HomeTruths

Technology is set to change how houses are sold, says Edel Morgan

THERE WAS a time not so long ago when an estate agent could fire out a poorly produced property brochure and potential buyers would take time to peer at lopsided grainy pictures to try and make out if that mound in the garden was a heap of rubble or part of some elaborate landscape design. They might have even spent time decoding the agent-speak to determine if it was worth their while viewing.

That day is gone and those elusive few who are now in a position to buy are so spoiled for choice they want all the information about a property at their fingertips and served up on a silver platter with knobs on. They don't want vague references to a "truly gracious property" but full details, dimensions, floor plans and at the very least photos that are in focus. Yet some agents haven't moved with the times.

Last week at the start of what could be a new era for the Irish property market John Mulcahy, MD of commercial agent Jones Lang LaSalle, declared that the conventional marketing materials - like the property brochure, PDF or DVD - are about to become as outmoded as the vinyl record. His company launched jltv.ie, Ireland's first property online digital channel, which will become a mainstream marketing tool.

jltv.ie features digital video brochures (DVB) which showcase a developer's property with on-site footage, voiceovers and on-screen text . The cost of producing a DVB (at a maximum of €3,000) is considerably cheaper than a DVD (Jones Lang La Salle say up to 10 times) and it can be e-mailed rather than posted. As none of the developments they are featuring at the moment are actually built, you can look at CGI's which bring you through the scheme and show aerial views.

Could this also be the way forward for the residential market? In the current market buyers need to have access to clear, comprehensive information about a property which ideally should be available through a variety of media.

Of course most, if not all, agents show properties on the internet but the ones that think they're cutting-edge because they offer virtual tours can think again. While they do help, the quality can vary wildly. Some agents rely on the basic model - a camera on a tripod that takes images of a property, which are then pieced together to make a virtual tour but this often doesn't give a true perspective of the property and the images of the walls aren't always stitched together properly.

The time is coming when techno-savvy vendors will go to agents providing interactive tours with clear images of a property. In fact, predictions are that people will be able to use their PCs and digital TVs to pause, rewind or fast forward virtual tours with a running commentary.

Some estate agents use 360-degree camera lenses for virtual tours and before long video streaming will be the norm where customers will view a property from their home entertainment unit.

With agents getting their act together, regular text message updates to potential buyers about properties are now becoming more common. In the UK, where around 30 per cent of "sale agreed" properties fail to complete, agent Howe and Hawksby, know that they have to cater to a potential buyer's every need in an attempt to hold on to every sale. They provide Sony Playstations to keep the kids quiet while the adults are watching "media screen presentations" of the homes they are interested in while being served refreshments served during the viewing. As well as what they call a "bespoke media presentation" on all their homes, they provide virtual tours and a variety of maps including standard google map and satellite views.

Of course no amount of technology is a substitute for an agent who can actually sell but to get their properties on the radar of the less than voracious buyers out there these days, it may well be a case of move with the times or struggle to survive.