How Much Agent Time Is Lost Each Week Chasing Transaction Updates?

Estate agents spend a significant amount of their working week chasing updates from conveyancers, buyers, sellers, brokers, and other parties involved in a transaction. Research from The Conveyancing Association suggests this activity can account for around 55% of an agent’s working day.

While communication is a vital part of sales progression, excessive chasing creates a hidden operational cost. Every call, email and follow-up takes time away from client-facing activity, winning new instructions and progressing transactions that genuinely need intervention.

Use the calculator below to estimate how many hours your agency could be spending each week chasing updates.

Agent Lost Time Formula

Number of people progressing sales x 4.4 hours x 5 days = weekly hours lost to chasing

Example

A branch with:

• 5 people progressing sales
• 4.4 hours spent chasing per day
• 5 working days per week

Would lose:

110 hours every week

That’s equivalent to almost three full-time employees’ worth of productive time being spent on update chasing rather than revenue-generating activity

Why Do Estate Agents Spend So Much Time Chasing?

When visibility disappears from a transaction, agents often become the central communication point between buyers, sellers, conveyancers, mortgage brokers and the wider chain.

Clients naturally turn to their agent first when they want reassurance or information. If updates are difficult to access, agents are forced into a reactive cycle of calls, emails and follow-ups simply to establish where a transaction stands.

Over time, this becomes one of the biggest drains on operational efficiency.

The Hidden Cost of Chasing

The impact goes far beyond the time spent making calls.

Every hour spent seeking transaction updates is an hour that cannot be spent:

• Booking valuations
• Winning instructions
• Developing client relationships
• Supporting active buyers
• Negotiating offers
• Growing branch revenue

For branch managers and group leaders, the cumulative impact across dozens or hundreds of active transactions can be significant.

Poor visibility rarely appears on a profit and loss statement, but its operational cost is often substantial.

What Causes Excessive Chasing?

In many cases, delays are not caused by poor performance from a single stakeholder.

Property transactions are inherently complex and involve multiple parties working to different timescales.

Common causes of repeated chasing include:

• Outstanding legal enquiries
• Delays obtaining third-party documents
• Mortgage lender requirements
• Leasehold information requests
• Property chain dependencies
• Limited visibility between stakeholders
• Inconsistent communication across the transaction

The challenge is often not a lack of activity.

It is a lack of visibility into activity.

What Good Transaction Visibility Looks Like

The best sales progression teams are not necessarily the teams making the most calls.

They are the teams with the clearest understanding of where progress is happening, where it is stalling and what requires intervention.

When agents have access to meaningful transaction visibility, they can:

• Focus attention where it adds value
• Identify delays earlier
• Reduce unnecessary follow-ups
• Set realistic client expectations
• Improve confidence across the chain
• Spend more time on revenue-generating activity

Visibility does not remove the need for communication.

It makes communication more purposeful.

Why This Matters for Estate Agencies

In an increasingly competitive market, productivity matters.

Most agencies already invest heavily in generating leads, winning instructions and improving conversion rates.

Yet, many continue to accept significant operational inefficiencies during the progression stage of the transaction.

Understanding how much time is being lost to update chasing is often the first step towards understanding where productivity gains can be made.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time do estate agents spend chasing updates?

Research commissioned by the Conveyancing Association suggests agents can spend approximately 55% of their working day chasing conveyancing-related updates.

What is sales progression?

Sales progression is the management of a property transaction from accepted offer through to exchange and completion, ensuring all stakeholders remain aligned and issues are resolved as efficiently as possible.

Why is transaction visibility important?

Visibility allows agents to understand where progress is being made, identify potential delays earlier and communicate with greater confidence throughout the transaction.

How can estate agencies reduce time spent chasing?

Reducing information gaps, improving communication workflows and increasing transparency across transactions can significantly reduce the need for unnecessary follow-up activity.

What are the benefits of spending less time chasing updates?

Reduced chasing can improve productivity, free up resource for revenue-generating activity, improve client experience and reduce pressure on sales progression teams.

Find Out How Much Time Your Agency Could Reclaim

Use the calculator to understand the potential operational cost of update chasing within your business.

Then consider a bigger question:

What could your team achieve if those hours were redirected towards winning instructions, supporting clients and progressing transactions with confidence?

Get in touch with Nova to see how improved transaction visibility can help your team spend less time chasing and more time progressing.

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Source: The Conveyancing Association