Selling houses: Why your home deserves movie star treatment

WANT to make an extra few thousand dollars selling your home? Savvy sellers are putting themselves in online videos. Here's how to do it properly.

real estate

LIGHTS, camera, real estate. Move over Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush and Eric Bana, there's a new crowd of film stars springing up from homeowners.

These raw talents throw few tantrums, have no training and take a decidedly DIY approach to costume, hair and make-up.

Growing numbers of homeowners are seeing value in starring in online videos when selling.

Demand for professional videos - with vendors promoting the merits of their own homes - has risen more than 1000 per cent since 2008, according to Daniel Goldstein, director of production company Visual Domain.

He estimated fewer than 5 per cent of all homes now for sale have online videos, which cost from $550 including GST.

"We have seen an enormous surge in demand, the awareness is certainly there because we are getting calls every week from vendors asking if we can recommend agents in the seller's area who use online videos when marketing listings,'' Mr Goldstein said.

"When we started four years ago our goal was five home videos a week; now we produce 150 to 200 a week and it is not just coming out of just one area, it is coming from all areas of the city.''

Brunswick's Fiona Cole is among the fans of homeowners getting in front of the camera.

Mrs Cole and her husband, Christian, sold their three-bedroom Edwardian house in October for $1.0605 million - a record for its area - and they credit their promotional video with achieving the sale.

"When we listed the house I was a virgin to the whole house-selling thing but in the end, when considering our marketing options, we decided 'let's go the hamburger with the lot' and appear in a home video too,'' Mrs Cole said.

Mrs Cole admitted getting in front of the camera was "pretty daunting''. But the video, which could be viewed online via a link attached to the sale listing, ended up being viewed by hundreds of people, one of whom bought the house.

In the video the couple were filmed talking to their agent about their favourite features of the home.

It is chatty and relaxed and chiefly focused on the Coles and footage of the house - the agent asks a few questions but takes only a supporting role.

"I know a lot of people looked at the video and we ended up selling before auction day for a price that was a record for the area so we are very happy with our decision,'' Mrs Cole said.

"We actually discovered that the people who bought the home were basically just like us five years' ago and could really identify with us because they had seen us and heard a bit of our story on our home video.''

Katherine and Matthew Rose listed their luxurious, three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Mentone in October and decided to tell buyers about their home  via a video.

Their house is on the market for $1.53 million with Hodges Mentone agent Andrew Plousi.

"We know the house better than anyone else so we felt it was a better idea for us to tell people about its features than the agent,'' Mrs Rose said.

 "Already we have had about 1800 hits.''

The couple, who owner-built the double-storey house, 250m from the beach, said the video shoot took about one and a half hours.

Mrs Rose stressed that vendors who were camera-shy ``should not rule it out'' because a professional film crew knew how to ease nerves.

"The cameraman talked to us for a long time first about our home and asked us questions about favourite times and features of the home so that when we started filming we felt very relaxed and comfortable,'' she said.

Parkdale homeowner Georgina Paul and her husband, Richard, listed their three-bedroom house this spring and opted to feature in its online marketing video.

In the video they sit side-by-side on a lounge and chat about their home to their agent, naming their favourite things to do in the home and the perks of its beachside location.

"Jason (the agent) came along with the crew and I just thought there would be some kind of script but there wasn't anything so we just sat down and off we went,'' Mrs Paul said.

"My husband had said beforehand, 'look I will sit there and you do the talking' and it was only when we watched it back later we saw that because I had done all the talking and because Richard didn't realise he was still in the shot, he had slumped down into the chair ... so my only advice to others is if you are sitting together on a sofa, sit up straight and look like you are taking some interest in what is being discussed.''

At the time Realestate spoke to Mrs Paul, the couple had just accepted a verbal offer for their house and expected the deal to be sealed within a few days.

Mrs Paul does not think a home video would work for every home but for those worth more than $800,000 ``it can work very well''.

"The agent asked what brought the buyer to us and she confirmed it was the video, specifically us talking about walking to the beach with our dog as she also has a dog so, yes, video can definitely make a powerful connection with your market.''

TIPS FOR STAR ROLE

1 See potential buyers as friends - you are having a friendly chat
2 Sit up straight, look happy and be interested
3 You know your home better than anyone - tell buyers something brochures do not
4 Focus on three or four favourite features of your home
5 Recall a good time in your home - perhaps a party or milestone?
6 Identify perks of your nghbourhood

TIPS FROM AGENTS:

HODGES agent Andrew Plousi reports about 40 per cent of his vendors "end up in front of the camera'' while they are marketing their homes.

They typically draw more people to open inspections and attract more out-of-area buyers, he said.

"Anyone can do it really, it is just like having a conversation with your friends when they come over to your home,'' Mr Plousi said.

"The aim of any sales campaign is to get the message out there and find your buyer market, so it is a method that works regardless of whether you are selling a two-bedroom unit or a $5thmillion mansion.''

Agent Grant Lynch from Allens Real Estate found buyer inquiry numbers tripled if a property had an online video.

"One video attracted over 90 groups to inspect the property within a four-week period, a really dramatic result,'' Mr Lynch said.

"Some interstate buyers contact us purely because they see a video and want to find out more about the area.''

But not all properties will attract positive results by going online in moving images, stresses Nelson Alexander agent Arch Staver.

"Unique homes can work very well ... but a rundown little terrace is still a rundown little terrace."