The Biggest Trends in Real Estate Marketing in 2022 and Beyond
A strong marketing strategy is one that is adaptable to change. The world continues to change at a rapid pace, and real estate is no exception when it comes to the endless list of industries being impacted. This fiercely competitive industry has seen a giant uptick in demand from buyers, largely caused by the pandemic, record-low interest rates, a shortage of available homes, and a growing pool of remote workers who want to live and work at a place of their choosing. Needless to say, we all have a lot of adapting to do.
In times like these, it’s important to take a deep breath, pause, and reflect. Listen to what others in your field are doing. Watch what they're posting online. Take that information and recalibrate. Everyone’s having to pivot right now, so it's important to ensure your business is evolving appropriately. People still need homes, and they need your real estate expertise to help them find the right home. Stand up, stand out, and show up for your customers right now to secure your place in the market. Start by owning three of the biggest trends in real estate marketing that we expect to continue well into 2023 and beyond.
Real Estate Trends in 2022 and Beyond
Digital Showings / Virtual Tours
Obviously, this trend became more important than ever in 2020 as it was often the only way to tour a property - but digital showings have continued to be a preferred first-step for many buyers thanks to convenience. Thankfully, we live in a time where agents can show beautiful listings to people right at home. Video walkthroughs are fantastic right now and stand out on social media. They allow you to spotlight the best features of a house and narrate the feeling you get as you walk through the property. During live video calls, you can also show off your expertise by answering questions live.
Multiply your efforts by recording a great video tour the moment you list a property, and save yourself the drive every time a client requests a virtual showing. It's smart to repurpose these walkthroughs into sped-up video reels for social media, too! Successful realtor Farrell Click, with Engel & Völkers Savannah, sets a new standard for social media marketing with her Instagram profile Savannah Stays. Her feed will keep you scrolling for hours.
With great images and a video of your listing, you can create a flipbook on Issuu in minutes with the embedded video tour to showcase properties online in a beautiful, engaging format that goes way beyond a static flyer. Flipbook listings can be embedded directly onto your website, too. Clients will be able to veto certain properties and request in-person tours of others much faster and with less work required of you! Engel & Völkers Atlanta does a great job of including video tours in their digital listings. Take a look.
Millennials As Your New Market
A continuing and ever-growing trend of importance is the generational shift in buyers. Today, it’s millennials who make up the majority of new homebuyers. A recent report said:
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, millennials now number 72.1M – more than one quarter of the nation’s population. As the largest demographic cohort in America, Millennials are a powerful buying force and brands are vying for their attention. They are the largest source of new demand for rental housing and represent 32% of the U.S. home buying market and 68% of first-time home buyers ... They demand instant access to product information, price comparisons, and reviews and are turning to trusted brands that offer high quality, transparency, and convenience at the lowest cost. They are also adopting new approaches to finding a real estate agent, searching for their dream home, and home finance."
Understanding them - and their needs and expectations of the buying process - is key to selling more homes. Of course, as digital natives, millennials are more tech-savvy than the previous generation, so pivoting your marketing strategy to be digital-first is a must. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 99% of millennials search online to get general-purpose information about the housing market and homebuying. Investopedia continued to report that:
Millennials are 2x as likely to use their mobile devices in their search than older baby boomers are.
Over half of millennials (59%) said they would be at least somewhat confident making an offer on a home they toured virtually.
39% reported they would be comfortable buying a home online.
Over 80% of millennials would like to view 3D virtual tours and digital floor plans when shopping for a home.
Millennials clearly have different wants from their predecessors, both in the buying process and in the property itself. Size isn’t as important to them as the neighborhood and how it coincides with their commute or personal interests, for example. On top of that, this generation tends to favor features such as modern kitchens, bigger laundry rooms, hardwood floors, and well-landscaped patios. If you have these things in a listing, promote them! If not, they’re something to consider when positioning a property. Generally speaking, millennials tend to look for the following things in a listing:
High-quality photos
Readily available video tours
2D and 3D floorplans
Clean, professional staging
A social media presence by the realtor
Convenient communication options
Mobile/virtual tour requests
Be sure to check out our blog on 10 types of effective real estate marketing content to get fresh ideas on how to promote and distribute your listings. And see how The InHouse Group publishes picture-perfect digital listings on Issuu, complete with storytelling, beautiful staging, floor plans, and information about the neighborhood:
Data and Insights Drive Sales
Knowing your audience, who they are, and their preferences has always been crucial for success in any industry. And, with more realtors than there are available homes in the U.S., you've got to be particularly strategic to get (and stay) ahead. Data-driven publishing can radically transform your digital content marketing strategy, because instant access to meaningful data on your audience will help you match the right homes to the right people faster.
Issuu's built-in Statistics features provides real-time information on impressions, reads, read-time, clicks, and more, on your entire publication or even by individual page. The Statistics dashboard also offers geographical and demographical insights, and allows you to filter performance by content type: Flipbooks, Stories, and Social Graphics. From here, you can create graphs and charts for reporting, which allows you to share critical content performance metrics with key stakeholders.
Pivot and tweak your marketing strategy by knowing what listings stand out and which could use more of a boost, as well as which channels and formats are working best. Accelerate your efforts and grow your real estate business like never before - all with a single tool.