According to research by Savills, real estate is by far the largest store of wealth globally, with an estimated value of USD393.3 trillion at the end of 2024, around 50% more than the total value of equities and debt securities. Residential properties account for almost 80% of this value, with the remainder split fairly evenly between commercial and agricultural properties. Despite Europe and North America accounting for just 17% of the world’s population, 45% of residential property wealth is concentrated in these regions.
In the UK, the total value of all residential properties is estimated to be over £9 trillion, several times the total GDP (which contributed £1.7 billion to the UK economy in 2024). Around 1.2 million people are employed across the broader property sector, including real estate management and construction, contributing 12% to the UK’s GDP.
FieldworkHub has experience conducting research in both the residential and commercial segments of the property industry and have managed research projects across multiple global markets with differing market standards.
Focus groups bring together a small number of participants for a moderated discussion, either in person or online. They are particularly useful for exploring consumer attitudes, evaluating new concepts and understanding how people react to and build on one another’s ideas.
In-depth interviews (IDIs) involve a one-to-one conversation between a researcher and a participant. They are well suited to exploring complex decisions, personal experiences and sensitive subjects, particularly in B2B research or when specialist knowledge is required.
Ethnographic research involves observing people in their everyday environments, such as their homes, workplaces or shops. It is useful when researchers want to understand how products and services are used in practice, rather than relying solely on what participants say.
Online bulletin boards (OBBs) allow participants to complete research tasks and respond to questions over several days, at times that suit them. They are useful for diary-style research, gathering detailed reflections and exploring topics that benefit from considered rather than immediate responses.
Market research online communities (MROCs) bring participants together on a digital platform for ongoing research. Unlike shorter OBB studies, MROCs can cover multiple topics over weeks or months, making them useful for user engagement, innovation and tracking changing attitudes.
UX testing involves observing people as they use a website, app or digital product, often while completing specific tasks. It helps identify usability problems, understand why users encounter difficulties and evaluate prototypes or existing digital experiences.
Customer experience research examines how people interact with a brand, product or service across touchpoints. It can combine interviews, surveys, focus groups and other methods to understand satisfaction, identify frustrations and explore opportunities to improve the customer journey.
Video surveys ask participants to record short responses to research questions, usually using their smartphones. They can involve selfie videos, product demonstrations or narrated activities, making them useful when researchers want to capture reactions and experiences in participants’ own words.
Vox pops involve short video interviews that capture people’s immediate opinions and reactions, usually in public locations or remotely. They are particularly useful for gathering spontaneous feedback on familiar topics, products or brands and illustrating research findings with real voices.
Online surveys allow respondents to complete structured questionnaires on their computers or mobile devices. They are often the most efficient option for reaching larger samples, testing preferences and measuring attitudes when respondents can be recruited and surveyed remotely.
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) uses interviewers who follow a digital questionnaire and record responses during a telephone call. It is useful for reaching business professionals or other audiences who may be difficult to engage online, and for surveys with lots of open-ended questions.
Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) involves an interviewer recording responses on a tablet or similar device during an in-person survey. It is useful for street intercepts, location-specific research and research where participants need to see or try a product before answering questions.
FieldworkHub arranged two focus groups with people who lived in a particular district of South West London and rented their home from a private landlord. We successfully recruited a mix of male and female respondents with varying incomes and rent levels who had lived in the area for varying amounts of time.
A provider of co-working office spaces in the UK wanted to carry out a number of interviews with managers who make decisions about office space and employees who have a say in the type of office accommodation that their employer uses. We successfully recruited 15 people to take part in online interviews.
A European digital innovation agency was researching online residential property agents and property search websites. We recruited traditional branch-based estate agents to understand how digital services are forcing them to adapt business models.
