By Nancy O’Dea
What a beginning for a new year: the real-estate market has exploded, again! Traditionally, the market does not begin to thaw from the holidays and January’s sub-zero temperatures until March, and then a slow momentum builds to the end of June. However, this year Boxing Day marked the end of the typically sluggish days of the fall market, making way for a strong burst of new energy.
During the pandemic, realtors have learned to assist clients in creative ways by using sophisticated technology that allowed the marketplace to function while safeguarding everyone’s health. Technology has allowed us to show homes in expressive and imaginative ways, providing potential buyers with information before making an appointment to view a house.
Digital photography has evolved and become quite refined, yet I often hear buyers remark that they believe the images are in some way manipulated to appear larger than a space is in reality. With 3D photography and professional videos, potential buyers can walk through an entire property before they schedule an appointment, saving valuable time by allowing them to filter out properties before they arrange for a physical visit. With COVID, many buyers do not wish to unnecessarily expose themselves, and sellers, on the other hand, want to be sure that opening their home to potential buyers carries minimal risk.
The technology can make potential buyers aware of what to pay special attention to during the physical appointment, allowing for a greater level of scrutiny when walking through a property. The imaging creates accurate floor plans on every level, adding to the overall understanding of space. It allows for repeat visual visits before and after the on-site appointment, which helps the buyer immeasurably, especially on properties that command 75 to 100 appointments with no time for a second physical viewing before the offer date.
The use of social media has become critical in marketing a home and fostering the interest of as many potential buyers as possible. During the pandemic, it has become even more important. Facebook and Instagram are effective tools for communicating properties for sale, but it is also important to select other platforms to market clients’ properties in order to have the greatest opportunity for the most successful outcome. Our system uses more than 110 listing-syndication platforms, with great success.
Finally, the use of electronic signatures could not have come at a more critical time in our province. Once electronic signatures became legal, the use of other technologies became redundant. Who uses faxes anymore? With time of the essence in real-estate transactions in the days of multiple bidding, e-signatures have been critical in cementing a transaction.
In the end, we are all navigating through these difficult times and realtors’ role in looking after their clients’ best interests has been assisted by the development of new tools that are here to stay.
Nancy O’Dea is a sales representative and private-office advisor of Engel & Völkers Ottawa