Real estate agents are using social media to connect with potential buyers with great success and now property developers are increasingly turning to social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, to sell off-plan apartments before construction gets underway.
With a decline in apartment prices in Brisbane — among units at the lower end of the market, not high-end apartments which are in high demand — savvy property developers have been leveraging social media to create hype around, and interest in, off-plan developments.
Most developers — and most real estate agents — are in agreeance that posting listings on search platforms like domain.com.au and realestate.com.au isn’t enough.
realestate.com.au and domain.com.au are great platforms for real estate agents, but many developers struggle to get leads for off-plan apartments
Not only is it difficult to differentiate one’s offerings and stand out from the rest, but social media enables developers to build brand awareness, reach more potential buyers and offers a high degree of permanence.
Whereas as magazines and other traditional media have a limited shelf life, usually around three to four weeks at most, social media is longer lasting and better enables developers and their marketing teams/agencies to nurture potential buyers through the sales funnel.
The visual aspect of social media is a driving force behind the increased usage of social media as a marketing tool among property developers. As property is a highly visual product, it makes perfect sense that real estate agents and developers would flock to it in a such a big way.
But what about off-plan apartment developments that are yet to break ground?
Successfully marketing property is mostly about getting potential buyers to the property so they can experience it in person. With an existing property, the real estate agent can post pictures on social media to entice homebuyers to visit, get a feel for the property and the neighbourhood, and imagine themselves living there.
With an off-plan development yet to be built, the experiential marketing experience that’s a cornerstone of real estate and property marketing is much more difficult — and expensive — to deliver.
Whereas high-end developments, like London Residences and Aston Apartments, can afford display units that showcase the design and construction quality — no one expects buyers to part with $1 million-plus for an apartment without first visiting a display — developers at the lower end of the market may struggle to procure the funding required to build display units.
Fortunately, there are viable solutions, like VR (Virtual Reality) and photorealistic 3D rendering, both of which are user-friendly, easily disseminated and enable interstate and overseas buyers to experience a prospective property.
“Many property developers here use the VR model to explain what is being built with more clarity to both clients and prospective purchases,” said Margie Stacey, of Verge 1:10, a Sydney-based virtual reality business which specialises in real estate.
Photorealistic 3D photo rendering, a service provided by Brisbane-based Zaxis, empowers property developers to bring apartment blueprints to life, enabling buyers to visualise the property and imagine themselves living there.
Ferro Property Group has used 3D photo rendering to great effect with their promotional images for London Residences in West End
VR and 3D photo rendering are being used to great success by property developers at all levels of the property market — even those with display units to entice buyers to visit. However, it isn’t a stretch to say that developers with off-plan apartments who lack the capital to invest in display units have the most to gain by leveraging this remarkable technology.
With Brisbane’s apartment market not expected to show signs of improvement until the end of the year and apartments at the lower end of the market not achieving the prices developers are aiming for, the opportunity to leverage social media and VR and 3D photo rendering technology is one that no Brisbane property developer should overlook.
Bambrick Media is Brisbane’s leading direct response digital marketing agency We’ve helped many local property developers generate interest in off-plan developments across Brisbane and Southeast Queensland, including the Gold Coast, through Social Media campaigns, and include CBRE, Ferro Group, Effinity and Lacey Group among our valued clients.
Interested in leveraging the power of social media to create an interest in your next apartment development? Contact us here.
Image Credits — Ferro Property Group