3 Ways to Dominate the “New Normal” of Real Estate
by Kyle O’Boyle
Wow, what a ride real estate has been on the last year, right? The residential real estate and rental property industries have seemingly changed overnight. Certain marketing tech that was once a luxury is now a necessity. As we move into the “new normal” of real estate headfirst (some of us kicking and screaming, others screaming with joy) are you, your listings, and your clients prepped and ready? Here are the 3 biggest things you have to master now in order to dominate in the “new normal” of real estate.
1) Everything You Do Needs to be Mobile-Focused.
You already know about this first way to dominate, even if you don’t think you do. In fact, you are probably reading this on your smartphone right now (#ImWatchingYou). Everything is being done on a smartphone post-pandemic from buying/test driving a car (Carvana and Vroom), getting food that just 5 years ago you could never get delivered right to your door (DoorDash and UberEats), your office sales meeting (Zoom and Microsoft Teams), even playing once face-to-face games like Skribble and Cards Against Humanity are all being done on the mini-hand held computers with high-resolution screens we call our “phone”. All of us are seeing how the pandemic drastically altered those activities, but some of us might have missed what is happening right under our noses in the real estate industry…the biggest real estate decisions are now also being made right in the hands of sellers, buyers, and renters on their phones! The NAR 2018 & 2019 Real Estate in a Digital Age report (pre-pandemic which means we need a stat update because these numbers are probably much much higher now!) said that 76% of ALL home buyers found the home they ended up purchasing on their mobile device. 17% of buyers even found their agent with a mobile device (see here, page 9). 60% of buyers said that viewing a schematic floor plan was very or extremely important in choosing a home (source). After letting those stats mingle inside your head for a few seconds, you should be asking yourself a few questions, including: How do my listing photos look on a mobile device, and are they high res enough for those retina HD displays? If I am doing video (interior and/or drone) how does it look on a phone? Can buyers or interested parties walk the home or see the floor plan on their phones without making the journey there in-person (think “contactless” with your real estate marketing)? This last question transitions us perfectly to the next way to dominate…
2) Fully Embrace 3D Tours and Virtual Open House Tech.
The tech and listing leaders in the real estate world are already latching on to 3D in a big way, but are you? Realtor.com found that 90% of home buyers want technology on their own listings and those listings they see online. Zillow’s research found that for-sale homes with 3D Home tours were 22% more likely to sell within 30 days. Apartments.com stats show that visitors spend 3x – 6x more time engaging with property listings that offer a Matterport and properties with a Matterport 3D tour received 49% more qualified leads (whoa!). These jaw-dropping stats aren’t only limited to the buy-side of things though. Matterport’s research showed that 99.4% (yeah…almost 100%!) of sellers say a 3D tour would give their listing a competitive edge and 82% of sellers would switch to an agent offering 3D tours. This makes sense why 74% of agents are saying they win more listings because of Matterport 3D tours.
The data and the real estate tech leaders clearly show that 3D tours are no longer reserved for the high-end luxury listing but are crucial for every single real estate listing and property for rent in this “new normal”. Buyers and sellers are starting to demand this technology, so much so that they make their decisions on what property to buy or rent and which agent or property management company they hire based on 3D tour tech. They know this technology helps speed along the transaction; that is why I save the most insane stat for last: 55% of potential buyers say they would buy a property sight-unseen if there was a 3D tour available online. Say what?! Yeah, it is time to fully embrace 3D tours and get your “virtual” house in order.
Doing something as simple as telling your clients and future clients that you offer a “24/7 Contactless 3D Open House” with your marketing then actually doing it on every listing can and will go a long way in the current real estate market.
As real estate professionals or marketing admins, we are so used to looking at videos and 3D tours on our laptop/desktop. Stop it! Walkthrough this 3D tour of a home on your smartphone below to see why buyers and sellers are so obsessed with this tech in the “new normal” of real estate (they are designed to meet buyers and sellers where they are…on their phone):
3) Let Your Clients Know About the Shift and that You are Prepared
Your own current and prospective clients might not actually know about the massive shift toward all things virtual in real estate over the last year. Maybe that seller bought their home 5, 10, or 20 years ago and for some odd reason is thinking an old school open house might do the trick. Well, it might (if people ever put their phones down but stats show they won’t).
Have you ever had an open house where 100-800 people came through? Informing the seller that you can easily reach those numbers with something like a Facebook or Instagram 3D Open House and that you offer these on every listing is key. Or maybe your buyer is thinking about driving around town and seeing 5 houses on a Saturday with you, instead, you can show that buyer triple the number of homes by quickly sharing a text or emailing 3D tours, and then they can pick the 1 or 2 that they really want to see in person before they make that offer (if they even want to see it in-person…homes are selling quickly these days!).
Share something like this awesome 1-page flyer with stats on how the market has shifted to being nearly entirely online (with smartphones as the primary device of course) and reassure them you have already taken the steps with your marketing to address this. Even making a quick video for your social media pages and website about info in this article and/or info straight from the NAR 2019 Real Estate in a Digital Age report on why you do what you do in the “new normal” makes you the best in option for buyers and sellers in this digital, contactless age.
Get the new VRX Media Flyer
Then of course, be sure you have an incredible media and marketing vendor for all your listings and rental property needs like VRX Media. Things to look for in your media/tech vendor are up-front and affordable pricing (if you are going to do this on every listing, the price needs to be good), easy online ordering/booking with openings the next business day, offerings like what you get with our Marketing Kit to boost your social media content and stat tracking, next day delivery of all files, and friendly customer service that you can reach by phone or email. Once you have a reliable vendor that makes your listings look amazing, let everyone know you are prepared to dominate for them.
