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Physical open houses are back in the world of luxury real estate, but that doesn’t mean agents are ditching the digital platforms their clients have come to appreciate. Instead, technology can be deployed in a number of creative ways to enhance the experience for buyers and sellers.
Nadia Corrow, Real Estate Associate at Sotheby’s International Realty – Los Feliz Brokerage and Evelyn Tilney, Real Estate Associate at Kienlen Lattman Sotheby’s International RealtyTM, discuss how agencies can use technology to engage clients at every touch point.
Before the open house: Expand your online audience
Patricia Ruben-Sotheby’s International Realty-Loz Feliz Brokerage
Email blasts, the MLS, and posting and optimizing listings on public real estate search engines are all effective methods of promoting a property. But with content creation, luxury agents can unlock a new level of value.
Nadia Korow
“With social media platforms, you can be very creative in how you market your new listings and open houses,” says Conroe. Short-form videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels can easily go viral if you know how to work the algorithm — and the best part is it’s free.
How can agents use social media algorithms to expand their audience? One of Conrow’s favorite techniques is to see what songs are trending on platforms and feature them in her videos.
“Always be aware of what’s trending on social media,” she says. “Find a way to make it your own and connect with your world. Millennials make up 43% of home buyers, and as a millennial myself, social media is one of our primary ways to communicate, connect and create content digitally. So it’s only natural that we use it when buying a home.”
During the open house: Provide augmented reality
Valerie Leininger-Sotheby’s International Realty-Los Feliz Broker
Once the property is ready for viewing, agents can create an in-home augmented reality (AR) experience — and they can do it with relatively simple technology: a QR code.
“I’ve found QR codes to be incredibly useful, especially since they’re so easy to do online with your own web browser,” Tilney explains. “Sometimes a fancy open house flyer can’t do everything I want, so instead I create a QR code poster and hang it throughout the open house, directing visitors directly to the property’s website.”
Once on the website, the customer’s in-person experience is enhanced by a virtual experience – curated galleries of professional photographs, comprehensive floor plans and relevant addresses, as well as many insights that are too technical for a paper brochure.
After the open house: Automate customer follow-up
Evelyn Tilney-Kienlan Latman Sotheby’s International Reality
With the proliferation of CRM platforms, automated tools for marketing and communications have increasingly become staples for real estate offices and brokerages. If possible, agents should incorporate these into their real estate workflows to ensure no buyers are left out of the loop.
Tilney uses a signature solution that creates a profile for customers as they interact with its digital assets. “My brokerage recently rolled out our new concierge tool — a blank check-in slip that simply sends a QR code to a buyer’s phone on their phone,” she says.
For virtual experiences, invest in videography
Valerie Leininger-Sotheby’s International Realty-Los Feliz Broker
Conrow pointed out that the virtual visit was routine. So agents don’t have to compromise on video quality.
“I’ve seen agents release on Instagram — it can be great, but the video can be cheesy, and it’s never going to be as flawless as you’d expect,” she says. “Now, agents are investing more in professional videography to give the buyer a completely different, more advanced experience.”
And remember: offline connections are still important.
Michelle St. Clair-Zsakani-Sotheby’s International Realty-Los Feliz Brokerage
While there are ways technology can improve physical open homes, it cannot replace them. “It’s really important that people drive themselves home,” Tilney said.
Evie Tilney
While some properties look good online, she explains, a buyer might arrive to find five monster trucks and a pile of junk bikes in a neighborhood driveway or a rundown barn housing a raccoon down the street. “I’m being ridiculous now, but this is not a big deal,” she laughs.
“My go-to strategy is to directly invite local colleagues, friends and community members who are natural connections to preview the property,” she says. “I make good coffee, get great pastries from local farms, and host people for leisurely walks to spread the word organically.”
Open houses are analog in nature. For Tilney, the best tools are so discreet they’re barely noticeable. “Tech doesn’t have to be jazzy bells and whistles — it has to be tangible and intangible and there to support the buyer, the seller, us as agents and the deal as a whole,” she says. “Meeting people, doing research and providing valuable guidance to our clients never comes before our real work.”
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