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Staff Reporter
Real estate agents are evenly split when it comes to using video with online property listings, new research has found.
Just over 50 per cent of respondents to a recent Real Estate Business straw poll claim they are not using video to help promote their online listings.
However, LJ Hooker Parramatta principal Nathan Sahyoun believes video listings are a terrific way to extend your service offering and meet the growing demand of sellers and home buyers.
“With a high percentage of our buyer enquiry now coming from online digital marketing, we think it is very important to offer quality information, displayed across different mediums to satisfy the consumers and the different ways people like to search for property online,” Mr Sahyoun told Real Estate Business.
“We have spent the last twelve months researching consumers’ needs and wants when buying and selling properties, and have recorded a very high percentage of people wanting to see beyond just a photo of the property. They want to be able to experience as much of the property as possible to be able to make much more informed decisions in a more time effective way”
Ben Stockdale, chief executive of thehomepage.com.au, said listings with video attract higher enquiry rates and are proving to be very popular with home hunters.
“In the final week of September we had a 2.35 per cent conversion rate from our website to people actually contacting the agent directly via an email,” Mr Stockdale says.
“Videos definitely keep vendors engaged on the site. They are watching the video all the way through, which increases the general time on the site, and engagement with the property itself.”
Domain.com.au has also reported strong interest in video listings.
While 49.7 per cent of respondents admit to using video as a way to help promote their online listings, Mr Sahyoun believes more agents will soon jump on board as the use of video builds momentum.
“Many agents don’t even offer videos as a form of marketing and this has positioned us as market leaders in digital marketing within our area,” he said.
“We aim to provide the best marketing and results for our vendors. So, to sit in front of a vendor and not offer all forms of marketing tools that are available, would not be servicing the vendor.”
