Short answer ==> We can’t be too sure. A proper answer to this question deserves more attention than I have time for in this particular post (I’ll try to “Malcolm Gladwell” this one soon in a separate blog post).
What I do know is the following… Leading real estate brokerages (both national and local) are beginning to see the value in using online video as a uniquely different and powerful way to connect with consumers. These brokerages are providing local information on the communities in which they represent by prioritizing a “hyper-local” video strategy as part of their 2011 marketing budgets. Quite honestly I could not be happier. As many of you know, team WellcomeMat has been trumpeting this very movement since 2005. It’s finally happening…We needed no further evidence of this than last Thursday (01/13) when Co-Founder Christian Sterner (@sterner) joined Amy Kane (@HoulihanRE), SVP of Houlihan Lawrence and Gahlord Dewald (@gahlord), Inman News Columnist and Principal, ThoughtFaucet at the Real Estate Connect show in NYC. A packed house of real estate agents, brokers and service providers overflowed the Marriott ballroom to witness (IMHO) unequivocally the best conversation we’ve seen so far on the value of video within the real estate industry.
Click the play button to watch the following video OR save yourself some time and click on the “Show Chapters” button (lower left corner). Chapters allow you to jump around the video (think DVD player) to the portions of the conversation of most interest to you.Three reasons why video “might” be close to a tipping point:
1. Leadership – We are just now beginning to see the results from when brokerages such as Halstead Property, Houlihan Lawrence and Seven Gables Real Estate produce high quality local videos (property videos, community tours, etc). Thanks to their leadership, the bar has been set for real estate video production.
2. Maturation – Panels/talks involving video in real estate industry are no longer getting lost in childish and counterproductive debates. From 2007-2010, these debates (many of which were misdirected) often went down the path of comparing video to so-called competing technologies (virtual tours, photos, etc). Video will always have its detractors, but “the crowd” is beginning to embrace and champion 30 frames per second as the best way to tell the story of a property, place or area. We’re not there yet, but if the conversation above is any indication of the public sentiment surrounding video, we’re well past our adolescence.
3. Return on Investment (ROI) – Towards the end of this panel (23:12) during the audience Q&A, Renée Fishman, Vice President & Associate Broker at Halstead Property joins the conversation by emphatically stating, “I use video and it helps me win business. It’s my #1 marketing strategy. If I’m going to spend money to market a listing, video is the first thing I do. If I have to spend money in one place, it’s video.” Rene and thousands of real estate professionals like her are seeing tangible results from an investment in real estate video marketing. See “Can Video Help Real Estate Agents Win Business” for more info.
Have We Reached a Tipping Point?…
I’m not sure, but this train is definitely leaving the station. All aboard!?
