Clients Concerned About Omicron? 4 Digital Tools for Their Home Search

With the Omicron variant fueling record numbers of COVID-19 cases and causing some schools and offices to once again close and go remote, some clients may be more hesitant about in-person home searches. For agents, remaining connected with clients from afar is still important, as we don't know exactly when this moment will pass and coronavirus concerns will recede.

One of the best things that agents can do for buyers right now is to give them a digital tool that can keep their home search going. Not only will it help prime buyers for the search experience – e.g. nearby comps, ideal search criteria – but it'll help you better prepare for their needs and wants so you can hit the ground running when they're ready to resume in-person home searching.

Here are a few ways that Homesnap can help your buyers keep their home search going, even in the midst of another coronavirus surge:

New advanced search filters give your buyers more options

Homesnap has more than 30 advanced search filters, which put us on par with the other big players in the world of home search. With more granular search filters, buyers can narrow down the homes that meet their specific search criteria – including:

• School ratings
• Stories
• HOA fees
• Parking
• Basement
• Pool
• Waterfront
• View
• Pet-friendly properties
• Price reductions
• Heating and cooling

Have your clients set up a saved search on Homesnap with these new filters now, so they can start exploring their target neighborhoods and get a lay of the land.

Personalize your search even further with Search By Commute and Draw Your Own Search

Your buyers can use Homesnap to compound dozens of filters to find the perfect home to suit their needs, and they can personalize their home search even more using our Search By Commute or Draw Your Own Search features.

Search By Commute allows you to enter important commute locations – such as your office and your kids' school – to triangulate homes that fall in your desired commute times. With Draw Your Own Search, you can actually draw your search area by hand. These features provide added filters so you can provide buyers with more tools to find their ideal home.

Introduce your clients to Snapping, which has three important benefits

One of our consumer-favorite features is the Snapping feature, which allows anyone – agent or consumer – to snap a photo of any home using the Homesnap app and immediately see all the details about it. Snaps are saved in every Homesnap user's profile, so they can reference them later – and they can easily be shared between clients and agents.

Snapping is a fun and unique tool to share with your clients, and they can start using it right away. Think of it this way: Even during social distancing, people are still allowed to go outside and get some fresh air. They can walk around the neighborhood for exercise. Why not tell them about Snapping as a way to keep your home search going?

They can Snap any property – on-market or off-market – and the benefit is three-fold:

1. You'll get a better sense of the kind of home they like, based on the houses they Snap and send your way. This empowers your buyers to take charge of their search.

2. If they snap an off-market property, you can look at the property's Likelihood to List score using Homesnap Pro and see if it's very likely to list. Then, using the unlimited homeowner contact information that's included with your free Homesnap Pro account, you could actually reach out to that homeowner and see if they'd be interested in selling.

3. It keeps your home search and communication going, even during these uncertain times. Your buyers may still be eager to buy, or they may be tentative – but encouraging them to stay in that mindset regardless will make it easier for you to ramp back up when they are ready to start making offers.

Keep sharing homes using in-app messaging

As an agent, you don't want to take a break from communicating with your buyers. Every touchpoint ensures that you're top of mind. By introducing them to in-app messaging in Homesnap, you're creating a safe haven where they can search for homes and share them with you so you can protect that client relationship.

Plus, you'll get alerts when they favorite homes so you can always stay on top of their home search.

Some buyers have been unfazed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and others will be tentative about making offers during another surge. But what you can tell every client, regardless of their attitude, is that it's still important to keep their eyes out, know their neighborhoods, and refine their search criteria so they are ready to hit the accelerator when they feel comfortable. And by keeping that conversation going, you're also staying front of mind – even if you aren't able to meet in person right now.

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.