quite often.
In addition, 74% are required to make visits outside of normal office hours – 44% quite often and 31% very often.
Finally, 82% also received update requests from buyers and sellers outside of the usual nine to five.
Alice Bullard, Sales Manager at Nested, commented: “The digital disruption in the real estate industry has been significant in many ways and it has allowed buyers and sellers, in particular, 24-hour access to the market, whether it’s looking for real estate listings or checking out. their own sale or purchase.
“However, this has put a lot of pressure on real estate agents to be available 24 hours a day to handle any questions or inquiries and, if this is not done, they can often be criticized for providing poor customer service.
“Of course, this degree of flexible working is something that many large companies have struggled to adjust to, with many agents within these companies expected to maintain regulated office hours while going the extra mile. outside office hours.
“This is certainly an area where the self-employed model really makes sense, as self-employed agents are able to manage their own schedules and set their own schedules. Thus, they can not only react to the needs of the buyer or the seller to best meet their needs. clients, but they can also ensure that they maintain the appropriate work-life balance.
“This was a critical consideration when we launched Nested and so we also provide additional support in the form of Customer Success Agents, who are there to make sure our partner agents don’t miss a call if they are. busy during a visit, an evaluation or simply managing the school.
