The spring selling season is widely regarded as the busiest period of the year for property, and 2026 is shaping up to be stronger than most. Rightmove has predicted that the spring bounce this year will be more pronounced than the long-term norm, driven by pent-up demand that built throughout 2025 and buyers who held off while waiting to see what the Autumn Budget would bring.
For independent estate agents, that represents a real opportunity. But it also raises a question worth asking sooner rather than later: if a vendor looks you up online in March or April and your website doesn’t reflect the quality of your agency, are you confident you’ll make their shortlist?
A sale agreed in spring has a good chance of completing before the end of the year. Research from national estate agency Winkworth puts the average time from listing to completion at around 25 weeks, which means properties that come to market in March or April are well placed to reach completion by autumn. For agents, that translates into fees landing in the current financial year.
Getting your website in order now, so it’s working for you during the spring rush, gives you the best possible window to win instructions, get properties listed and see those sales through to completion within the year.
One concern we hear regularly from estate agents is that commissioning a new website feels like a big project that will disrupt things at exactly the wrong time. That doesn’t have to be the case. A focused brief and a clear process mean a well-built estate agent website can be up and running much faster than most agents expect, without compromising on quality.
At b:web, we’ve built websites for estate agents at every stage of their growth, from sole traders just establishing their online presence to established agencies looking for something more ambitious. The process is designed to put as little as possible on your plate: we handle the technical side, the design, the property feed integration and the SEO setup, while you get on with running your agency.
We know that many independent agents are keeping a close eye on costs right now. A new website can feel like a significant outlay, particularly when you’re also managing staffing, portal fees and everything else that comes with running an agency.
b:web offers payment plans that spread the cost of a new website, so you’re not facing a large upfront bill at a time when cash flow matters. Combined with the fact that our pricing is designed with independent businesses in mind, it means a properly built, bespoke website is more accessible than many agents assume. And because we offer unlimited revisions during the design process, you won’t be paying extra every time you want something adjusted.
There’s sometimes an assumption that a bespoke website, one that actually looks like your agency rather than a generic template, will cost more and take longer than an off-the-shelf solution. In practice, the difference in cost is often smaller than people expect, and the difference in results can be significant.
A template site might get you online quickly, but it won’t do much to differentiate you from the dozens of other agents using the same platform. A website that’s built around your brand, your area and the kinds of properties you want to be known for is a much better platform for winning instructions, particularly as vendors become more discerning about which agents they invite in for a valuation.
If your current website isn’t where you want it to be, the next few weeks are a good time to do something about it. The spring market won’t wait, and getting set up now means you’ll be in the best position to make the most of it.
If you’d like to talk through what’s possible and what it would cost, get in touch with the team at b:web. There’s no obligation, and we’re happy to give you an honest picture of what we can do and how quickly.
