Bengaluru property enquiry response study: method, consent and how to take part

This study measures how long Bengaluru brokers, broker teams and builders take to send a first reply to a new property enquiry, and on which channel the reply comes. Every business in it has agreed in writing. No business or person will be named, and results will be published only as totals across the group. Data collection is in progress, and this page will carry the findings once enough businesses have been measured.

We are publishing the method first, before any result, because Pouncer sells a product built around fast replies. You should be able to judge the method before you see what it finds.

What we measure

We measure one interval and one fact for each test enquiry. The interval is the time from the moment the enquiry is sent to the first reply of any kind. The fact is the channel that reply arrives on.

• Start: the time the test enquiry is submitted or the call is placed.
• First reply: the first human or automated response the enquirer receives, whether a call, a WhatsApp message, an SMS or an email.
• Channel: which of those the first reply used, and whether a person or an automated system sent it.
• Time slot: whether the enquiry was sent on a weekday during working hours, on a weekday evening after 7 pm, or on a Sunday.

An enquiry with no reply within 72 hours is recorded as "no reply". The findings will report the median time to first reply, how many enquiries were answered within one hour and within 24 hours, and which channels replies came on, overall and by time slot.

Who takes part

Bengaluru brokers, broker teams and builders who have agreed in writing to be measured. Taking part is free and does not require using Pouncer or talking to us about it.

Businesses using Pouncer during the study are not measured while they use it. Otherwise the study would partly measure our own product.

How a test enquiry works

With the business's written agreement, a member of the Pouncer team sends test enquiries to channels the business itself names. These can be its website enquiry form, its WhatsApp business number, or its published phone number.

• Each business receives a small number of test enquiries spread over several weeks and across the three time slots. It knows the study is running but not when each enquiry will arrive.
• The enquiries come from Pouncer team members' own phones and email addresses. No real buyer's details are used.
• Once the first reply arrives, we tell the business that the enquiry was a study test, so nobody spends more time on it.
• We do not send test enquiries through property portals. Some portal plans bill the advertiser per lead delivered¹, so a test enquiry could cost the business real money.

How consent is obtained and recorded

Every business signs a written consent before any test enquiry is sent. The consent names the business, the person signing and their role, the date, the channels we may test and the period covered. It is signed on paper or confirmed in writing by email or WhatsApp, and we keep the signed copy with the date it was given.

A business can withdraw at any time by sending us a WhatsApp message, which is as easy as agreeing was. India's data protection law requires withdrawal to be that easy². When a business withdraws, its measurements are deleted and left out of the findings.

What is anonymised, and how

No business or person is named, in the findings or anywhere else. Each business is given a code when it joins, and the measurements are stored against that code. The list linking codes to business names is kept separately and is seen only by the people running the study.

• Results are published only as totals and medians across the group or across a time slot.
• Any group with fewer than 5 responses is not reported, so that no single business can be picked out.
• Each business can ask for its own measurements, which we share privately with that business alone.
• We will not use any participant's results, or the fact that it took part, in sales material.

Timeline and target

Collection started on the date shown at the top of this page and runs until 31 January 2027. We are aiming for 30 consenting Bengaluru brokers and builders. The findings will be published on this page once at least 20 businesses have been measured.

If fewer than 20 businesses have been measured by 31 January 2027, this page will say so plainly and explain what happens next. It will not publish findings from a smaller group as if they were complete.

The limits of this study

The findings will describe the businesses that took part, not every broker and builder in Bengaluru. These limits will be repeated alongside the results.

• Self-selection. Businesses willing to be timed may reply faster than those that are not.
• Test enquiries are not real buyers. A business may treat a test differently from a real enquiry, even though it does not know when each test arrives.
• No portal enquiries. Many buyers enquire through property portals, and this study does not measure those.
• Small sample. A group of 20 to 30 businesses shows a pattern, not a precise rate for the city.
• Our interest. Pouncer sells a product for fast replies. Publishing the method first, reporting only aggregates and stating these limits is how we try to keep that interest out of the results.

Comparable tests exist abroad. A 2024 US secret-shopper test³ and a 2026 US study of large real estate brands⁴ timed replies to property enquiries. We could not find a published equivalent for Bengaluru, which is why we are running this one. Why the first hour matters is covered in how fast should you reply to a 99acres or MagicBricks lead?, and the evening gap in what happens to property enquiries after 7 pm and on Sundays?

How to take part

Message us on WhatsApp using the button on this page. We will send the consent form, answer your questions and agree which channels to test. No test enquiry is sent until you have signed.