Property Talk

The Future of real estate

Real Estate Marketing has changed dramatically over the past decade, and with the start of a new decade, it begs the question as to where real estate marketing is heading over the next ten years.

In 2010 newspaper advertising was still considered mainstream and the debate around the emergence of social media platforms was gaining traction. Online portals were only emerging and most agencies in South Africa were spending the bulk of their marketing money on print media.

Ten years later we are living in a different world altogether. Newspaper advertising as all but disappeared and print media spend has shrunk to a fraction of its former size, being replaced largely by online media advertising centred around the dominant portals or property search engines.

As expected South Africa has followed trends set in the US in a predictable way. This can be very useful for South Africans wanting to get a glimpse into the future of our industry - just study where the US trends in real estate marketing are heading. While South Africa has some specific anomalies and security concerns that most developed countries cannot begin to relate to, overall our market is very similar in many ways.

The American system of Buyer and Seller agents involved in almost all transactions, rather than the South African version we are familiar with where the listing and selling agency is often the same, is a point of departure. As it seems patently obvious that a single agent cannot represent two opposite sides of a negotiation equally, it seems to me that the evolved American system is more efficient and advanced than our modus operandi.

Often in the US the two agents will face off in the negotiation as representatives of their respective clients and agree on terms, with each using their professional skill set to try and secure the most favourable end result possible.

As print media as a real estate marketing channel has waned, social media has continued to gain traction with video becoming increasingly popular. Branded Agency YouTube channels are now mainstream and professional photography and videography a standard expectation.

Drone photography and videography has added a whole new and amazing dimension to how a property can be showcased and explored by a potential purchaser who may be located on the opposite side of the world.

Prospective purchasers are using online tools to refine their search and create shortlists of properties potentially suitable before their visit to the area. The on-site viewings at a property remain an important final aspect of the buying process but the search time and effort can be reduced substantially.

How properties are described is an interesting aspect and certain keywords seem to always emerge. In the US a study by Point2Homes across 1,2 million listings in 2019 found that certain areas of a property are emphasized.

The most common words across all types and price ranges were "home", "room", "bedroom", "bath" and "flooring" and the popular descriptors used included "great", "beautiful", "gorgeous", "spacious", "perfect", "oversized" and "private".

As you move up the price spectrum the description of a property focuses on the home's high-end features such as "Chef Kitchen", "Pool and Spa" and "Ocean Views".

While it can be argued that the copy used to describe a property are secondary to the video, the descriptors do have the ability to capture the property's unique personality and style thereby setting the listing apart. The room that received the most attention is the kitchen, which is described as the soul of every home and vital for buyers.