This blog was initially posted in 2015 and updated in 2024. Almost ten years later, it is more relevant than ever! For additional video stats and trends, visit this blog. And if you're not already creating real estate videos, you can start today with these free templates
Video tours of real estate listings are a nice perk for house hunters and can be an impressive tool at the ready for brokers, but how important is it for realtors to understand and use video today?
Realtors and vendors alike agree that the use of real estate video is no longer optional. The question is, as a realtor or broker, what type of video will you use and how will you use it?
There are a number of options available to realtors when it comes to video – from interactive video tours to more traditional listing videos. We took a look at the different options out there and some of the pros and cons of each, complete with insights from some of the experts.
Video technology is evolving at a rapid rate. Realtors today can create 3D digital renderings of as yet unfinished homes, or send a drone to capture the breathtaking scenery surrounding a high-end listing.
In a talk on How To Understand and Use 3D Video, David Eisenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Floored, delved into some of the interactive video options being used for real estate. He took a look at 3D visualization platforms like Matterport, which takes a Google Street View-like approach, and his own company Floored, which enables the creation of fully interactive 3D models that allow viewers to see virtually any aspect of a space from any angle.
“Unlike a traditional video,” says Eisenberg, “I’m in control of what I’m seeing when I see it. The interactivity allows viewers to see whatever they’d like to see, how they’d like to see it.”
Some super tech-savvy realtors are taking things to the next level, incorporating virtual reality and augmented reality video into their toolsets. A virtual reality tour using technology like Oculus VR can take a potential buyer inside a home from anywhere in the world. Some realtors are already thinking about using Microsoft’s HoloLens, a set of goggles that project holograms into real world spaces, to personalize home tours with all the dressings that would appeal to each individual buyer.
Eisenberg believes that “virtual reality will inform the way we use technology to sell homes in the future,” but pointed out the high price point of these types of technologies have lots of realtors struggling with whether they are worth the investment or not. A custom 3D video of a listing can cost upwards of $3000. That’s a lot of money for agents to invest. That’s why Eisenberg says they want to know, “does this move the needle for my customers?”
Traditional video, on the other hand, has proved itself a valuable resource for realtors working on a limited budget, as well as for the realtors that have embraced more expensive technologies as a supplemental resource. Wednesday at Real Estate Connect, John Passerini explained that “people want stories complemented with video content.” Realtors are rising to the challenge, using video for everything from home tours to agent profiles, neighborhood features, market reports and more.
Realtor Brian Lewis, a Halstead Property broker who says he has sold homes to a buyer in Mexico City based on a video alone, stands by the importance of video in the real estate world. “If you embrace video and bring your own personality to it,” he says, “it will pay ten-fold.”
There are also a wide range of do-it-yourself options, which are cost-efficient alternatives to hiring a professional production crew and have been embraced by many small and medium-sized real estate businesses.
Worried the low-budget route will make you look less professional? Free DIY options like Animoto allow anyone to create a video quickly and easily. For those that are short on time and working on a budget, using your smart phone or an inexpensive camera to shoot photos and videos and an easy video maker is a great alternative to outsourced video.
In minutes, you can create a great home tour, listing video, or agent profile that showcases not only your properties but your own personality, which is great for building your personal brand.
Video has proved itself to be a powerful marketing tool for real estate, with consumers not only appreciating it but expecting it. If you’re not already incorporating video into your selling strategy there’s no better time to start than now.
Here are some professional video templates that other realtors and using and loving.
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