Toby Welch
Other
Curb appeal has been talked to death in the real estate industry for decades. We get it – a house needs to make a mind-blowing impression when buyers see it for the first time. As that rarely happens anymore when a client steps out of a Realtor’s car, a positive first impression online is essential. The curb these days is a virtual one.
The importance of virtual curb appeal hit me when I came across Michael Thorne’s website when I was mindlessly surfing the web. The B.C. Realtor with Re/Max Little Oak Realty Langley had a video on his website, “The Dinner Party.” I watched the four-minute video and was floored by how attractive it made the featured property appear; the virtual listing highlighted the home better than any other advertising campaign I’ve come across.
After seeing “The Dinner Party”, I contacted Thorne, who said the feedback he’s received from the video has been “fantastic.” His goal was to do something that no one in his community had done before, and he succeeded. Thorne shared his thoughts on the topic of incorporating videos into his marketing plan to showcase properties in their best possible light.
“I can’t remember the exact statistic but it is something like 73 per cent of sellers are more likely to list with an agent who is using video. We did 30 videos in 30 days of our favourite 30 places in the community. The response was incredible. Video allows the viewer to really “connect”, whether that is with the community, the home or you. Pictures can be enough but our team isn’t looking to do what’s ‘enough’ for our clients.”
Colleen DePodesta, a sales rep with Re/Max Garden City Realty in Burlington, Ont., incorporates video and online media in all her marketing; she believes there isn’t any other way to maximize virtual curb appeal. “You have three seconds to capture the attention of an online consumer. Don’t believe me? Google it!,” she says. “Listings sell faster and for more money when showcased online for mobility and accessibility. Almost every home buyer conducts their home search online and over half of those people are on mobile devices. That is just a fact.”
DePodesta used an analogy to express her point. “When I started in the business 28 years ago, if you went to buy a new fridge, you’d be given a beautifully designed, high-gloss, colour brochure to seal the deal. In stark comparison, real estate agents at the time were still using black and white MLS listing printouts to sell a property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That disconnect is the relation I give to modern-day online consumers.”
We’ve all heard the statistics – over 90 per cent of home buyers use the Internet to research homes before they ever see a property in person. That fact drives home the notion that virtual curb appeal has never been more important than it is today. So how do you create superior online curb appeal?
Regardless of whether you want to use photos or video, stroll around the property and list the features you want to highlight. When light is optimum for the effect you want, shoot the pictures or videos, making sure to keep the equipment steady. (Blurry pictures or jerky video shots will do nothing but annoy viewers and ruin any hope of cultivating curb appeal.) Consider adding dialogue once they are uploaded. Take a look at the website once the files go live to confirm they turned out as you’d planned. As with all marketing paraphernalia, ensure nothing in the client’s home is displayed that would make your clients or potential buyers uncomfortable.
As you go about creating virtual curb appeal for your listed properties, focus on the feeling that you want to come across to web surfers and what will appeal to potential buyers. Keep in mind that video is becoming so mainstream online that consumers now expect it. More and more of those are expecting HD video. Offering a video tour of each property will be the norm relatively soon.
Another bonus for having videos on your website is that search engines prefer videos. By having video listings, you will pop up sooner when buyers look for property. Forrester Research did a study on this subject and found that videos are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page on Google as opposed to traditional web pages without video.
By creating virtual curb appeal, you will elicit an emotional response in your viewers without them consciously thinking about it. Done right, it can prompt buyers to consider a property they wouldn’t have otherwise had on their radar. Done wrong, it doesn’t matter if you have the greatest property available for sale in your area; the chances of luring buyers to see your listing plummets without virtual curb appeal.
Jennifer Campbell, home stager, decor specialist, owner of Set Your Stage and the teacher of CREB’s course The Basics of Home Staging, offers tips on how to create virtual curb appeal:
Clean, tidy and well-kept are the only options.
Think like a photographer – consider camera angles, sightlines, lighting and vignettes.
Create a focal point in every core room.
Highlight key features – architecture, views and landscaping.
Create an inviting feeling that suits the potential buyer’s desired lifestyle