If you’ve been on Zillow lately, and I bet you have, you’ve probably seen those video walk-throughs of homes that are for sale. They are usually jerky, fuzzy, have poor lighting and you have to wonder to yourself why on earth would anyone post this?
Well, because Zillow said so.
I bet you’ve also noticed that Zillow is the #1 most visited real estate website (though quality of data is usually questionable) in the world and when Zillow does something, the real estate industry takes notice.
What is Zillow Video?
Zillow home video walk-throughs are short videos, less than 2 minutes in length.
Realtors record these videos from their phones, which is a requirement from Zillow.
These videos are intended to help provide more of what the house feels like to be inside and moving through the space since the use of wide-angle lenses and out of order photos can make it difficult to really understand the “flow” of the house.
Why did Zillow add this feature?
I’m often hearing from my clients and other folks the question – “Why does Zillow want agents to post a video like this?”
The short answer is that website traffic and Google rankings is all about content and user satisfaction. By adding this additional feature, Zillow now has very unique content that Trulia, Homes.com, independent agents sites (like this one – shameless plug) don’t have and give you a reason to visit Zillow.
And the move to use video is smart because video is hot right now. Facebook has even changed its algorithms to give priority to video as well.
Should your home have a video walk-through on Zillow?
Zillow gives better placement and more exposure for listings that have the walk-through.
Take a moment and pull up Zillow and do a home search in any zip code in which you’re interested. I guarantee that the first few listings that populate are going to have the new Zillow video walk-through on them.
Zillow rewards the listings that have the video walk through with superior placement, meaning more exposure for your home.
When the feature first rolled out, I added it to one of my listings at the time and the week I added the walk through, and online traffic to my listing spiked 20% in 1 week!
The Zillow video walk-through on your home will probably help to sell it faster, but like anything else, it’s one piece of the marketing puzzle.
Wrap Up
I recommend that clients use the video walk-through because it gives them better placement on Zillow, even if the video isn’t great. Ultimately, you want to get the most exposure possible when trying to sell your home. The more eyeballs on your homes, the greater the possibility the buyers that think your house is “the one” will see it!