How Coronavirus Is Changing the Way We Buy and Rent Property
Tom Lynn, chairman and office division president for NAI Robert Lynn, a full-service commercial real estate firm with offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, recently took a building tour in a way he never expected.
“We went in separate cars. Everybody had gloves, and walked in one at a time and [then] connected by phone. It was a pretty odd situation, but it was important we got it done," he describes.
In Texas, real estate is considered an essential service during the current coronavirus pandemic, as it is in many other states. This designation may help keep the economy going and minimize the effects of a future real estate market crash. But in-person tours, whether you're looking to purchase an investment property or lease to tenants, are not ideal right now as the country tries to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
“On-site managers are taking personal risks to show up at a property, and cleaning crews are taking personal risks to be there," explains says David Li, co-founder of uForis, Inc., a provider of immersive real estate solutions like virtual tours. "Protective gear needs to be available, and everyone needs to be careful with their staff."
That's not to say in-person meetings can't happen, adds Li, but leasing agents and investors are also finding safe ways to keep their projects in motion through apps, social media, and creative digital marketing.
“We had all this technology three weeks ago," Lynn says, noting that in the past month he's embraced everything from Google Maps to Microsoft Teams. “We just didn't use it as much."
Find Your Audience Online
Most people begin their real estate search online. Likewise, business owners looking to lease a property and investors pursuing a purchase of commercial space comb through listings or have alerts set up to pinpoint their ideal property. Digital marketing is not new to most real estate professionals, but it's more important than ever to be crystal clear on how to reach your audience.
“We knew early on we were going to have to figure out a way to reach [prospects] without touching," says Ashlei Elise, director of leasing and marketing for Varsity Campus, a student housing property management firm. Student housing lease-up campaigns typically start in April or May, which means Elise's team had to hit the ground running in spite of the challenges COVID-19 presented.
“What better way to reach students and their parents than with social media like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and even online radio," Elise says.
Outreach events typically represent a big part of off-campus student housing marketing. Due to the nation's shelter-in-place restrictions, Varsity Campus quickly transitioned their events from the real world to the digital realm.
“We were planning a nacho party," Elise points out, which they still held, albeit online. "We sent all the 'attendees' pre-packaged nacho kits in the mail and asked them to join us virtually."
Use Video to Reach Out
Similarly, multifamily landlords may consider hosting a virtual open house using Facebook or Instagram Live. It doesn't have to be fancy or feature a professionally produced tour—it can all be done from a smartphone.
For smaller groups, Li suggests conducting a Skype virtual tour. “It requires your leasing manager to be somewhat media- and technology-savvy and comfortable on camera. But with video as a growing trend, a lot of your sales team may be using video on social media in their off-time, anyway. Now they're just doing it for work," Li says.
See how to film a great video of a space with your phone here.
Send in the Drones
Lynn says he's been relying on video real estate tours more than he ever has in the past. But another trend he sees picking up is drone photography. “The use of drone fly-overs had started to wane lately. But all of a sudden, drone tours are really important right now," he says.
Find Someone Who Knows the Local Market
While drone tours can give you an almost-360-foot view of a property and the surrounding area, Google Maps can help you drill down to see what's most important. Lynn says he will jump on Google Maps while using his video conferencing screen share tool to "explore" a neighborhood virtually.
But even in this era of social distancing, don't neglect the human touch—so to speak. “Now more than ever, it's important to have a broker with specific submarket experience," Lynn says. “It's not the time to act like you know everything about an area. Instead, find a really specialized local submarket expert who can tell you everything you need to know."
Connect Through Online Communities
If you're looking to lease office or retail space in a certain area, or to invest in commercial property that you would lease out, join locally focused Facebook groups or forums to chat with business owners.
While the outlook may seem bleak in some of the areas hit hardest by the pandemic right now, scroll back a few months to see how business was doing before the virus. What businesses are needed in the area? What was thriving? Which companies have successfully kept their doors open during the pandemic? It's also important to gauge the overall optimism of the community right now to try to ascertain how quickly local businesses may bounce back.
Stay Connected With Your Team
Just as it's important to find multiple means of researching new investment properties, it's crucial to stay connected to your team to ensure you're making the best decisions as a group. Lynn relies on Microsoft Teams to host video calls of up to 25 people. Such collaborative technology tools and video meetings help members of your team feed off each other's energy to remain positive, especially while working remotely.
“We're in a recession and we've been in them before," Lynn says. “Our best clients and our top people are viewing this as a pit stop—we're in a race, and right now we're in the pit stop. We're going to make changes in our company now so we can zoom out of this when they give us the all-clear."
