When open houses just won’t work, like in many areas of the world battling COVID-19 right now, it may come time to host a virtual open house instead.
But is this a good idea, since show houses should be cancelled until end of the COVID-19 epidemic, with South Africa’s property market restricted for the 21-day lockdown, in place until 16 April for now.
Add to that the uncertainty of things post the lockdown. The deeds office is now closed but most importantly, legally sale of property cannot be concluded with a virtual signature. Nor should any buyer ever conclude a sale without physically seeing the property they intend purchasing.
However, a few experts are in favour of using this lockdown period to do some solid investment research, whether that be through virtual show houses or through virtual reality (VR) tours – as we combat the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19.
“We encourage all RE/MAX agents to be ready to accommodate any situation thrown their way, including moving their show houses into the virtual space,” says Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Adrian Goslett.
“To combat the spread of this disease, open homes will soon take the form of Facebook Live tours. Events could be scheduled and a live walkthrough will be held by the homeowner through a virtual watch party.”
Antonie Goosen, Founder and Managing Director of Meridian Realty agrees saying, “We live in the digital age, and it is incredible what can be done these days through online systems and platforms. Use it! This may just be a game-changer during the pandemic.”
Goosen believes now is the time to engage across the market and “not go quiet”.
'Use this time to build more meaningful relationships'
“I cannot stress this enough. This is the time when you need to be over-communicating. Your brand can be cemented during this crisis if you communicate clearly and consistently to your sphere and clients. This may be the perfect time for you to catch up with your sphere of influence, and to ramp up your canvassing activities. As the country is moving towards a ‘locked-down’ situation, I suspect people will appreciate interaction with other people more than usual,” says Goosen.
While person-to-person contact is not possible, Goosen suggests touching base with your sphere of influence either by phone or using social media effectively.
“Stay on top of what is happening in the market and share this information with everyone interested to know. Let them know you are there, you are ready to assist, you are open for business (within the confounds of the current situation) and that you care about them. Use this time to build stronger and more meaningful relationships with people. Although you will largely be confined to your home, you can still generate leads and build relationships.”
'Generate interest and do trial runs beforehand'
So what’s the best way forward to plan this virtual show house?
Goslett advises real estate agents to generate interest virtually, “just as they would for a normal open house. Digital marketing and e-flyers can help publicise the virtual event. Agents can also share the link to the event to their database of potential buyers”.
However, he stresses the importance of trial runs before the event.
“Test that everything is running smoothly before the camera starts rolling on your live event. Potential buyers might exit the event if they see pixelated footage or a lagging connection.”
He suggests creating a clear outline for homeowners on how to conduct this tour.
“Give them tips on what features to highlight and what answers to give when the viewers raise questions. The real estate agent should be part of this virtual watch party to be able to help with answering questions as they arise.”
While a virtual open house solves the issue of showing the property without technically inviting anyone in, it can still be challenging for potential home buyers to envision themselves living in the space.
To overcome this, Goslett suggests that homeowners be as descriptive as possible while walking through the home.
“If a room features intricate features that might be missed (crown moulding, for example), be sure to call attention to it. Walk and pan slowly while describing the various features of the home, lingering on selling features like the granite countertops. At the same time, try not to get too creative with your camera angles. It’s important that buyers are given a realistic impression of the space, just as they would if they were there in person,” Goslett advises.
READ: Property24 waivers fees for agents as SA braces for impact of Covid-19 lockdown
'Viable alternative to Sole mandate requirements'
Finally, Goslett recommends that agents get creative to make sure they remain productive over this time.
“If part of your sole mandate requirement is to hold show homes over the mandated period, speak to your sellers and let them know that virtual show days can be a viable alternative. Our priority is to keep everyone safe while continuing to deliver top-quality real estate services to all our clients. I, therefore, urge all sellers to be accommodative of our alternative solutions during these unprecedented times,” says Goslett.
'Invest in the Power of Technology and an online strategy'
It is also best to ensure a stable internet connection at your home, “this investment will be well worth it”, says Goosen.
“At Meridian Realty we use Microsoft Teams as a collaboration platform across the group. This enables our agents to connect online with other agents and staff members on either an individual or group basis. We also use it to collaborate on projects or teams as we call it. The system allows seamless communication, file sharing, real time collaboration on files, video calling, webinars, online meetings and even the ability to record these.
“There are many other solutions out there for example Slack, Zoom, WhatsApp video calling, Skype, Facetime, etc to name a few. Use what works for you.”
But should you online strategy include 3D-virtual tours at this point?
Goosen advised you think of ways to use online to still bring buyers and sellers together.
“In the coming weeks and months, having a proper online presence and strategy for marketing properties will be more important than ever before. “
“Wherever possible try and use professional photography and property videos. If you can get access to it Matterport 3D Virtual Tours could be a very helpful tool as it gives a very accurate “feel” for the property.”
By fully utilizing these solutions together with properly and accurately marketing all the features of a property online, you will enable buyers to decide to a large extent whether or not a particular property is worth their consideration.
Your sellers will appreciate the progressive use of technology in these trying times. It is not business as usual, so we will need to adapt and use the best technology available.
'Stay safe and be responsible'
Ultimately, it’s a responsible and safe way to ensure buyers can still consider your clients’ properties.
Debbie Robertson, general manager of Virtuality-360 (V-360), a US company providing developers, agents, buyers and sellers the ability to create VR tours of their homes, says it could be the modernisation the industry has been waiting for.
“The real estate industry has been operating in the same way for decades,” says Robertson. “This may be the opportunity for it to modernise, to operate in a more - clever way, be more productive, do more business and protect their agents, sellers and buyers.
“Until now, security has been limited to the risks posed by criminals. Today, we have a much more insidious threat to deal with – but deal with it, we must.”
She believes it may well be sellers themselves who end up galvanising change in the industry.
“Given these precarious times, I believe it is only a matter of time before sellers will start insisting that agents use VR tours to market their homes, rather than open their homes to large volumes of people who might contaminate their space.
“If agents are unwilling to pay for the VR tour, sellers may even start paying for it themselves, reasoning that it would be small price to pay for the safety of your family.
“However, I believe the real success stories will be those companies that show their concern for the safety of their agents, buyers and sellers and include VR tours as a part of their running expenses.”
Attend related webinars to upskill
Still not sure how to market real estate in a COVID-19 world and need some hands-on advice? Prop-Data will be hosting a webinar targeting exactly this. Taking place on Wednesday 8 April the webinar “will show you the strategies and online platforms you can use to survive in a COVID-19 world,” says the agency. Click here to register for the webinar.
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