When selling a home, many people would prefer a more compelling method of showcasing it than the same old listings and open houses. A great way to stand out from the crowd is to shoot a professional video of your home and post it on your Facebook page, as well as on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that only 14% of real estate agents use videos to advertise homes, and only 4% post videos on YouTube or similar hosting sites. Yet it is estimated from various sources that anywhere from 45% to 90% of home shoppers use Internet video searches to find a home.
Given the above, simple rules of supply and demand say that you should be more likely to sell your home if you post an attractive video of it. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Five Tips for Selling Your Home with A Video
1. Research Other Videos – Look at examples of other home-selling videos to get a feel for their construction. What do you find compelling about them?
Generally the video needs to be short (several minutes at most), well lit, stable (no shaky video), and contain persuasive sound content. Narration and/or pleasant background music provide an appealing complement to the visual tour. Write out any narration script and practice it to save retakes.
2. Focus on Strong Points – Highlight the finer selling points of the home – those that prompted you to buy it in the first place. Do you have renovation work, new top-end appliances, or custom features to highlight?
Do not overload the prospective buyer with an exhaustive room-by-room slog through the house. Buyers are unlikely to stay tuned to the end.
3. Show Outside Features – With a suitably short video, it is easy to focus on the inside features and to forget to show anything appealing about the outside. Do not neglect to show high points of the landscaping, as well as snippets of other interesting neighborhood or area features, such as nearby parks, lakes or mountains.
If you live in an area with changing seasons and can plan far enough in advance, shoot some video sequences at different times of year to capture attractive blooming flowers, snow-covered features, healthy green lawns, and the like.
4. Hire Professionals – It is possible with today’s technology to shoot your own videos with relatively simple video cameras and tripods – even smartphones – but do you have the skill to create and edit the video, as well as post it, tag it, and use a proper description and title to show up on search engines?
It is best to hire professionals for both the video production and the real estate processes. Technical details can be overwhelming – for example, proper lighting is especially important and difficult for the novice to set up correctly. Real estate professionals can advise you on the best way to stage and prep your home for filming.
With luck, you can find a real estate professional that is also proficient at shooting real estate videos, or has connections to get it done relatively cheaply.
5. Prep Your Home For Filming – Keep the filmed areas clean and uncluttered, with open arrangements and no personal effects. It is important for viewers to visualize themselves (and their furniture) in the home.
If you like the video home-selling concept, take the time and spend the money to do it right. With a well-produced and publicized video, you are more likely to sell your home quickly and at a superior price. Think of it as an investment and marketing tool.
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