Stephen Barfoot, chief technology officer at Barfoot & Thompson.
Stephen Barfoot wishes that when he was house hunting nine years ago, he'd had an app like the one on offer from Barfoot & Thompson to help in the search for his ideal home.
Little did he know that he would soon be heading the very team that came up
with
the popular app for iPad, which reached #1 on the NZ downloads shortly after its first release.
"I wish it had been available, it would have made life a lot easier!" says Stephen, who is the chief technology officer at Barfoot & Thompson.
Digital marketing tools like apps have revolutionized house buying and selling in the last few years. It's not that long ago that if you were selling your house, it was listed in a newspaper, property publication or real estate agency brochure, and a picture card was put up in an agent's window. Then you sat back and hoped that was enough, along with a "for sale" sign, to draw in potential buyers.
Those methods of marketing are still used today, and are an important part of any campaign to sell a house. But increasingly, people looking to buy are turning to technology to help in the search. According to recent research by Barfoot & Thompson, 84% of people questioned said listings on websites were very or extremely useful.
Apps and websites can do everything from providing documents like titles through to telling you which school zone a house is located in and showing you what it looks like inside - without you even having to step foot through the front door.
The properties are shown off to their best advantage with high-quality professional photos, and many of the listings also include home plans and a video, which have important roles to play in marketing a house.
British research has found that properties with floor plans that can be seen online are likely to receive 30% more interest than those without, while an Australian survey found that videos are a huge drawcard-including a video of the house in the listing can increase the number of enquiries about a property by a whopping 403%.
"A digital campaign can really help people to visualize a property and give them a feel for it," says Stephen.
"And from the vendors' point of view, it means that it can get the right buyers along to look at their property, and help them to get the best price for it."
Stephen says developing the interactive app, which has been available since 2013, took around two years and was a lot of fun to work on. He says as well as being helpful when he was house hunting, the app would also have been useful to have when he was a sales person for Barfoot & Thompson because it's such a good source of information.
Selling houses was the first job he did when he joined the company that had been founded by his grandfather Val Barfoot in 1923. After three years Stephen moved to the IT department (he'd worked in the technology field before joining the company), and he says having had that sales experience helped when it came to working out what features would be useful for the app and other digital developments.
The latest innovation from Stephen and his team are interactive touch screens, which is a step-up from window card displays in real estate agency windows. It allows people to browse in search of the ideal property, with all the information they need just a tap of the fingertip away. A handful of the screens are already available in Barfoot offices across Auckland and more will be added soon.
As much as he loves working on developing technology, Stephen says it is vital to remember that although having clever apps and websites might make selling and buying a house much easier, they are even more effective when combined with a traditional marketing programme, including newspaper advertising and for sale signs.
But the most valuable asset when it comes to selling your home is your salesperson, he says.
"The thing that really matters is people," he says. "Technology is amazing but a good salesperson is the key. They understand the market, they have so much knowledge, such as how other homes in the area are selling, and they can do things like negotiating to get you the best price. We don't have an app that can do that!".
IMPORTANT FACTORS IN MARKETING YOUR PROPERTY
Marketing your home is both an art and a science. Salespeople are skilled in crafting a marketing plan that is ideal for you, your home and the current housing marketing. Your salesperson should have:
• Knowledge of the best places to advertise and what marketing materials will have the most impact on the market
• Comprehensive digital marketing tools available - including video, interactive floor plans and an iPad app
• A wide network of other salespeople who can all help with selling your property
• Local market knowledge
• Professional advice for you on how to prepare your home for sale and how to make the most of home staging
• Access to professional photography -a picture can speak a thousand words
• The ability to use feedback from open homes to hone their approach to selling
your home
Content series brought to you by Barfoot & Thompson.