Heatwave hots up home-hunting on Rightmove mobile devices

Rightmove recorded that over 1 in 5 property searches were performed on mobile devices on Sunday as home-hunters took their property search outdoors to enjoy the heat wave across the UK.

In total, 20.86% of searches for property were performed on Rightmove’s suite of mobile devices which include the company’s iPhone app, iPad and Mobile website. The figure was the highest Rightmove have ever recorded and only the second time the 20% mark has been broken, the previous occasion being on Easter Sunday this year which was another scorching day across the UK.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside comments: “The weather and property are two classic British obsessions, but luckily the two didn’t get in the way of one another during the heat wave as home-hunters reached for their mobiles and tablets and took their property search outdoors. It’s a trend we’re seeing more and more of; the hotter the weather, the higher our proportion of traffic on mobile devices tends to be. Sadly it looks as though Sunday and Monday’s hot weather isn’t going to last, and so home-hunters may well be back to desktop-based property searching by the end of the week.”

The figures highlight a behavioural shift which has seen mobile devices grow to become a key component of the property search process in recent years. Rightmove were the first UK property portal to launch an iPhone app in 2009 which has had over 1 million downloads, and has since been joined by Rightmove’s iPad app and Mobile website. Over 7% of property searches on Rightmove were performed on these mobile devices in 2010 and the figure is continually rising as general ownership of the devices increases.

Shipside adds: “As a business we have evolved beyond our website to create a digital ecosystem where consumers can utilise Rightmove across a range of platforms. This allows home-hunters to fit their property search around their lifestyle and continue looking for homes on the move.”