Have you ever walked into a house and instantly known the price? That’s System 1 thinking in action, and it’s what makes estate agents so good at their job.
At last week’s EA Masters, our Executive Director Katy Billany and Stat King Christopher Watkin took to the stage to discuss this very concept.
It’s based on Nobel Prize-winning Psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow,’ where he discusses how our brain has two decision-making systems.
System 1 is fast, automatic, emotional and intuitive. It is how people make decisions based on patterns, experiences and gut feeling, without much deliberation.
Examples of System 1 thinking for estate agents:
On the other hand, System 2 thinking is slow, deliberate, logical, conscious and requires intentional effort. System 2 is used for problem solving and analytical tasks where more thought and consideration are needed.
Examples of System 2 thinking for estate agents:
As you can see, System 1 is automatic thinking or unconscious thought. We’ve all driven to the office before on autopilot and wondered afterwards how we got there! Our System 1 brain has kicked in. With System 1, you answer at speed and you never pause to consider if there is better evidence elsewhere. And what is that evidence? It’s data!
'The quality of our thinking cannot be higher than the quality of the information on which it is based.'
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
What Kahneman means here is that our conclusions are flawed if we base our thinking on inaccurate or incomplete information. It highlights how important it is to access and use high-quality data when making decisions.
System 2 thinking requires considerable time and energy to reach an answer - but importantly, the answer will be more correct than what System 1 would achieve. You need the two cognitive systems to work together to improve your decision-making, instead of relying on System 1’s hasty conclusions. What’s more, System 1’s beliefs can be prone to bias.
“Declarations of high confidence mainly tell you that an individual has constructed a coherent story in his mind, not necessarily that the story is true.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
System 2 thinking is critical for making complex and unbiased decisions. Data is essential for this process because it provides the raw material needed to challenge assumptions, identify patterns and support logical conclusions.
“We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
Most agents unknowingly make snap judgements, relying far too much on System 1 because of the fast-paced nature of the job. The headlines are often churning out stories on how poorly the property market is performing, but it’s simply not true when you look at the actual data. Stop listening to the loudest voices and use data as evidence.
“A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
When it comes to understanding the market, instinct alone can be misleading.
We hear it all the time:
“That won’t work in my area.”
“The market is slow.”
“There are no buyers right now.”
These are System 1 reactions - fast and emotional.
The agents who grow consistently are the ones who slow down, look at the evidence, and use System 2 thinking - analytical, deliberate, and based on facts. It’s essential for estate agents to have access to accurate and insightful data that helps you to shift from instinctive decision-making to more informed, strategic choices. By using full and accurate data, you’ll get a clearer understanding of true market conditions. This way, you can challenge assumptions and identify any trends that are emerging and make better strategic decisions to benefit your company now and in the future.
Buying and selling property is emotional, but you shouldn’t make decisions based on emotion. Data can help you to price accurately instead of being fed off the emotions of the seller. You can win instructions with proof, not promises, walking into valuations armed with evidence. With data, you can spot opportunities, plan ahead and ignore the sensationalist headlines.
System 2 thinking turns instinct into strategy and helps build a stronger business.
"We're generally overconfident in our opinions and our impressions and judgments."
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
There are six key data points every agent needs to understand to run their business on market facts, not market myths. Each one is a prime opportunity to shift from System 1 (gut feeling) to System 2 (data-backed clarity) - from instinct to insight.
How long are properties taking to sell, exchange and complete?
The data reveals:
If a home sells in 25 days, it has a 19 out of 20 chance of exchanging.
If a home sells after 100 days, it has a less than 11 out of 20 chance of exchanging.
It’s this type of valuable knowledge that can help you rethink your strategy on pricing high and reducing later.
Anchor your pricing to reality. Find out asking price versus price achieved, number of price reductions and local price sensitivities.
The data reveals:
Did you know that resting a property can help it to sell? 53% of sales take place in the first 5 weeks and 76% in the first three months. If a home doesn’t sell within 3 months, it only has a 14.5% chance of selling at all. Withdrawing, or ‘resting’ a listing for three months, increases its chance of selling to 42%. Even if it is relisted at the same price!
Who is actually moving and who should you be targeting?
The data reveals:
Data can tell you who your target audience is. Currently, 45% of UK vendors have lived in their property for less than 5 years and are in starter homes. Depending on location, up to 20% of vendors will be selling properties that were previously rentals. Many of these customers will already exist in your CRM. Baby Boomers are also on the move. Instructions from people aged 65+ have increased 16% in the last year. Completions in this age bracket have increased by 26%. This should currently be a key focus of your marketing activity outside of nurturing the leads already in your CRM.
Find out how the lettings market is shifting. Are landlords exiting? Are they using OpenRent or letting agencies to promote their properties?
The data reveals:
The data tells us that OpenRent are your biggest threat. 51.5% of OpenRent’s listings in 2025 were last let by a ‘traditional’ agent. Online letting agents’ market share is 17.9%, which is 7% higher than in 2024. OpenRent accounts for 16.7% of this and their market share has grown by 8.4%. Online letting agents now have 25% market share of properties under £800pm – up 15% year-on-year.
How is your agency performing? Where do you need to invest time and money?
The data reveals:
You should be worried about self-employed agents. In 2025, self-employed agents were 12% more likely to sell a property, 23 days faster at agreeing a sale, 13 days faster at completing a sale, and, on average, they get £5,400 more for a property.
Who is winning stock and who is losing it? Who’s overpricing?
The data reveals:
Request a TwentyEA Insight demo and we’ll show you!
These six data points give agents a full view of the market they operate within. You can combine System 1 and 2 thinking to take your agency from good to exceptional.
Estate agency has always attracted intuitive people - and with good reason. The best agents know how to read people, react quickly, and trust their instincts. The problem is that System 1 thinking alone can be potentially wrong. You need data to back up your claims, changing your narrative from:
“This house will sell quickly.”
To:
“Properties in this area are selling 17 days faster than the national average.”
By doing so, you demonstrate authority.
You should continue to follow your instincts, but remember not to allow your System 1 thinking to take over. Back up your claims with evidence and data, the perfect blend of both systems working in harmony.
TwentyEA's strategies can help improve marketing for estate agents and increase estate agent market share. Intrigued? Let’s have a call to discuss how our data can help improve your agency.