Even real estate amateurs know the three most important factors potential buyers or renters take into consideration when choosing a home: location, location, location.

You can have the most beautiful property on the market, but you’re unlikely to make a deal until your prospective buyers see the neighborhood. Most expect to make an in-person visit to the property in order to assess where they may end up living, but this can take a considerable amount of time and coordination to schedule – time many people just don’t have.

Luckily, there’s another way to show off your property’s community and engage potential buyers or renters from anywhere they may be looking: neighborhood tour videos. Whether you’re showing off a single-family home, an apartment community, or a commercial building, an exciting tour of the neighborhood can make any property more desirable and help you put up that “sold” sign ASAP.

WHAT ARE NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS?

Traditionally when you view a property online, you’ll see some photos of the building itself along with some bullet points on the neighborhood. However, that just doesn’t cut it for most potential buyers. Before signing on the dotted line, people want to see not just what they’ll be living in, but where they’ll be living as well. And if a buyer has to be physically there to see the neighborhood in person, you may be missing out on potential sales.

A neighborhood tour is one of the best strategies to capture the attention of home-lookers and set your listing apart from the rest. A high-quality video showing potential buyers or renters the area where your home is located is sure to get some attention, and it may be the key you’ve been looking for to finally get the property off the market.

When a prospective buyer or renter wants to get an idea of the community they may be living in, Google Street View just won’t cut it. They want an engaging tour to show them all of the great attractions they could be enjoying if they lived there.

Your tour could include:

•      Local restaurants
  
  
•      Shopping centers
  
  
•      Schools
  
  
•      Night life
  
  
•      Parks and recreation
  
  
•      Community pools or amenities
  
  
•      Any other local activities that make the neighborhood great!

WHY ARE NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS IMPORTANT?

Like we mentioned earlier, location is key. Even the most updated and functional houses on the market aren’t worth as much if the locations are undesirable. A great neighborhood can increase potential buyers’ interest in the property, even if they’re not totally sold on the house itself yet. Click here for ten video marketing ideas for real estate.

In addition to showing all of the happenings in the area, neighborhood tours are also a great way to show proximity to other places that may be of importance to buyers, including schools. An easy commute to a great school increases the value of a house to any family, and it can also show how safe the area is in general.

Other important neighborhood features to promote in your video are highway access and public transportation availability. Easy commutes to work or to neighboring towns can make or break a house’s location, so showing just how close your property is to those essentials can make your property the hottest on the market.

Another thing to consider is that your potential buyers may be relocating from another area. If that’s the case, they likely won’t have the chance to visit as many potential properties as folks moving locally. Including a video tour of the neighborhood can sell them on the place from any distance and show them why they’re going to love living there.

DO NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS WORK?

The short answer: Absolutely. A high-quality video of any kind already sets your listing apart from the others, and showing off your neighborhood can increase the house’s desirability. Even if the property is missing a “nice to have” from a potential buyer’s list, a great neighborhood can more than make up for that.

Neighborhood tours do more than just show off the area, though – they allow prospective buyers to put themselves in the shoes of someone who already lives there. By giving them an engaging experience, you’re allowing their imaginations to do some of the work selling the property for you.

When considering a neighborhood’s desirability, people aren’t just looking at its current state; they’re also thinking about the future. If the property is located in an up-and-coming area, its value is likely to skyrocket over time. A neighborhood that has great potential for new businesses or attractions is sure to increase the property value of all the houses in close proximity, and potential buyers will see the dollar signs.

In general, creating a great video will automatically get more eyes on your listing. But if you’re able to create a great neighborhood tour, the property might as well be selling itself.

Being in real estate means understanding the value and importance of neighborhood tours for the rest of your business. Come along with INDIRAP as we break down our latest neighborhood tour project in River North Chicago.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD TOUR?

You’ll first want to decide which neighborhood attractions should be featured in your video. Depending on your audience, the things you talk about or spend the most time on will vary.

If you’re looking to attract a young family, you may want to spend time focusing on local parks and any nearby schools. If your buyers are more likely to be young and single, highlighting the restaurants and nightlife may attract more interest from your target audience. If your property could work for several different groups, it may be worth creating a variety of videos for each of your target audiences.

However, the most important piece of any great neighborhood tour is high-quality video. A simple video taken with your iPhone probably won’t sell the property as much as unique, professional-looking experiences. Being able to piece the videos together into one exciting and comprehensive tour is the final piece to making your neighborhood tour great.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Creating a neighborhood tour video for your real estate may seem daunting at first, but the benefits it brings to your listing is well worth it in the end.

Our simple 5-step production process allows us to capture the essence of your property and the neighborhood it’s in. With us handling the details, you can continue to focus on what you do best. And with your video doing the hard work for you, all you’ll have to do is answer the phone