Browsing the archives for the News category

Video Tours and Professional Real Estate Photography Sell Realtors’ Homes

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News, Testimonials

The best endorsement of our Video Openhouse Tours and professional real estate photography services is when a Realtor uses our company to sell their homes. Does our video tour and photographs generate interest in listings? Please ask Ryan Thomson, RE/Max Westcoast (www.smarterhomemarketing.com), Dave Dalby, RE/Max Crest (Westside) (www.gotodalby.com), Winnie Lam, Sutton Group – Winnie Lam and Associates Realty (www.winnielam.com) and Neil Thompson, RE/Max Crest (Westside) (www.neilandterie.com). They all recently used our services to market their own homes.

Ryan Thomson: 118 – 6033 Katsura Street videopics

Dave Dalby: 2206 Cypress Street videopics

Winnie Lam: 803 – 1169 West Cordova videopics

Neil Thompson: 501 – 1220 Barclay Street videopics

Joel Burslem, Inman News & the future of real estate marketing

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News

We recently attended a meeting where Joel Burslem of Inman News spoke about the current state and future of real estate marketing. Joel spoke of the changes in the United States market and how, in his view, real estate marketing had to change to stay relevant. He suggested that real estate marketing needed to grow to encompass new technologies. He stressed that change is good and natural, and that real estate agents should embrace the new technologies. For example, the social media sites facebook, LinkedIn etc…

Then he came to the part I liked… Video! He showed a video from a property in New York that featured the agent walking through the property. The price tag? to his recollection it was about $1500.

I guess that says something for our $129 introductory special!

Want to be in your own video? Just let us know! Don’t like the recorded sound of your voice? Ask us about voice overs.

Penny Naldrett on Bowen Island

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News

We have been shooting quite a number of properties on Bowen Island recently. It’s such a great place and the houses are all so unique. On our last trip out to the Island, we shot a Video Tour and some photos for 1296 Scarborough Road. We received this email from Penny Naldrett (www.bccoastalliving.com) of Prudential Sussex Realty who is based on the Island. “These are GREAT! It reminds me once again why I hire a professional to take the photographs.” Thanks Penny! Keep an eye out for her upcoming blog. Here is her latest video for 1296 Scarborough Road.

Bowen Island

Vancouver – Great City, Great People

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News

It’s great being a real estate photographer in Vancouver. We get invited to photograph and produce real estate video tours of the best homes in the most beautiful city in the world. We also get to meet the most interesting people as well. Recently, while shooting a townhome at 1233 West Cordova for uber-realtor, Ian Watt, I had the opportunity to meet Kay Zigmont, a sculptor who produces Namaste Sculptures (www.namastesculptures.com). She was helping to stage the home by bringing a couple pieces of her work and displaying them on the rooftop patio set against the setting sun in Coal Harbour. If you get a chance, check out her work. It really is beautiful.

Namaste Sculpture

Namaste Sculpture

Vancouver Is On The List(s)

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News, Real-Estate, Vancouver

The City of Vancouver made a couple of lists recently. The list that we are most familiar with is the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey. Vancouver consistently places in the top 3 with a third place finish again as determined by Mercer Consulting in their survey published in April 2007. Each city’s score is determined by “quality-of-life” criteria. Education, the environment, personal safety, the political and social environment, access to health care and public transportation are all factors considered in the evaluation. Not surprisingly, Baghdad ranks lowest on the list.

The list that we may not be so familiar with is the World’s Most Overpriced Real Estate, published by Forbes Magazine. The list is compiled using a modified version of the price to earnings ratio. Where did Vancouver rank? Our fair city finished in sixth spot behind Monaco, Rome, Paris Madrid and Los Angeles. I guess there is a price to pay to live in one of the best cities in the world.

Real Estate Porn – Leave the Photos and Video to the Professionals

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Helpful Tips, News, Photography

The Globe and Mail published an article on the weekend titled, “HOUSE PORN: IT SELLS – For the real money shot, hire a pro“. The article focused on the ever-growing importance of great photography as Internet-savvy buyers become increasingly picture- rather than word-oriented. Potential buyers are becoming much more sophisticated, spending more time searching for properties on the Internet, wanting to view high-quality photos and video. Great real estate photography can get people through the front door, attracting buyers even if the house doesn’t have “curb-appeal”. Having professional photos shot is no longer just a tool for multi-million dollar properties, it’s becoming a necessity to market all listings.

Proper photos will be bright, colourful and spacious. Let us compare our photos with Realtor photos from the same property.

Their Photo:
Living Room
Our Photo:
Living Room

Their Photo:
Dining Room
Our Photo:
Dining Room

Their Photo:
Living Room
Our Photo:
Living Room

Great photos will generate more interest in your listings. Sellers are demanding more from their Realtor in this increasingly competitive market. At Video Openhouse, we provide professional and affordable real estate photography and Video Openhouse Tours that will allow agents to take their marketing to the next level.

Video Real Estate referrers, the honorable mentions

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News

I was looking at our site statistics recently, along with the ususal suspects (Large real estate websites, realtor sites, hotmail etc…) some interesting entries caught my eye in the referrers section.
*For those of you that don’t know, a referrer is the page that someone clicks on to get to your site.

Here are 3 of the Entries that caught my eye

  • www.familjeliv.se A Swedish message board, I found a posting that talked about a home that a couple had purchased in Burnaby, she was posting the video for her friends to see (I can’t speak swedish, but I am told that is the general gist of it).
  • Facebook & Myspace: Once again the viral nature of video means that a home buyer, or seller will send links to the videos to their friends. This is a huge benefit to the agent.
    **the clickthroughs from Facebook were from the Facebook email message system which I don’t send links through, so they were not my friends clicking on my profile

Which is more important? The Swedish message board or Facebook & MySpace? I don’t know, but I like both. Video attracts attention!

If your page is branded to prominently display your name and contact information the video will showcase your marketing ability. You will get some “internet face time” with a group of people you would have never had any other contact with. We also have a the ability to put translations on our website, so that people from other cultures that don’t speak English can easily understand your marketing!

Video is great advertising because of its viral nature people are willing to post links to videos in both mainstream and obscure websites putting your name and face out there.