Once upon a time, long ago…. okay, maybe five or six years ago… what we pictured as the future of apartment leasing looked very different. Chatbots, artificial intelligence, and automation were on everyone’s top trends lists.

The thought was that they would replace leasing agents entirely at some point. Apartment leasing jobs would become obsolete. Prospective residents would use the aforementioned technology tools to self-tour, fill out paperwork, and move in without any leasing team involvement at all.

But, as we’ve progressed, especially through 2020, multifamily real estate has seen something unexpected emerge – the importance of the human element in apartment leasing. Human-to-human interaction is critical to building the necessary trust and transparency to make a prospect confident enough to sign a lease. So the conversation about the future of apartment leasing has shifted.

While the future of multifamily leasing might be fewer agents total, the modern leasing agent must be closing leads by leveraging technology to help them be more efficient and effective at their jobs. Furthermore, leasing agents need to build and nurture trust with their prospects in a real, raw and transparent way. With the right tools, systems, and mechanisms in place, modern leasing agents can tour, connect, foster, discover, nurture and convert the same or more volume of leads. Here’s where one of the most important tools comes into play, video.

To be a more efficient, and a higher performing agent in apartment leasing, you need to use a lot of video. Here’s why and what we mean.

Pre-Recorded Video Libraries

For leasing agents looking for how to lease an apartment in today’s environment, even pre-pandemic, pre-recorded, cloud-based video libraries save time and resources. But to take this a step further, leasing teams can perform better and decrease lead-to-lease time by leveraging personalized pre-recorded apartment videos. This allows prospects to engage and tour properties on their own time. It provides that self-service model with the necessary human touch. For an agent, it creates an efficient process. If you put some work in upfront, you have a library of videos that you can personalize for each prospect with the touch of a button. Your apartment video library can include videos of:

  • Specific units
  • The general property
  • Amenities
  • Meeting the team videos
  • Resident testimonials
  • The neighborhood

Showcase anything the prospect wants to see from your property. Each of these videos can be stored and instantly compiled into a playlist to send to a prospect. Then, the prospect can tour the property on their own time. 1 am? 11 pm? No problem. The agent is there and ready, getting notified when the lead engages with the content allowing them to follow up in a timely manner.

Live Video Tours

Today’s apartment leasing consultant job descriptions should include calendar magicians. Here’s why.

Oftentimes, there are many scenarios in which someone cancels or reschedules a scheduled in person tour. Have you ever had this happen before? You’re waiting for someone’s calendar to free up or for them to be in town. So you finally get a tour scheduled for two weeks from now. But then their significant other can’t make it. But, that person needs to see the apartment too. So you have to schedule another in person tour in another two weeks. Now you’re a month in at just this beginning phase of the sales funnel. Isn’t this time consuming? Luckily, there is a solution so this never has to happen again.

Just hop on a live video tour. Live video tours can help create more efficiency and productivity for both the apartment leasing process and the prospect. Leasing agents can create the live tour opportunity, aggregating roommates, family members, or other key decision makers together on one tour to minimize repeat showings. A live video tour can occur during a prospect’s lunch break or while they’re on the bus to work – whatever is most convenient for the prospect. That can really streamline the process for all parties, but also ensures the leasing agent stays at the center to answer any questions and helps the prospects see exactly what they want to see in a real, transparent way.

Learn more about how you can give live virtual tours in a personalized way

Use Video as a Communication Tool

While the value of video in apartment leasing is evident, you can also use it purely as a way to communicate with prospects throughout the leasing process and after they are a resident. After all, certain virtual touring software, such as Realync, is designed for the entire resident lifecycle.

Leasing agents can use video to communicate the move in process, policy changes, construction or renovation updates, and more. Using video to communicate with residents helps your community show how transparent you truly are.. Video gets clicks and makes the communication more impactful by keeping the human element a part of the communication. We think you’ll find it works much better than text or email.

So, there you have it. When it comes to the future of apartment leasing, you’ll find plenty of different ways video is and should be present. Particularly, if your targets are month-to-month leases, a 90-day apartment lease, or a one-year apartment lease agreement, you’re going to want to use video to cut down on the lead-to-lease timing. If your typical apartment lease terms are much longer, video helps build and retain the trust necessary to do so. By picking a virtual leasing platform that allows you to do all the above with video, you’re already a step ahead.

Let Us Help You!

Close more leases, market more effectively, engage with residents and, as always, keep it real. Do you have a question or suggestion? Or want to learn more about what you read? Email us at contact@realync.com. We’d love to hear from you!