According to Redfin, there was a 494% increase in requests for agent-led video home tours last week. To respect social distancing guidelines, homebuyers are relying heavily on virtual views. In order to make the home buying process easier, Redfin has also partnered with Matterport, which allows perspective buyers to view their new potential home in 3D scans. “The future of real estate has come earlier than any of us could have anticipated,” said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. “The way things are during the pandemic won’t last forever, but at the end of all this, things won’t go back to the way they were either. We hope we’re well prepared.” Agents with other brokerages are adapting similarly, offering potential buyers tours via FaceTime, including detailed floor plans with their listings, and more.
Methods for finding buyers are pivoting to digital, as well. A platform we work with that started in Australia is gaining traction in the US as a novel way to reach buyers who are spending even more of their time online. REALTORs are using social media to digitally advertise their homes by creating a virtual showroom in which the REALTORs are able to communicate with potential buyers, all through Facebook. It’s a cloud-based, programmatic ad tech platform to deliver cost-effective results with automation on Facebook. For example, a Colorado-based Real Estate Broker did a trial on the platform and in just one week, garnered over 13,000 views, over 7,000 social actions (think clicks, shares, comments, likes) from just a video tour. Her single image Ad had a click-through rate of 16.44% and 24 direct leads to contact about buying that home – and this was just before social distancing rules went into place. Right now, we are running campaigns to see how the recent increases in time spent online are affecting the click-through rate, views, and social actions for various property types.
Once we get through COVID-19, markets and how customers engage with them will be changed forever – so it is important to keep focused on how to keep up. Technology is never going to slow. Now is the best time to watch out for yourself, your company, and your clients. A small investment into something that will revolutionize the way you market homes in the “new normal” once this all passes can pay large dividends in the future.
Reach out today for your demo of your new favorite platform to get in front of the right people to buy your listings!