How common are no-show property viewers when selling a house?

MoverOva · 2026-04-27T15:54:35+00:00

Waiting in for a viewer that hasn't turned up. Have another tomorrow. I hope this isn't too common! Have any of you had this happen? Is it common?

SoGoodToSeeYou · 27/04/2026 16:56

I’ve never had one not turn up. How late are they?

Maybe5 · 27/04/2026 16:56

Pretty uncommon IME. I think agents are fairly good at telling whether people are serious, and no buyer wants a reputation for being a no-show.

Of course inevitably it will happen sometimes.

hellotoday1 · 27/04/2026 16:57

I had this on Saturday, I can’t get over how rude people can be knowing that people have cleaned and stayed in for them to view and they don’t even bother telling you they are not going to turn up.

ErlingHaalandsManBun · 27/04/2026 17:00

I have not had this. I had a couple who were very late due to travelling some distance and there was an accident on route. They let the agents know and apologised and the agents then told me. I would have been a bit pissed off if they hadn't let me know and just didn't show up.

Can you ask your agents to contact them and see if they are on their way?

Original poster

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 17:07

Agents are closed now. We have another viewing tomorrow the EA is coming with that one. So it's good we're already tidy. I just find it so rude.
Apparently someone else is interested in buying that hasn't viewed yet? The online pictures are particularly good so hope they aren't disappointed when they view 😉

We've already got a house to move into but viewed a few. We were always early or on time.

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Original poster

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 17:08

hellotoday1 · 27/04/2026 16:57

I had this on Saturday, I can’t get over how rude people can be knowing that people have cleaned and stayed in for them to view and they don’t even bother telling you they are not going to turn up.

Sorry you had that too. Hopefully you sell soon 🙏

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MegMortimer · 27/04/2026 17:11

I had it a couple of times but mostly people do show up. Of course, some of those who showed up were time wasters.....

Behindtheclock · 27/04/2026 17:24

Never had a no-show. Did have a second viewing from someone who hadn't even put their house on the market, and were not cash buyers, total time waster!
It takes a lot of effort to present a house well for a viewing when you have kids and dogs....

cherrytree12345 · 27/04/2026 17:25

I had this years ago when we were selling, it was a second viewing. They wanted information about local schools which I had ready for them. The viewing was booked for early evening, but they didn’t turn up. The next morning I phoned the agent who said they had done it to quite a few other sellers too. Never did make another appointment, I agree it’s extremely rude

duchyorganiclettuce · 27/04/2026 17:25

I had one the other day. pissed me right off

WallaceinAnderland · 27/04/2026 17:26

You should always let the estate agent do the viewings.

Peridot1 · 27/04/2026 17:28

We had a couple last time we were selling. One messaged the agent to say they weren’t going to view as they had been to look the night before and didn’t like the fact we had a “Private Drive” sign at the bottom of the driveway.

Another set knocked on the door about 20 mins before they were due to arrive to say they’d driven around the area and weren’t interested.

CushionHugger · 27/04/2026 17:31

In my sad experience, common!

LibertyLily · 27/04/2026 17:38

I think we've had one virtually every time we've sold (eight times) - certainly the sales since 2000 (five). Each of our houses have been fairly different, unusual period properties and therefore the type to appeal to nosey parkers not really interested in buying - so we kind of expected it. Even when we've stipulated 'proceedable buyers only' it's made very little difference - we still got the tyre kickers and no shows.

It's a ginormous pain, but just seems like another inconvenience of selling.

Hopefully tomorrow's viewer will turn up and love your place @MoverOva 🤞

Original poster

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 17:38

Peridot1 · 27/04/2026 17:28

We had a couple last time we were selling. One messaged the agent to say they weren’t going to view as they had been to look the night before and didn’t like the fact we had a “Private Drive” sign at the bottom of the driveway.

Another set knocked on the door about 20 mins before they were due to arrive to say they’d driven around the area and weren’t interested.

Yikes I suppose at least they knocked. People are really cheeky though. They didn't need to say that.

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Original poster

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 17:39

LibertyLily · 27/04/2026 17:38

I think we've had one virtually every time we've sold (eight times) - certainly the sales since 2000 (five). Each of our houses have been fairly different, unusual period properties and therefore the type to appeal to nosey parkers not really interested in buying - so we kind of expected it. Even when we've stipulated 'proceedable buyers only' it's made very little difference - we still got the tyre kickers and no shows.

It's a ginormous pain, but just seems like another inconvenience of selling.

Hopefully tomorrow's viewer will turn up and love your place @MoverOva 🤞

Edited

Thank you.

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HowDoYouSolveAProblemLikeMyRear · 27/04/2026 17:44

Someone recently wrote on a FB group I'm in that they'd driven 4 hours for a viewing only to have the estate agents cancel it ten minutes beforehand because the "seller cancelled it".

The prospective buyers had driven past the house twenty minutes earlier and seen the owner mowing the lawn, so they rather suspected that the agents had forgotten/cancelled, and told each party it was the other party's fault.

LittleGreenDuck · 27/04/2026 17:50

We were those viewers once. DD had an accident an hour before we were due to view and we ended up in A&E. We left a message on the estate agent’s voicemail but it didn’t reach the seller in time. We rearranged and were very apologetic. Fortunately, they were very understanding, though we didn’t buy the house.

Last time we sold we were mooching around on a Saturday morning when the doorbell went and we opened it to a couple of viewers and the estate agent. They’d forgotten to tell us! Luckily we were all decent and the house was presentable-ish. I dashed round tidying upstairs whilst they viewed downstairs. They did actually buy the house.

Jay242 · 27/04/2026 17:55

I think if the estate agents send a reminder text to the viewers on the day of the viewing and then again around an hour before the viewing or thereabouts then you usually find that people that are not going to show just reply to the text and cancel otherwise if no reminder then you get them just not showing up.

Original poster

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 18:02

HowDoYouSolveAProblemLikeMyRear · 27/04/2026 17:44

Someone recently wrote on a FB group I'm in that they'd driven 4 hours for a viewing only to have the estate agents cancel it ten minutes beforehand because the "seller cancelled it".

The prospective buyers had driven past the house twenty minutes earlier and seen the owner mowing the lawn, so they rather suspected that the agents had forgotten/cancelled, and told each party it was the other party's fault.

Omg how shocking. I'd have been furious.

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bugalugs45 · 27/04/2026 18:27

Yes had this several times , and mine was an online agent so literally had to click a button to cancel , so frustrating and rude ,
One woman messaged me hours later saying that she couldn’t get a babysitter and could she rearrange , I said no as can’t abide rudeness .

LibertyLily · 27/04/2026 19:47

LittleGreenDuck · 27/04/2026 17:50

We were those viewers once. DD had an accident an hour before we were due to view and we ended up in A&E. We left a message on the estate agent’s voicemail but it didn’t reach the seller in time. We rearranged and were very apologetic. Fortunately, they were very understanding, though we didn’t buy the house.

Last time we sold we were mooching around on a Saturday morning when the doorbell went and we opened it to a couple of viewers and the estate agent. They’d forgotten to tell us! Luckily we were all decent and the house was presentable-ish. I dashed round tidying upstairs whilst they viewed downstairs. They did actually buy the house.

This has reminded me that when we were selling in 2007 we had a no show that ultimately turned out ok.

At the time I was really annoyed, as it was a big house (3500 sq ft) and I'd taken ages cleaning, hoovering, tidying etc as we'd recently got a new puppy who was wreaking havoc 🐶

The next day our EA messaged to say the viewer's car had broken down and could they rearrange for that afternoon. I was a bit suspicious and expected another no show, but decamped with puppy to my parents' house where I took a call later from the EA who said the viewing went really well and the viewers wanted to meet me to ask a few questions. I headed home and they made an asking price offer. They were cash buyers (keeping their existing house) and didn't have a survey. We exchanged in six weeks and completed a week later!

UnseenAcademical123 · 27/04/2026 22:33

MoverOva · 27/04/2026 17:07

Agents are closed now. We have another viewing tomorrow the EA is coming with that one. So it's good we're already tidy. I just find it so rude.
Apparently someone else is interested in buying that hasn't viewed yet? The online pictures are particularly good so hope they aren't disappointed when they view 😉

We've already got a house to move into but viewed a few. We were always early or on time.

I've not turned up for a house viewing before. All booked in, but then I unexpectedly ended up in A&E and during an emergency CT scan you can't exactly have a phone with you to email the agents to rearrange.

Sometimes things happen and whilst it may just be rude, it may also be something has happened beyond their control.

Likewise, my DM passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. A snotty so and so from a well known optician left a shitty message on her voicemail demanding to know why she had not turned up to her appointment.

Sometimes perhaps just cut people a bit of slack and don't just assume it is "rudeness". Admittedly sometimes it is, but sometimes things happen beyond your control.

Chatsbots · 27/04/2026 22:36

I've had a no-show from a estate agent before now...

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 27/04/2026 22:41

Get the EA to show them round. Why are you staying in?