Portal TV ads and 'Divorce Day' produce a surge in viewings since New Year

Calls to estate and letting agents to request viewings rose by 70.8 per cent in January over the previous month - a higher than usual increase after the festive period, according to Moneypenny.

In a study of its property calls, the telephone answering service says this huge spike contrasts with the same period last year when the average calls sbout viewing requests saw only a 32.5 per cent increase.

In particular, viewing requests for residential sales rose by 77.6 per cent and by 57.2 per cent for lettings.

“With major advertising campaigns run by portals like Rightmove and Zoopla over the Christmas period, as well as the April 1 stamp duty deadline looming, there have been a number of factors that could have potentially acted as a catalyst for those looking to buy” says Samantha Jones, Moneypenny’s commercial manager, corporate and property, 

The study by Moneypenny also looked at calls on Monday January 4 - dubbed ‘Divorce Day’ by the popular press. It saw a 53.9 per cent rise in calls regarding lettings in comparison to the average three Mondays in December. 

“We do know from speaking to agents that many received a higher level of calls prompted by relationship breakdowns than they would normally receive on a ‘typical’ Monday. This was echoed by our legal team who saw a 106 per cent rise in family law calls on the same date” says Jones.

The bad weather which affected many parts of the UK also contributed to a spike in calls over the Christmas and New Year period. 

In Yorkshire and the Humber, for instance, Moneypenny saw calls rise by 71.7 per cent on Tuesday December 29, the first working day back following Christmas, in comparison to Thursday, December 24. This is 26.9 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Lettings, in particular, seemed to receive the bulk of these calls with a 200 per cent increase on Tuesday December, 29.