The results of the 2020 NAR (National Association of Realtors) research on the profile of home buyers and sellers determined that 84% of recent buyers used the internet to search for homes and 89% want to see photographs when searching for their future home.
Taken from Carlos Rentalo's Blog
The real estate sector has enormous potential. But undoubtedly, what's holding it back is the number of real estate agents who still don't understand the importance of digital transformation . Within this new paradigm, we must rethink the strategies we use in selling and marketing homes .
Think of it this way: if you start implementing new tools to attract clients and close deals faster, you'll also have to change the way you do things. When managing the sale of a home, you'll likely face situations like this: Initially, you start scheduling viewings.
You have appointments at the same property at 4:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 5:00 PM, and 5:30 PM. Afterward, you must travel to another property where at least five other people will be touring it. However, the first interested party is delayed, which means you have to reschedule the subsequent visits to ensure that no more than one client is present at the property at the same time.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Day after day, the same story. At the end of the week, you realize that most of your time has been spent moving properties and dealing with tasks that could have been handled much faster online. You're probably wondering how to do it, right? Well, the answer boils down to two key elements: professional photography and virtual tours .
How to sell a home faster with professional photography?
According to a recent study by BoxBrownie , an Australian real estate company, sellers whose listings don't include professional photos take longer to sell their property. Not only that, they also risk receiving a lower price.
This study reveals that of the 25,000 properties for sale on two major US real estate sites, less than 30% of the listings use photos taken by a professional or do not follow best photographic practices.
How does the quality of the images you use affect the sale of a property? To find out, simply look at the results of the 2020 NAR (National Association of Realtors) research on the profile of home buyers and sellers:
- 84% of recent buyers used the internet to search for homes.
- 89% want to see photographs when searching for their future home.
If the photos in your listing don't showcase the property's main features and, at the same time, don't highlight its full potential, potential buyers may pass it by without even giving it a chance.
On the other hand, a study conducted by the Chicago-based real estate photography network VHT Studios found that real estate agents who use professional photos sell their listings 32% faster than those who don't.
Therefore, in these times where everything is visually appealing and image dominates the market, quality photography is a key requirement in the real estate sector.
How to sell a home faster thanks to virtual tours?
I'm sure it's nothing new to tell you that digitalization has accelerated in recent months. But why do you think this has happened? Initially, it was pure necessity. When we found ourselves confined to our homes due to lockdown measures, many of us felt the need to find alternatives to continue with our lives.
And, in this sense, it was vital to migrate a large part of our activities to the online world in order to keep going.
Of course, the search for properties through the internet initially stagnated, but in recent months we have seen an acceleration that has not occurred for a long time.
This is how new demands arose: virtual visits .
If potential buyers cannot or do not want to leave their homes to visit the properties that interest them, real estate agencies must find a way to facilitate the tour.
In this regard, the BoxBrownie study reveals that 94% of properties for sale listed on US portals lack an immersive 360-degree virtual tour.
For its part, the NAR, in its 2020 report, states that 58% of buyers want to take a virtual tour of homes. Meanwhile, 51% of those who purchased their property in the last year found it online.
Do you need more proof of the importance of this tool? The virtual tour is an interactive resource that gives the user the real feeling of walking through the property as if they were doing it in person.
These virtual tours are immersive experiences in which the potential buyer, from their screen, can simulate as much as possible the real experience of being in the place and touring the different environments of the home.
Why digitize the sale of a home?
I think the importance of digitizing the sale of a home is quite clear. However, you may still have some doubts, so consider the main advantages of boosting your online real estate strategy.
Save time
Time, it all comes down to that. Saving time when showing properties is undoubtedly one of the top priorities for any real estate agent, especially if you want to sell a property quickly. Having more time allows you to increase your chances of closing the deal or dedicate it to other important tasks.
However, many of your hours are spent managing property viewings. The problem is that these viewings don't always translate into actual results.
Therefore, having an online strategy, such as a virtual tour, will allow you to optimize your time. Firstly, because you won't have hours dedicated to travel. Secondly, because the virtual tour provides clients with more complete information, ensuring that only those who are truly interested visit the property in person. Finally, thanks to digital tools like Floorfy , creating a virtual tour will only take a few minutes.
Attracting qualified leads
What truly sets virtual tours apart is their ability to immerse the client in the property, allowing them to explore it from start to finish as if they were actually there. This way, potential buyers can access every detail of the property without leaving home. The best part is that if they like what they see, they'll likely schedule a visit.
Conversely, if the interested party doesn't find what they're looking for in a property through that virtual tour, they'll rule out the in-person tour, and you won't waste your time with unproductive visits.
Visit anytime, anywhere
This is possibly one of the most interesting advantages of having an online real estate strategy. If you want to sell a property quickly, all the procedures need to be streamlined.
The problem arises when clients are unavailable for in-person appointments, forcing them to reschedule repeatedly. This causes the sale of a property to take longer than expected.
Virtual tours help overcome these difficulties, as prospective buyers can visit the property as many times as needed from the comfort of their own homes. No more excuses or postponed appointments!
Less hassle for property sellers
In addition to all of the above, we must also consider how in-person visits affect sellers, especially those who live on the property.
The virtual tour eliminates all the inconveniences for the owners who live in the property.
Furthermore, in times like these, where we are much more careful about the contact we maintain with strangers, we must say that the virtual tour also protects the vendors by reducing visits to the location.
Integrate virtual tours into your strategy
Do you want to achieve these results with your strategy? It's time to refresh it! Fortunately, it's easier than you think.
I've already mentioned just one of the advantages that Floorfy offers: it's a tool that lets you create online tours in a matter of minutes.
All you need to do is take photos of the house —remember that it's important to take care of the quality of those images— and from that material the application creates the virtual tour automatically.
The author is Spanish, a mentor, a real estate business consultant, and an international speaker.
