Browsing the blog archives for August, 2006

Online Real Estate Ad Spending

News, Real-Estate

I recently read a report that was published by Borrell Associates, a firm that provides research and consulting on interactive advertising and marketing.  One of their latest reports addressed online real estate ad spending.  Simply put, real estate buyers have moved online en masse, with approximately 80% using the Internet for home searches.  Buyers are moving from traditional print-based advertising to the convenience of online searching.  Correspondingly, online real estate ad spending is lagging far behind this trend. 

This is an opportunity for progressive-minded real estate agents to surge ahead of their competitors by capitalizing on the real estate industry’s slow reaction to the way in which buyers are using the Internet to “shop” for a home.  I have a word of advice to any real estate professional who believes that having a website is all they need.  The migration from traditional newspapers and magazines to real estate listing services is well under way.  Promote yourself and your listings by using web-based marketing tools.  You will get a greater return on your advertising dollars.

Voiceovers

Helpful Tips, News, Technology

I’ve always been told that multimedia is about engaging all the senses with information.  But when the topic of voiceovers is raised, I’m still undecided which I personally prefer.  Currently we have 2 clients that have experimented with voiceovers.  Zygmunt Riddle (www.riddle-realestate.com) and his wife Kasha Riddle (www.kriddle.com) have been using voiceovers since we started to produce videos for them.  We have hired professional talent to provide the vocals in all their videos.  Graham Kirby (www.grahamkirby.com), on the other hand, has provided his own voiceovers which also include an opening shot of Graham speaking to the camera. 

We are always open to any new ideas and we encourage our clients to experiment with their videos in an attempt to identify what it is that captures the audience.  Here is an example of a professionally produced voiceover:

Kasha Riddle, 76 – 1034 Premier Street

Using Video to Capture a Neighbourhood

Helpful Tips, News

We have recently produced videos for 2 new clients, Alan Vlemmiks and Graham Kirby.  Despite the obvious differences in their 2 listings, both properties share a similar challenge.  Both condos are incredibly unique for different reasons and have incredible potential.  They are also located in 2 of Vancouver’s most interesting neighbourhoods. Both Alan and Graham wanted to prominently feature the respective neighbourhoods, Commercial Drive and English Bay, in their videos.  Our videos are a great way to “tie in” the property to neighbourhood in which it resides.  Written descriptions and even pictures don’t place a home in the context of its immediate surroundings. 

Here are their videos:

Alan Vlemmiks, 1003 – 1833 Frances Street

Graham Kirby, 4 – 1861 Beach Avenue

MLS Website vs. Realtylink

Comments Off on MLS Website vs. Realtylink
News

I have been analysing some web stats from the past month and I was wondering how many local vancouverites use the mls website.  From a users perspective, the servers are slow, and often doesn’t load properly.  On the other hand, the realtylink website is much faster, incorporates larger pictures and has a few very useful tools for people searching for homes in the Vancouver area.  The Open House listing is a great tool for buyers, offering a centralized location where I can find Open Houses in my area. 

Currently, our website is getting lots of hits from overseas, notably Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, China, The European Union, South Korea and Great Britain.  The actual list of countries that have visited our site is truly astounding.  So my question then (since we are somewhat new to Vancouver), does the general public know about RealtyLink?  or do most of them labour through the slowness of MLS.ca?

Pomaria Progress Report

News, Real-Estate

We were recently approached by David Hutchinson to put together a progress report for Pomaria, a 30 storey condo development in False Creek that is currently in its construction phase.  We were fortunate enough to be able to gain full access to the construction site and shoot some great footage.  They are still building skyward but on the lower levels, they are just starting some finishing work.  We put together a blog-style website that allows for frequent updates.  Here is the link:

pomaria blog

“Affordable” Homes and the Benefits of Video

Real-Estate

We have produced many videos for high-end homes.  However, I believe that starter homes and affordable condos receive the most benefit from marketing with our Openhouse videos.  The size of the market for properties less than $1,000,000 far exceeds the number of buyers interested in luxury homes.  Because of the size of the market for less expensive homes is so large, anything that can set a listing apart from the masses will be directly benifical to the listing agent.

Mark Longpre, for example, was our first client to recognize that our services were not just for premium homes.   Our first video we produced for Mark was for a listing of a $200,000 condo in East Vancouver that had been on the market for 6 weeks.  He was hoping that the video could inject some excitement into his listing.  Within 2 weeks of having a video produced and marketed, Mark was able to double-end the sale.  He has gone on to have great success with our videos.  Thanks Mark for seeing the value in our services.

Here are Mark’s videos:

402 – 570 E 8th Avenue
1316 – 4655 Valley Drive
302 – 2133 Dundas Street
26 – 1203 Madison Avenue

Point Grey Estate

News

We recently produced a video for Andrew Hasman and Stephanie Corcoran of a 10,000 sq ft estate at 4716 Belmont Avenue.  The interior was elegant and the view spectacular!  This was our first video for Stephanie whom, I believe, was the former president of the REBGV.  I hope this is only our first video of many for her.

Here is the link: 4716 Belmont Avenue

Please check out the photo gallery as well, the images are really great.