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Our last post talked about how real estate listing videos can be a powerful marketing tool. Like any tool, the effectiveness depends on how you use it.

People who want to use a video when selling their Burnaby real estate home should be aware of the common tactics employed by video creators. This knowledge will help them work with the realtor or filmer to shoot their footage in the most impactful way possible.

Prepare the Home with Staging

The first step is to help give the camera person something worthy of shooting. You will want your home to be in its most flattering state possible. Every room should be cleaned, organized and staged in a way to look magazine-worthy.

Having clear, uncluttered and aesthetically pleasing spaces can transform your home into a veritable movie set. Every room should have a presence.

Light can be just as key of a component, so homeowners should pull back curtains or install natural-looking light throughout the house. The filmer may even need to choose the perfect time of day to let the light flow in as beautifully as possible.

Recreate a Tour Experience

One of the major advantages of video is that, unlike photos, video gives you a context when moving from room to room. Whereas a photo can make a living room look small when viewed from a kitchen, the video will reveal that as you move through the area, it actually feels spacious.

Camera work must be certain to incorporate these context clues by moving naturally from one part of the house to the other. Most videos start from the exterior to give the viewer a glimpse of the street and neighborhood as well as the home’s curb appeal. As the camera person moves into the entrance, the video shifts through various rooms to lead viewers and create a sense of narrative when moving throughout the house.

Savvy camera work can incorporate subtle touches like “guiding” the eye along a key feature like a stone fireplace, just as someone’s eye would when viewing the home in person.

An Eye for Editing 

While filming the home tour all in one go may be tempting, the most effective videos use editing transitions to create a seamless video with a film-like quality. Editing is timed to dramatic music that elicits emotion when the viewer watches. Editing can also cut out things no one wants to see, like a toilet seat left up or a camera person’s reflection in the mirror.

Made to Be Found

In addition to the quality of the video, search engine optimization (SEO) will help home buyers find your home listing when searching online. Strategic use of keywords and an eye-catching thumbnail allow buyers browsing online to find the video and take notice immediately.

For help listing your home with a dramatic and effective real estate video, you can use our expert agent’s services. Visit our selling page to learn more.

Home tour videos have become a powerful tool for Burnaby real estate owners to sell their property. Videos have an impact on your market and are a way of reaching potential buyers that other methods cannot match. Here is why:

Increased Visibility

Only 12 percent of real estate agencies have a YouTube account, and around only 5 percent update theirs regularly. With so many home listings on the market at any given time, a listing that includes video will certainly stand out above the competition.

Since Google owns YouTube, the number one search engine often ranks videos highly among search queries. Add to that the fact that YouTube is the number two search engine, and you have more opportunities to reach a potential buyer than most listings could only dream of.

Make an Impact

Videos typically leave a more lasting and full impression on viewers than text listings can alone. The experience of watching the video commits more details of the home to memory.

Additionally, videos can use thematic music matched with timely editing cues to create a dramatic effect on viewers. Homes can be lent a sense of gravitas or friendliness based on the artistic decisions exercised.

Web Ready

Video is becoming one of the fastest growing types of web content in the world. For example, the number of videos viewed month-over-month increased 60 percent between November and December of 2014.

The rise in video consumption correlates with the increase in traffic coming from smartphones and other mobile devices. Mobile platforms and online video fit hand in hand because of the attractiveness of mobile screen displays and the bite-size nature of most videos.

Embedding allows videos to look beautiful when home sellers advertise through other venues online. Facebook, Twitter and blog posts can all be enhanced by the presence of a video. Users are more likely to click on a video than read text, and they are more likely to remember the content and recommend the listing to interested parties later.

A More Intimate Look

More and more home buyers look to the web for researching their desired real estate market. A well-written listing with beautiful photos will help enhance their impression of the home.

However, photos can never tell the full story. Camera lenses by nature flatten images, distort them or leave out contextual clues. A video can complement listing photos with a fuller understanding of space and dimension as the camera walks through the home and guides the eye along important features. Potential buyers will have a more three dimensional perspective on the home, and they will likely have felt more of a personal connection with the space and the surrounding neighborhood after watching.

Make sure to not pass by on these incredible advantages that real estate listing videos can provide. Visit our selling page to find out more about tools we use that make your listing more competitive.

Our last post mentioned many helpful ways to have your home in near-perfect form before you list it in the spring. We covered projects that improved your curb appeal and the perception of your home’s value. Here are even more ways that you can be on top of your game by the time the busy Burnaby real estate selling season rolls around:

Start Researching Your Market

Before you can know what price to ask for your home or what features to accentuate, you must perform some research. Look up comparable homes that have sold in your region and how they chose to price and position their listing.

Your neighborhood will be the most important place to look, but finding a home with a similar square footage or floor plan can give you an idea of how much your home could be worth. You can find helpful data on sales price trends using online tools available from sites such as Trulia or Zillow.

Get the Buzz Out Early

Networking through friends and colleagues is one of the best ways to get interest in your home.

Mention to as many people as possible that you intend to list your home in the near future. They may be able to recommend your home to someone who will be in the market for a new house. You may be surprised at how many people can come out of the woodwork just from the mere mention that your home will be listed soon.

Find an Expert Burnaby Real Estate Agent

Only an agent who is intimately familiar with your area will be able to sell your home to the best buyer at the best price. Agents experienced with the luxury Burnaby home market will have the knowledge and expertise to make your sale as wonderful of an experience as possible. The earlier you get in touch with them, the more you can prepare to list with as few changes as possible.

Start Thinking About Staging

In today’s online-focused culture, flattering home photos are critical to a successful sale. Well-staged photos can attract the right sort of buyer who is highly interested in your property and willing to pay the right price to get it. Similarly, home staging can enhance the experience for anyone viewing your home during an appointment or an open house.

Since staging requires a lot of time and effort, thinking about the process in advance can make the experience less taxing. You can prevent mistakes like packing up an attractive sofa or switching your color scheme to something that looks unappealing in photos if you keep staging at the forefront of your mind.

For advice finding the best professional stagers or the best price to list your home based on the current market, you can consult our expert Burnaby luxury real estate agents. Take a look at our selling page to learn more.

 Spring is just around the corner. Since it typically marks the busiest buying season, homeowners who want to list soon should start working now to prepare their home. Here are some of the best ways to have your Burnaby real estate property in perfect condition for a speedy and effective spring sale.

Get a Head Start on Curb Appeal Projects

Curb appeal is one of the most important factors for attracting the right buyers to your property. Luckily, with most plants being dead by the end of winter, cleaning up for spring should be a breeze. You or a landscaper can easily cut back all the dead vegetation and prepare for a fresh growing season.

The more light you allow to penetrate through your yard and property, the more gorgeous everything will start to look in the coming weeks. As the days warm up and sunlight reaches your yard, plants will grow back more robustly and beautifully than ever before.

On the other hand, putting off clearing out dead leaves or undergrowth could lead to weeds and messy-looking lawn areas that will be harder to fix once new plant growth begins to harden. Getting a head start now ensures that your lawn and entrance will look beautiful the instant people arrive.

Start Packing Now

While it may seem strange to begin packing before you list, the process makes spring cleaning that much easier. As you clear out your closets and main areas, you will be able to organize and clean your house to prepare it for beautiful staging.

On top of that, you can start getting rid of things you will not need to take with you when you move. Getting rid of clutter is an important step to presenting your home in the best way possible.

Make a Checklist of Repairs 

As you go through your property cleaning and landscaping, you may notice small problems here and there. These issues may seem minor, but they add up to a lot in a buyer’s mind. Every small problem a buyer sees gives them an excuse to haggle down your price or, worse, walk away from a sale altogether. Knocking out small projects early will make getting your home ready for viewing that much easier in the long run. 

Make a Deadline for Improvement Projects 

Homebuyers will not be keen to see their potential new property under construction. Major projects like kitchen remodeling, porch additions or flooring replacement will likely take a few days to several weeks to complete. Try to have all of these projects wrapped up so that your home will be ready in time for an advantageous spring listing. 

Part II of this post will cover even more great ways to have your home put its best foot forward come listing time. For general advice on preparing your home for a sale, take a look at our selling page.

A home with a pool can provide countless hours of entertainment. From pool parties to entertaining guests, your pool can be your backyard centerpiece. Proper maintenance will keep your pool looking like new and allow you, your family and your guests to enjoy that pool all summer long.

Last time, we offered tips on keeping your pool clean. These tips included skimming and vacuuming your pool, proper pool filter care and understanding your pool’s heating system. Now we would like to offer you tips on proper water care for your pool.

Testing the Water

The most important part for your pool’s water is that it is at a proper pH level. A proper pH level will ensure that the water in your pool is clean and healthy to swim in. A pH scale measures the water’s alkaline and acidity levels and range from 0-14. A reading of anywhere between 7.2 and 7.8 is ideal and will ensure that your pool’s sanitizers are working to their optimal levels.

You can monitor your pool’s water with a pH kit. These kits include strips of paper that will tell you what your pool’s pH level is by comparing the colour of your paper to a chart. This reading will determine what type of chemicals your pool needs.

Sanitizing the Pool

Once you have determined what your pool’s pH level is, the next step is to apply the proper chemicals to get your pool water within that ideal pH range. Chlorine is the main chemical that is used to sanitize your pool water and bring that water into proper pH range. When first sanitizing the water, it is recommended that you use chlorine shock, which is an initial large amount of the chemical.  

After this initial shock, chlorine tablets are all that are required to keep your pool water sanitized.  Always remember to read all owner’s manuals and pay close attention to any warnings on the labels. Keep in mind not to add two chemicals simultaneously. Rather, add each chemical separately and keep all chemicals out of reach of children and pets.

With proper maintenance you should be able to enjoy a clean and healthy pool all summer long. Owning a pool can be an exciting and very rewarding experience. If you are interested in seeing real estate listings in Burnaby that offer this amenity, be sure to contact us today!