The Rising use of Mobile for Property Browsing

It’s difficult to imagine a world without smartphones. How we find info and how we share it is intrinsically linked to our mobile devices. It should come as no surprise, then, that the way we look for property has changed, too.

The rise of mobile in property browsing is a significant trend and the curve keeps getting steeper. Recent statistics from Private Property show a year-on-year increase of more than 100% in mobile users and an increase of more than 20% in tablet users. In 2014 about 34% of the traffic was from mobile users. In 2015 it is a 50-50 split between mobile and computer use.

Surprisingly, the figures show a spike in mobile usage as recently as the beginning of 2014. Looking at month-to-month figures, the proportion of users browsing property on mobile has increased, while computer access has decreased (according to Private Property), which illustrates the change in the way people look for homes. In the past, property listings were predominantly accessed during the day on work computers. The trend now is for people to browse property websites on their mobile devices from home – a more advantageous situation for agents, as listings are viewed more often by more people in a more relaxed environment. It’s a trend that shows no sign of slowing, especially as smartphones and tablets become more prevalent and more websites catch on to the power of responsive design. And therein lies the key.

A responsive website gives users a satisfying experience regardless of whether they’re on a computer or a mobile – all the content is resized to the fit the screen in question. Agents must ensure that their websites are responsive, as this will let the website do all the hard work and show your listings in the best possible light.

 

Words: Bridget McNulty

 

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