Only 3% of UHNW buyers prefer a phone call. 96% use WhatsApp daily. There is a persistent mismatch between how the luxury property industry communicates with wealthy buyers and how those buyers actually want to be reached.
There is a persistent mismatch between how the luxury property industry tries to communicate with wealthy buyers and how those buyers actually want to be reached. The gap is not subtle — and it costs both sides.
Research from LUUX Media's 2025 Ultra Affluent Report, drawing on responses from 145 verified ultra-high-net-worth individuals, found that 96% use WhatsApp daily — with 89% opening it multiple times a day. When asked how they prefer to receive follow-up information after showing interest in a high-value product or service, WhatsApp and email were equally preferred at 48% each.
Phone calls? Just 3%.
Yet the default instinct across much of the property industry — agents, developers, advisers — remains to call. When the call goes unanswered, the lead is often written off as low quality or low intent. The research suggests the opposite is frequently true. The prospect was simply being reached through entirely the wrong channel.
"Only 3% of UHNW buyers prefer phone calls following a luxury enquiry. Yet the industry's default remains to call — and mark unanswered calls as low-intent leads."
There is a further layer of complexity that most advisers do not account for. The LUUX research found that 46% of UHNWIs delegate initial research and contact to an assistant. In a property context, nearly half of the most serious buyers will not make first contact themselves — a PA, family office associate or trusted adviser does it on their behalf.
This means the person who first responds to your outreach may not be the decision-maker. The person who eventually makes the decision may never have seen your listing. The journey from initial interest to committed buyer is rarely linear and rarely involves only one person. Advisers who optimise only for the first touchpoint — the opening enquiry — miss the fuller picture entirely.
The research also found that 76% of UHNWIs are comfortable receiving frequent, personalised WhatsApp follow-ups. This matters because a common fear among advisers is that persistent communication feels intrusive. For this audience, it appears to be expected — provided the communication is personal, relevant, and demonstrates genuine understanding of their situation.
Intrusion is not the issue. Irrelevance is. A well-timed message about a specific property that fits what someone is looking for is welcome. A generic call from an unknown number on a Monday morning is not.
96% use WhatsApp daily (89% multiple times per day)
48% prefer WhatsApp for follow-up communications
48% prefer email for follow-up communications
3% prefer phone calls following a luxury enquiry
76% comfortable with frequent, personalised WhatsApp follow-ups
46% delegate initial research and contact to an assistant
We communicate the way our clients do. WhatsApp is our primary channel for ongoing dialogue — it is where serious conversations actually happen. We are reachable directly, without front desks or callback queues, and we adapt to however a client and their team prefer to work. Where assistants or family office staff are involved in the process, we are experienced in working across those relationships discreetly and effectively.
The 3% who prefer a phone call will always get one when they want it. But we do not assume that silence on the phone means absence of interest. We know what it actually means: we are simply talking to someone who communicates differently, and it is our job to meet them where they are.