Ramadan is a time when business activity all but ceases in many sectors – few conferences are held, entertainment events take an extended breather and daytime dining is largely off-limits. Yet the frenetic pace of real estate sales barely ebbs as our data shows. A greater factor shaping the peaks and troughs of leads generation on our portal seems to be a more general seasonality. For example, among the weakest months were April and December 2016, times when many people go away on vacation. The monthly average during Ramadan, which last year was from June 6 to July 5, was only 2.5% lower compared to those months.
True, June and July 2016 were slower months in our sample period, but that seems more due to the usual summer exodus of Dubai residents than a unique Ramadan phenomenon. In August 2016, when families are preparing for the start of the school year and many new residents arrive, activity jumped to 24% higher than Ramadan. Overall, January to March Phone leads by day of the week
Sunday through to Wednesday were the busiest for phone leads, during Ramadan or otherwise. Analysing data for the months before and after Ramadan, Ramadan itself and April 2017, Mondays generated more than three times the phone leads than Fridays, which is often a day off for real estate agents. Saturdays were also relatively quiet, although twice as busy as Fridays. Email leads by day of the week
Email leads are more evenly spread out through the week. Friday was again the slackest day, although Sunday, the busiest day, received only 58% more leads. That compares with the 222% differential between peak and trough days for phone leads. Leads per hour of the day Looking at data showing the time of day that leads are generated, our users prefer to do their property during normal work hours. In Ramadan, lead activity noticeably declines earlier in the day, which probably reflects not only the diminishing energies of those fasting but also the reality that many offices operate reduced hours during the Muslim holy month.
All in all, that momentum will be little affected by Ramadan, which will begin around May 26 this year. Many industries slow down during the Muslim holy month – few conferences are held, music entertainment takes an extended breather and daytime dining is largely off-limits – but the volume of real estate sales enquiries barely changes, as our data shows. Our advice for real estate brokers? Make sure your agents are available during Ramadan as much as they are during the rest of the year. Don’t reduce staff numbers, instead, ask them to bring their admin duties up to speed in preparation for the after Ramadan, post summer September house hunt peak!
