At this point, we are well aware that knowing how to give an apartment tour virtually is always a good idea for multifamily real estate teams. However, there’s even more of a reason when the temperature drops.
Winter can be a tough time in the leasing world. Depending on where you live, it can be, well, COLD. And it can also be snowy or, in some places, really rainy. Regardless, periods of inclement weather mean people don’t want to get out and tour apartments. That’s why we see a greater request for virtual tours in the winter. That’s why it’s a good idea to push your virtual touring option to prospective residents in the winter months. It can help keep touring and leasing activities high, even during the winter and holiday period when not many people are looking to move.
As a leasing agent, you can provide a high level of service to your prospective residents. While being mindful and considerate of prospects’ preferences during the colder months, you can offer a virtual leasing option. Then, they can stay home, comfortable, safe, and warm, while still getting the leasing and touring experience they need.
Here’s why knowing how to use virtual touring in the winter can help a traditionally slower leasing period pick up speed and keep everyone a little warmer.
Smaller Audience, Bigger Impact
There will always be people looking for a new place to live, even throughout the winter and holiday season. While the number of people looking for a new place may be smaller in the colder months, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still out there. That’s why it’s a good time to make sure you’re equipped with the necessary resources to keep leasing activities moving along. Ensure that they have everything they may need to fill vacant units quickly and efficiently.
While there may not be as large of a group looking for a new place in the winter months, you will likely get a more invested group of prospects. They are looking for a place to live and they want leasing professionals like you to make it easy for them. So, it’s on you to garner the attention of those prospects who are looking and capitalize on that attention. One of the best and more efficient ways to capitalize on that attention is to provide an easy way to connect, to see, and experience the property. That’s where virtual tours – either live or pre-recorded – can improve your performance.
Staying Warm with Virtual Tours
If you know how to give an apartment tour virtually, then the weather is no longer a real obstacle. You aren’t asking prospects to bundle up, drive through the ice, snow, or rain to visit your property. Instead, they can stay warm in their current space while simultaneously finding a new apartment.
Live and pre-recorded virtual tours help prospects work through their apartment tour checklists in an authentic and transparent way. These virtual tours can be personalized to the individual prospect, showing them a real look at the space, from the exact unity they could be living in to the amenities they would find most appealing. It also provides added flexibility when scheduling apartment tours if they are virtual. You aren’t asking prospects to come out in the cold or take time away from a potentially busy end-of-year work season, or all the potential holiday activities they have planned with family or having to find someone to watch their kids if they are out of school for holiday break…the list goes on.
One area that’s gaining popularity is a self-guided apartment tour. Prospects could come to the property on their own time and tour. While that definitely helps with the busy schedules this time of year, you’re still asking your prospect to physically come to the property. With a video touring option, you’ll be able to provide the experience the prospect is looking for. And they can stay curled on their couch, sipping a hot drink under a warm blanket.
There are so many reasons why people love this time of year, but those same reasons make shopping for a new apartment extremely challenging. If you take the property to them via a virtual tour, all of those barriers are removed.
While the weather may be less than friendly, understanding how to give an apartment tour virtually this winter can mean their experience with your property is invaluable. After all, it could be there new home!
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