3 Benefits of Client Video Testimonials for Real Estate Agents

shutterstock 699442582

Real estate agents have been promoting written testimonials for years. They continue to be an excellent way to show your potential clients just a few of your successes working in real estate. However, video testimonials are a far better way to market yourself in what is one of the most competitive markets in the country. You might be surprised how many former clients would be happy to get in front of a camera and provide you with a video testimonial if they had a positive experience working with you. Continue reading these reasons why video testimonials can benefit real estate agents.

Strengthens trust and credibility

Video testimonials allow potential buyers and sellers to hear former clients share their experiences of working with the agent. People are more inclined to trust you as their agent if they hear from others how you helped them. If you are looking to strengthen your credibility online, video testimonials are an excellent place to start.

Perfect for social media sharing

People love watching videos on social media. The typical person checks social media multiple times and day and spends time watching various videos on their newsfeeds. Social media platforms have also made it extremely easy for users to share videos they want to promote. The more shares you can get on your videos, the more people will see your positive customer reviews.

Ideal for email marketing

It can be challenging to catch the attention of potential prospects through email marketing. However, videos are one of the best ways to increase your business’s click-through-rates. People are typically more intrigued when they receive a video versus a large block of text. They are also more likely to watch the video to the end than read a long email.

HUD Foreclosures

HUD foreclosures and VA Foreclosures are some of the best homes to buy when price is part of the equation. As with most Americans, price is always a concern. If not buying the same house for less, why not buy more house for the same dollar invested? When looking for a good deal it is hard to do better than the VA or HUD foreclosures market. The simple truth is that there are just more VA and HUD homes on the market, as they represent such a large number of mortgages that are generated each year. This translates into more foreclosures just by the magnitude of difference between all others comparing to the two largest.

The two largest also being government owned and operated means that they have less time to wait to make money back on the home. The FHA is especially known for selling HUD homes for less than the average sales price in a given area. FHA foreclosures represent a fraction of HUD but they are still a significant number of homes and both should be considered.

VA (Veterans Administration) and HUD (Housing and Urban Development) have different and unique opportunities for the buyer. Both are often forgiven for the local taxes normally associated with the purchase of a home (this is on a county by county basis). Be sure to ask the local title company or escrow company to look into it for you before closing as this is often missed due to their are not used to dealing with the 2 to 3 percent of the market that VA and HUD foreclosures represent.

Foreclosure Listings Increasing

As the market settled after the mortgage meltdown foreclosure listings also settled and fewer homes were on the market with a placard reading “Bank Foreclosure” in big red lettering. This was a good thing for the entire real estate market. Having an abundance of foreclosures brings the entire market down and it makes it harder for home owners, who would like to move, to get the appropriate price for their home as a similar home down the same street was sold for substantially less and the appraiser is using the foreclosure as a comparable sale.

This is just one of the problems when there are too many foreclosure listings in any area. Another issue is the television set that sits in everyone’s living room harping about the price of homes based on the number of foreclosures and this constant barrage of negative information makes most people sit on the sidelines waiting for the market to either implode completely or to correct itself. Meanwhile while they wait, others are buying foreclosure listings and making great investments.

Whatever the reason, a market can only handle so many foreclosure listings at any given time. The more foreclosures, the lower the market gets and this is a lesson the banks that were foreclosing and selling off realized too late. The market and their investments would have been better off if there had not been a rush to divest themselves of the toxic assets made more toxic by their own actions.