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Vendors still dream of selling their home, despite the dead market

Exclusive research for The Negotiator reveals that online searches for advice and information about selling a property remains high despite the pandemic.

Nigel Lewis

property market

The property market may be almost lifeless as the public heed government advice not to move house but interest in selling homes is anything but dead, exclusive research for The Negotiator has revealed.

Online marketing agency Electric Design says there has been a huge spike in searches online among people wanting to sell their home.

The company, which specialises in online marketing for estate agents, says Google searches for ‘sell my home’ and other phrases are at their highest this year despite the Coronavirus lockdown deadening the property market.

Electric Designs says the same is true, albeit in lower numbers, for online searches for information about organising house valuations and property viewings and investing in buy to let.

“Right now, sellers are wondering about how to sell their property during lockdown,” says Steve Lubbock (left), Head of Digital at Electric Design. “Even if your answer is a list of considerations, there’s still an opportunity to provide an informative update that concerned consumers will appreciate.

“The situation is ever changing. But when the market recovers sellers and buyers who found up to date information on specific estate agent websites are highly likely to refer to these companies first and foremost.

“While physical viewings aren’t possible during lockdown, people have free time indoors on their hands and are open to taking virtual tours of properties on estate agents’ websites to help pass the time.
“Estate agents who, therefore, remain active with online information during this uncertainty are the ones who will be ready for when the market picks up again.”

Read more about the Coronavirus and property.

March 31, 2020

2 comments

  1. Yes indeed, open up the current stock on the market to virtual tours and viewings, if I were a vendor I would be happy to create videos on my phone to put on the website, or to host live Facebook tours etc. to increase the chances of getting a buyer in this lockdown. I still want/need to sell, and people still want/need to move.

    The agent could win favour from existing clients, being on it, doing something etc.

    We included the ability to have video content in property listings a long time ago, and all of a sudden it’s getting used. But it’s coming via agency software (to manage the content), and will subsequently feed to portals also, so I dont really see a shift to agents websites, the applicant behaviour, with no allegiance to an agent, will not change. Unless the agents choose to remove their reliance on the portals – there’s never been a better opportunity – a mass exodus now would do it. And yes then, the market can get used to navigating individual sites instead of collective ones, how good would that be for everybody involved (except Rightmove).

  2. I think the point that I would make is that anyone looking to buy or sell, during normal or the present abnormal times, will be constantly looking at their mobile 73-times a day and be on social media at least 3-hours.

    Which means that if agents want to be relevant, especially now, they need to have a website with a landing page that engages, about 80% do not. Have a bot on their website so they can ‘talk’ to a possible consumer, the agent needs to be regularly posting great content continuously across social media to answer the questions that consumers want answering. Mostly, they need to put themselves in the mindset of people wanting to do property business.

    From stamp duty, to conveyancing, you name it well written content gets readers, interested readers become interested customers. What I tell all my clients to do is test drive your website, test drive your competitors, search out your digital imprint – if you google your agency / brand do you exist? If not, how will a potential client ever find you?

    Search engine optimisation – costly and ever ongoing, but if no-one finds you in the digital outer-space how will you survive? Now is a great time to look at your business model, are you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc? If not, ask yourself why if you use social media to communicate in your private life, it is missing from the front-line of your business.

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