COVID-19 suspends open houses as agents pivot to virtual tours

COVID-19 SUSPENDS OPEN HOUSES AS AGENTS PIVOT TO VIRTUAL TOURS TECHNOLOGY IS DISRUPTING THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

by Valtteri Salomaki

The impact of technology on the Real Estate industry is more evident than ever before and has primed the industry for disruption. Consumer perception of Real Estate agents is no longer formed by only face-toface interactions, but rather formed by the digital footprint a Real Estate agent builds online. According to the National Association of Realtors, 48 percent of all real estate firms stated that keeping up with technology is one of the most pressing challenges their firm faces in upcoming years.

Due to COVID-19, even open-houses are a thing of the past. The California Association of Realtors ordered realtors to stop all face to face marketing including home showings and open houses. This has left many real estate agents in a vulnerable position; however, technology has provided alternatives to open-houses with 3D virtual tours. In fact, 95% of buyers are more likely to call about homes with 3D virtual tours. Greater exposure means more offers, and more offers usually means a higher sale price. In an independent 2019 study, industry leader Matterport discovered that homes with a 3D virtual tour closed up to 31% faster and with a higher sales price than homes without. According to Realtor

Magazine, 80% of surveyed house hunters would actually switch to a real estate agent who offers immersive 3D tours for their listed properties.

This creates a massive opportunity for real estate agents to differentiate themselves in a local market by providing a virtual tour option for each of their properties to increase lead generation, and then leveraging digital marketing activities such as social media marketing, blog writing, and podcasting to amplify their reach. The future of real estate is here. Don’t play catch up.

To ensure that The Power is Now Media, Inc. is always ahead of the curve we have added a new member to the team. Valtteri Salomaki is the new Chief Technology Officer and his role is to be forward thinking in how technology continues to re-shape the real estate industry. He will be working on scalable technology solutions to enable real agents to succeed and is dedicated in providing services that not only help our VIP agents today, but also positioning them for long-term success.

Starting this month The Power is Now, Inc. will be rolling out a brand new website development service that will provide real estate platforms that are customized to the needs of each agent. Websites are the core to any digital strategy and our aim is to help agents step-by-step build a strong digital presence with technology.

Valtteri Salomaki is an MBA Graduate with a concentration in Marketing Strategy and Information Systems at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Valtteri dedicated his studies to understanding global markets and their economic transformation due to new emerging technologies, which led him to study abroad in both Hong Kong and Milan. In addition, Valtteri is the co-founder of Free Logic Media LLC and serves as the Digital Strategist for all large scale projects, the co-founder of EDGE Sound Research, a new audio technology startup that he presented at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and is building the Riverside Studios Entertainment Innovation Incubator with a team of entrepreneurs focusing on workforce development in the Inland Empire.