Buying a house has always been a responsible step, symbolizing the new chapter of one’s life. This is well known by the real estate agents, guiding the buyers to make such an important purchase. Marketing is one of the tools used by real estate companies, which can pave the way to the new house, helping the buyers find the most suitable options.
Speaking about real estate marketing, it’s essential to understand the unique challenges in this sector.
There was always high competition in the market. However, last two years, agencies have been getting in a more intense fight for winning customers. This is why developing non-trivial strategies of cutting a deal with buyers and standing out with marketing communication are becoming more and more complicated. Therefore, it is important to implement the latest marketing methods and tools.
Another challenge is strict localization. Relevancy is highly dependent on the location: promotions that are relevant in one area might not be effective in another. Besides, diverse clients profiles and needs should be taken into account.
Unlike other industries, where the goal is to retain the customers to come back for the next purchase, the real estate buying cycle can last decades. Thus, real estate agents often focus on short-term customer relationships.
Furthermore, there is a strong dependence on the local economy. A slight economic shift can bring significant changes in the whole market and customer behavior, which we observed in different countries over the last two years.
Another problem, which became relevant past two years, is that during the pandemic, the median population income wasn’t growing or even reduced. Meanwhile, more and more square meters are appearing on the market.
“We’re becoming a renter nation, and this trend will keep growing into 2022,”
Ken McElroy, the CEO of real estate investment company MC Companies.
Even though real estate selling is starting to grow gradually, people are buying houses more cautiously than in past years.
Despite coming back to normal life, the previous experience with economic crisis still impacts the buyer’s behavior, especially when it comes to big purchases, like real estate. Some experts deem while forecasting the future of the real estate business that there will be less urgency of purchase than before. Thus, it is expected to observe less intrusive adware or aggressive offers. In the U.S., the majority of real estate agencies have already optimized their prices. However, the prices are remained on the level, when for the majority of the citizens, the house purchase is barely affordable.
The last two years made a significant impact on the real estate market in the U.K. The interest rates have declined, and that encouraged people to buy their own rented properties. Due to those factors, the prices increased for an average of 7.3% was not long in coming.
Meanwhile, in the coming years, the demand and, therefore, the prices for real estate are expected to grow. The reason is that the construction of new housing is slowing down, while many people have started working at home and need to upgrade their properties.
However, in the future, experts predict the stabilization of prices in the real estate market. If the U.K. economic growth slightly slows down, the price growth of houses might reach normal levels. Otherwise, the current growth rate constitutes 5% in 2022, 4% in 2023, and five years from now, the house prices will reach 21.1% growth.
Rising real estate prices, high demand, low-interest rates – all those factors influenced the prices for real estate in Germany. During the Covid-19 crisis, property owners were conscious of whether a real estate bubble was looming and what impact this could have on the value of their property.
However, there are many reasons that prices will remain stable in the future. One of them is the excess demand in metropolitan areas or the low-interest rate level. This will continue to make the real estate market attractive for buyers. In a study by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, the researchers suggested that interest rates could fall even further in the future, leading to cheaper financing and, consequently, to price stability.
However, one can assume that prices in the metropolises will no longer rise so rapidly in the future. An analysis by Deutsche Bank from 2021 even predicts that house prices in some municipalities could fall in the next few years, which is a favorable situation for the potential buyers.
The situation in the Swiss real estate market doesn’t seem as dynamic as in other countries. Several years ago, the real estate supply on the Swiss market was higher than demand. This made the government regulate the requirements for building permits in order to bring the market to balance. Moreover, investors became more cautious since there was a lack of available building land.
Same as in other countries, 2020-2021 brought certain shifts in this sector. Due to the pandemic, many citizens reconsidered their housing arrangements. As the need for more space has outweighed the need to live near work or entertainment venues, the demand to buy suburban homes has increased.
The gradual growth of demand, price stabilization, and increasing inventory is a high time for creating a digital marketing strategy for your real estate agency. Meanwhile, your potential buyers may still doubt the timing of their next big spending. Thus, with the right marketing message, you can slightly push them to make a purchase decision. It is essential now to demonstrate that your real estate company is afloat, show your potential before the rivals, and generate new leads.
Why digital marketing? Quality digital marketing goes beyond placing ad banners on the Internet. Digital marketing helps broaden the business perspectives by precise audience and geography targeting, personalization, and interactive creatives. Moreover, technologies like virtual tours and local SEO will straighten your customer experience. As we said previously, buyers approach schemes are becoming more complicated, and digital marketing constantly develops and offers new strategies. Following the advice below can guide you in improving your marketing strategy.
At first glance, there can be doubts about mobile marketing. “What are the benefits of mobile marketing over Google or Facebook?” – this question is commonly asked by Adello’s customers before they will consider their campaign.
There are several reasons why a mobile marketing campaign is more beneficial for the business. The fact that people are inseparable from their phones should be taken into account first. The life of one is centered in the mobile device, and it became an extension of the personality. People interact with their phones while working, using public transportation, waiting in a queue, etc. Even more so, mobile is the first thing many look at when they wake up. Do the people interact the same with their PC?
People use their phones for multiple purposes, including searching for new real estate. Mobile technologies changed the approach of searching for real estate. With the mobile versions of the websites, apps, and availability of quick search, protentional clients can find and even purchase the property wherever they are.
The second reason is that mobile advertising is unbiased. In fact, in a world where everyone owns a mobile device, this marketing technique encompasses various marketing groups. Google will advertise the products for google users, Facebook for their social media users. Meanwhile, mobile advertisement providers set up a suitable target exactly for the business.
Moreover, recent research reveals that Google charges more than twice (up to 42% of the total budget) for its ad campaign than its competitors. Adello, for one, charges only 15% – all included.
Those are just several of the many different benefits of mobile advertisement. If you still have doubts about mobile ads, continue reading this: Six Myths About Mobile Advertising.
Setting up Local Search Engine Optimization allows your business to be visible in search results and internet maps. Considering that the location has a massive impact on real estate choice, local SEO optimization is one of the keys to increasing acknowledgment.
Focusing on local SEO will help you promote your business to customers looking for specific geographic parameters. For example, it allows real estate agencies to appear on the top results tight to a particular location, like “Apartments in San Diego” or “Single-family house near Interlaken.”
SEO services can be expensive. However, this investment will bring a significant impact on the sales and brings potential before the competitors.
It’s not enough just to send a promotional email hoping that someone will answer requesting to buy a property. It is essential to create the right approach in email marketing when it comes to real estate promotion.
Before creating the email marketing strategy, it is essential to ask several questions. Who are your ideal customers? and Where to find their contacts? As a rule, customers come to the real estate agents once, and after purchasing, there will be no need to return for several years.
That is why newsletter marketing should focus on the hot audience willing to buy a house in the near future. Newsletters can help retain potential customers interested in your services by staying in touch, offering support in their search, inviting them for a meeting. It is essential not to be annoying, though.
Finally, how to create relevant content that converts? Here are some ideas:
Many have heard about virtual tours, but there are still doubts about having a positive ROI. How effective is a virtual tour in real estate? The recent analysis of 162 single-family rentals found that 3D tours positively influenced the property leads, increasing the number of visitors by 25% and reducing the time on the market by 23%.
Virtual tours became so popular as they give a first impression of the property without visiting it. Thus, it can save time for the potential buyer and the real estate agent. Virtual tours are becoming more integrated into the real estate industry and becoming one of its important marketing tools.
Bear in mind that the quality of virtual tours is essential. It builds the first impression about the agency as poor quality of virtual tours says that customer experience is not the priority. During the pandemic, many real estate companies neglected the quality of property visualization, offering a simple slideshow as a virtual tour. Typically, the inventory cycle of such agencies is a lot longer than those who make an effort towards visual presentation.
Marketing for real estate could be challenging. But with a holistic marketing approach and well-chosen tools, marketing can positively influence real estate agency performance. Identify your in-house agency capabilities, define your target audience and start investing in marketing activities now to increase your agency awareness and prospects trust already in the near future.
