- Industry experts say gimmicky property videos can distract from homes and undermine agents’ marketing role.
- Top agent says social media sold a $2.6m property sight unseen by showcasing buyers’ lifestyles.
- Agents defending theatrical content say viral reach attracts buyers, with success judged by results.
Real estate agents who resort to costumes and attention-grabbing stunts in “silly” property videos have lost sight of their core role, industry experts have told OneRoof.
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Harcourts Gold co-owner Cameron Bailey said some agents were too busy trying to boost their own profiles, rather than showcasing the property itself.
“You aren’t looking at the house, you are looking at the agent,” he said, referring to “viral” real estate videos.
Bailey is the country’s top agent and made headlines earlier this year with his ungimmicky sale of Richie McCaw’s Christchurch home for $3.775 million.
He said a good marketing campaign helps buyers imagine themselves living in a house, not distracting them from it. “People want to see what it’s like driving up the driveway, going to the local coffee shop.”
Harcourts Gold agent Cameron Bailey: “I think they are silly. To me, some of the videos discredit the agent and the property.” Photo / George Heard
He believes social media can be powerful when used correctly, noting that he sold a $2.6m property sight unseen in Christchurch’s Merivale after the buyer discovered it on social media.
But the content should sell the property, not the agent.
“I think they are silly. To me, some of the videos discredit the agent and the property. It’s not a joke. They are selling someone’s most expensive asset.”
He adds: “Do you want a clown selling your house, or a real estate agent?”
Like it or not, agents are increasingly borrowing the tactics of influencers and content creators to make their listings stand out online.
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Ray White South Auckland real estate agent Kary Singh said he’s unbothered by other people’s opinions of his movie-style clips.
His marketing videos have seen him stage a roadside tantrum while dressed as a toddler, take on a Fast & Furious-style drag race, and transform himself into the Joker to Charlie Chaplin.
He said he’s simply trying to stand out in a crowded market. “It’s not about me selling myself. My purpose is to highlight these properties,” he said, adding that one of his listing videos got more than a million views and was under contract within three weeks.
However, he’s careful not to overstate the power of social media.
“I don’t sell them the dream. I tell them I’ll make a video and try and sell your house.”
Kary Singh dressed as Charlie Chaplin. “It’s not about me selling myself. My purpose is to highlight these properties.” Photo / Kary Singh, Linkedin
Australian and New Zealand real estate coach Nic Fren, from Bespoke Media Management, said many buyers have their first interaction with an agent online, and that a listing video that gets only 200 views is the equivalent of having a conversation with 200 people.
But he believed too many agents were forgetting who their target audience was. “I see some agents just doing some weird s***. I’ve seen agents diving in pools, I’ve seen agents salsa dancing around a house. I’ve seen a male agent put a female agent in a very odd position on a kitchen bench,” he said.
“The owner pays for the video to show the property. It’s not hard; it’s what you’re employed to do, it’s the very essence of what you’re employed to do.”
Real estate auctioneer and coach David Palfreyman isn’t ready to write off the trend.
While some of the videos make him cringe, appearances can be deceiving.
“Goodness gracious, some of the gimmicky stuff I see, I think, ‘what on earth has it got to do with marketing the property?’ On the surface it looks ineffective ... but is it effective?”
Palfreyman said viral content may be doing exactly what vendors were paying agents to do: getting their property in front of more people.
Rather than judging an agent’s approach, he said the only thing that mattered was whether it delivered results. “I wouldn’t throw stones until I’d seen the results,” he said.
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