As the real estate industry focuses more and more to the online medium for marketing, so the richness of new media formats adopted to profile properties for sale grows. Over the past year we have seen a significant rise in the adoption of video as one such new media for marketing properties. At this time we have over 400 properties on the site with videos as well as comprehensive portfolios of photographs.
A video however does create a dilemma for the real estate community -- how to really make an impact and thereby create interest in a property? -- should the video be just a narrated ‘walk-through’ of the property or should it try and engage the audience?
This latter approach has been undertaken by Mike Lefebvre, an agent from Boston, Massachussets -- here is one of Mike’s videos:
As ever with this type of presentation there is a novelty factor which certainly provides some light relief from all the other such videos -- as to a long term sustainable proposition -- well time will tell, in the meantime see if you can solve the “who dunit!”
We’ve been experimenting with video for a while. Started out with the Flip Mino camera but found the quality not really up to the professional standard we are looking for and that camera lacked high definition and image stabilisation.
So we’ve now purchased one of the latest Sony HD videocameras with a wide angle lens adaptor, a device called a Hague MMC steadicam which allows highly stable walkthroughs and also Sony Vegas editing software which will allow us to put together great video tours of our properties.
It’s all pretty technical which I guess is why most people use an outside video production company. In our case we want to be in control of the process. It’s taken a few hours of research and practice with editing but we should be proficient enough to shoot our first homes in the next couple of weeks so watch this space.
Now that Youtube have HD quality display available it will be possible to upload full HD clips – these play best in areas that benefit from fast broadband but once the government completes the stated intention of rolling out fibre/broadband throughout the country it will be the way to go.
I believe not too far into the future that video will dominate marketing of real estate online. Clips like those found on Mike’s site provide great inspiration and his video blog is something we are also likely to see more of.
A video of still photographs zooming into each clip is simply not the same as a full motion walkthrough video – buyers and sellers will demand higher quality and they will want to see a clip that truly gives the impression of visiting the house – almost like an online open home.
Hi, Blu Steven from WEBSITE TELLY. The Mike Lefebvre video is fun to watch, but I believe does little to engagingly present the house to potential purchasers. If you’ve got the time and budget to shoot and edit your own videos that’s great, but I know most Real Estate bosses want their staff signing new listings and selling existing ones in preference to anything else.
As for full motion video approaching the visual quality of well lit (and often retouched still photographs) – it’s a way off. We shoot video too, and we know what it takes to light a house for a video camera – alot more than for a stills shoot.
I believe the secret of presenting a compelling sales presentation of a property is not in moving a camera through a house (where many journeys are simply down long dark corridors or through ‘connecting spaces’ of little viewer interest) but in delivering emotively stimulating messages that are produced to a level that brings additional value to the property. This includes using professional voice-over artists and appropriate music.
As in most things in life, the devil’s in the detail. The subtly and nuances we use in the production of our Virtual Tours deliver outstanding results for our Clients. The fact they are portable through email and portal sites (such as realestate.co.nz) while still retaining the Client’s branding and hyperlink connectivity is an example of how we offer video that produces results.
Loading a property video to YouTube is unlikely to be productive as it is not seen as a valid search engine for property. Check out some Auckland real estate videos that have been sitting on YouTube since February this year and enjoyed only 40 hits. We get views in the hundreds each week for videos that we produce and that our smart-thinking Clients distribute to their database via email. For the economical, professional power of video see websitetelly.com
Cheers.