Hong Kong property agents turn to virtual-reality tours, influencer-style videos to beat coronavirus-driven slump in home sales
- Centaline Property Agency generated business worth more than HK$100 million in April by using technology such as virtual reality
- Viewing flats online will remain a major channel to look for property among Hongkongers in post-pandemic world: Midland Realty
Virtual-reality tours of properties have come to the rescue of major Hong Kong agencies amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted traditional sales channels and viewing patterns, with one company describing the technology as “life to us”, helping it “survive and stay competitive”.
Its website was viewed more than a million times per day at the height of the outbreak, a 129 per cent jump since a low in November 2019. The number of listings has also surged by 25 per cent.
“The pandemic has been serious since March. Buyers do not go out any more, so half of our business could have been lost,” said Louis Chan, Centaline’s vice-chairman and chief executive of residential in Asia-Pacific. “People used to walk to go see flats and did many rounds. Now, people just need to see virtual-reality videos.”
Chan said the agency normally generates business worth about HK$500 million per month. In April, it saw transactions worth about HK$340 million, with VR helping it generate HK$100 million. “[The use of technology] is a big deal. Everyone is using it. This is life to us. It matters to whether we can survive and stay competitive,” he said.
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“It is a megatrend now. There is no way to avoid it. There must be new ways of advertising and operations. It’s like … the media, which must do both paper and online. We have to do everything likewise,” he added.