How the Pandemic Reshaped Real Estate Marketing.

March 2020, the first lockdown, marked the beginning of a seismic shift in how we live and work.

At the time, I was an Account Director at a property marketing agency in Sydney, working in Australia’s residential development sector.

I witnessed buyer behaviour change almost overnight.

As marketers, we had to adapt. Fast.

A change in strategy of how to attract, communicate with and convert customers was required.

Five years on, these strategies remain crucial for real estate marketers.

In this article, I’ll break down five key ways the pandemic reshaped the real estate market and what it means for property marketing and sales today.

1. Consumers Are Hooked on Short-Form Videos.

Before the pandemic, real estate video marketing relied on high-budget, high-production filming.

Now, short-form videos (3–90 seconds) have revolutionised property marketing. Platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts have become essential for reaching buyers, with 91% of Instagram users watching videos weekly (Forbes).

Short-form videos allow for authentic, engaging content captured on a phone.

Whether it’s property walkthroughs, customer interviews or behind-the-scenes content, they are easier than ever to create and offer major reach potential.

Instagram alone has 48% of its users aged 25 - 44 (Sprout Social), aligning with the UK’s average first-time buyer age of 33.5 (Finder).

Why this matters for sales: By leveraging short-form video in the platforms where your target market is active, you can engage buyers earlier in their research journey.

2. Consumers Are Savvier, But More Impatient Online Than Ever Before. 

The pandemic accelerated how consumers browse and interact online.

They are savvier than ever, but also more impatient. If they click on a website and don’t find the information they need within three seconds, they leave. 

This shift has put user experience at the forefront, bringing Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) into focus. 

As marketers, CRO is no longer a "nice to have", it is essential.

CRO focuses on optimising the experience for incoming traffic, ensuring more visitors convert into qualified enquiries.

The average real estate website converts at just 2.6% (Unbounce), anything lower means you’re losing significant revenue opportunities. (At MAR-CO Digital, we aim for a minimum of a 4% conversion rate).

Why this matters for sales: Optimising the experience generates better quality leads.

3. Remote Work Has Shifted Home-Buying Priorities: Buyer Preferences Matter.

Remote work has fundamentally changed what buyers look for in a home. 

Seven in ten homebuyers now seek a dedicated workspace and prioritise homes that are ‘work-from-home friendly’ (Barratt Developments).  

This shift highlights the importance of understanding your buyers' preferences and personalising their experience.

Personalisation isn't new, but with the growing changes and uncertainties around collecting data online over the last five years, it's now more important than ever to focus on zero-party data. 

Zero-party data refers to information that customers willingly share with you.

This could include product, content, personal, or contact preferences.

Having zero-party data allows you to tailor content throughout the marketing and sales process, leading to more engaged prospects and higher conversion rates.

You can capture zero-party data through several methods, some examples are:

1. Adding additional fields in website forms (be mindful not to overload the form, as this can reduce conversion rates)

2. Sending surveys to your existing database

3. Creating preference centres, where customers can update their content and communication preferences

As with all data collection though, it’s crucial to be GDPR compliant. 

Why this matters for sales: Understanding buyer preferences early in the journey helps personalise the experience, build rapport, and ultimately close more deals.

4. Virtual Tours Are an Essential Part of the Buying Process. 

Restrictions on property viewings during the COVID-19 period led to a surge in virtual tours -  a trend that has proven to be here to stay.

In the US, research found that 75% of real estate prospects now prefer virtual tours as part of their decision-making process (Snappr). 

As consumer expectations evolve, property marketers have had to adapt, offering information that was once only accessible through sales engagement.

There are three types of virtual tours:

1. Pre-recorded walkthroughs: Video tours showcased on listings or social media.

2. 360-degree tours: Interactive, self-guided experiences often found on property listings.

3. Live virtual tours: Agents use platforms like FaceTime or WhatsApp to walk buyers through a home in real time. 

Why this matters for sales: Virtual tours act as an additional qualifying step. Prospects who engage with a virtual tour before booking an in-person viewing are further along in their decision-making process, showing more serious buying intent.

5. Consumers Demand Seamless Experiences, Both Online and Offline.

The pandemic’s restrictions on in-person meetings accelerated the adoption of PropTech software, with software such as electronic signatures becoming a key solution.

As consumers increasingly demand quicker and more seamless experiences, e-signatures streamline the process for both customers and agents, allowing users to sign documents electronically via email or SMS.

For example, the e-signature platform FLKitover has helped some real estate businesses save up to 7.5 hours per week (FLKitover). 

Improving speed is one of the easiest ways to unlock additional revenue, and staying on top of PropTech trends is crucial for identifying opportunities to improve the entire customer journey.

Why this matters for sales: Leveraging technology to speed up the buying process helps reduce drop-off rates and free up more time for other sales activities.