House hunting completely transformed by Barfoot & Thompson

Partnering with global digital visualisation specialists DIAKRIT, Barfoot & Thompson is the first in the New Zealand industry to introduce the suite of interactive and engaging marketing tools across our residential listings.

“These new tools lift the standard in property marketing, providing a better quality and a more true-to-life online experience with every Barfoot & Thompson listing,” explains Chris Dobbie, Chief Executive Officer. 

What are the tools?

The new property marketing packages include high quality, magazine-style photography taken by professional, DIAKRIT-trained photographers to ensure a consistent look and feel. 

Listings will be further brought to life by:

• Interactive floor plans: inspiring buyers to ‘mentally move in’ and plan their next home with digital furniture and decor. 
• 360-degree photo panorama tours: inviting buyers for virtual viewings onscreen or using a VR headset, from anywhere and at any time.
• Virtual renovation tools: encouraging buyers to create their perfect kitchen by digitally customising the colour and material of cupboards, flooring, benchtop and splashback.

Magazine-quality photography

With strict quality guidelines, there will be no shadow-filled or fish-eyed photography in sight. The focus is on visual clarity, with straight-forward and engaging angles, natural light and colours, and snapshots that give a sense of the home’s true character. 

“Every shot by DIAKRIT’s trained photography team will make the viewer feel more at home in the photo, and the 360-degree photo panorama tours are almost like stepping through the door in person.”

Make buyers feel at home

Better yet, the interactive tools allow house hunters to digitally move in furniture and even renovate their prospective new home, helping them better envisage what the spaces might look like with their personal touch.

“It’s great fun, but also helpful if you struggle to imagine where you’d put the sofa, or what the kitchen would look like with a lick of paint.”

A world-class experience for every property

It’s not just for multi-million-dollar homes –  all of our residential properties will soon use the DIAKRIT tools as part of their marketing plan.

Mr Dobbie says the quality and capability of the new tools will put Barfoot & Thompson’s vendors streets ahead of their competition, no matter their property’s price bracket.

“For example, a smaller home will benefit from photos, tours and floor plans that better demonstrate how the spaces can be used. Or a house with a tired old kitchen or a less than neutral palette can be transformed by a prospective buyer through the virtual styling tools.

Increasing buyer engagement

“With so much more to explore, we are anticipating unprecedented levels of engagement with our listings. People will be able to emotionally connect with a property and imagine what it is like to live there before they walk through the door at the first open home.” 

Online listings using the new photography and tools are already engaging visitors for longer than traditional listings, recording around double the average engagement time. International insights suggest this will increase further still, to as much a four to five times original engagement times.

Far from replacing the traditional open home, potential buyers will be better prepared to make the most of physical viewings, and able to refresh their memory afterwards. 

“All of this increases the likelihood of a successful sale for our vendors.”

Now available at all branches

From 1 August 2018, the full suite of tools is available through all of our branches. Click here to find out more.