Recently, my parents sold our family home. As the only house I have ever lived in, I was unaccustomed to the process of selling. What struck me as odd (besides the tips our estate agency gave regarding open house inspections; such as baking just prior to the inspection time in hope that viewers would smell something that would somehow make them feel more at home), was the marketing strategy.
It seems that traditional advertising for house sales is on the decline and digital marketing is the way to go. Statistics show that advertising on online sites such as realestate.com is today far more beneficial than paying for half page spreads in local magazines such as the Melbourne Weekly. Paying a premium on real estate sites can even ensure your home is always a top result when buyers search in the area instead of being lost amongst the plethora of house sale pages in the Weekly.
So why this shift toward online advertising of real estate? There appears to be a variety of benefits.
1. More information, more photos, and a more extensive floor plan can be presented online.
2. House advertisements can be regularly updated regarding price or inspection times.
3. Online sites such as realestate.com now have smart phone apps enabling buyers to explore real estate anywhere, anytime.
4. Online advertising is cheaper than traditional advertising meaning more sellers are opting to forego print advertisements. This in turn has meant that buyers are more likely to find the place they are looking for on the Internet.
5. Online advertising can be measured. My parents were able to view exactly how many times a unique user clicked on our online advertisement and how often a user saved the house to their list of favourites. This is a benefit print advertisements lack.
With a greater number of consumers today shifting their attention online due to improved ease and acceptance, one must wonder how long it will be until more industries focus on digital marketing. Increasingly we are buying our clothes, concert tickets and books on the internet. And there appears to be growing advertising online with the likes of property sales presenting an obvious change in their marketing techniques. This example, I believe, is telling of the developing (or perhaps, developed) importance of e-marketing.
Digital marketing is certainly becoming the way of the future for companies and consumers alike. In relation to real-estate online advertising, posting your property listing online is far more effective than the traditional means of real-estate advertising. This is mainly attributed to the fact that consumers seek more convenient and interactive ways to view properties and this is facilitated greatly through the use of apps available at the touch of their fingertips. I'd be interested to see the way property listings will develop and improve, once again, to attract potential property buyers/renters in the future.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Elise! I believe the rise in Real Estate online can be attributed to changes in the consumer behaviour purchasing process.
ReplyDeleteParticularly the second and third stages (Information Search & Evaluation of Alternatives). These have been greatly facilitated by the internet as a means to quickly provide customers with timely information, pictures etc. From one screen, customers are able to access all the information they need to continue their purchasing decision. With social and technological trends pushing for convenience, I believe Real Estates will continue to provide greater value to customers online, perhaps even a 3D experience?
Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of a 3D experience Bridget. I wonder how far off we are to that? Many real estate sites now offer a 'virtual tour' of houses on the market which is the closest we can get to seeing the real thing online at the moment.
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