There is an opportunity to sell real estate right now, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic stress that has come with it. Millennials in particular remain interested in real estate for sale; in fact, 96% of millennial investors report real interest in investing in real estate, in contrast to Boomer investors at 83%. But the fact is that you probably aren’t the only person making these considerations. Others also want to sell to those millennial investors, and that means that you need to do something to stand out. If you’re a qualified realtor, you know that under normal circumstances you would probably be hosting an open house and having groups of people see the property in person. But that simply isn’t an option right now, which means that you might need to think outside the box. With that being said, there are some key steps that you can make to improve your real estate listings and ensure that people notice them.

1. Use Social Media

Social media is key to invigorating real estate listings, especially in an era in which a lot of people want to begin their hunts online. Even before the pandemic, people liked looking on social media for listings, and that practice has only increased. Now, there are social media groups, especially on Facebook, for realtors who can easily share their listings for people actively seeking out properties. But there are also neighborhood and community groups that you should become a part of. While some have rules against promotion of any kind, others welcome advertisements from local professionals, which of course is what you will be. Someone may be looking for a property, or know someone looking for a property, and stumble upon your listing without even actively searching for it. You have no idea how much traffic social media can pull; and for that matter, a lot of it is completely free. Oftentimes an initial post or listings costs nothing, though you can often pay fees to further promote it.

2. Offer Virtual Tours

Right now, everyone is afraid of catching the coronavirus, and therefore we’re all more careful about going out in public than we were mere months ago. Advertising that you’re offering virtual tours can really take down a lot of boundaries for people. For that matter, many who would generally dismiss a listing outright may feel that they might as well check out a virtual listing. What begins as a casual look at real estate listings could very well lead to a sale down the road. And again, the input for you as a realtor is relatively low. All you really need to do is film a video of a property and post it on Youtube or another video streaming site. Of course, some buyers may be interested in a live virtual tour; but thanks to video technology, this is fairly easily as well. Think about offering this on your listings; it could make a major difference.

3. Hire A Professional Photographer

Again, now more than ever, it’s important that real estate listings are shown off to their best possible advantages. Therefore, you as a realtor should seriously consider hiring a professional photographer who knows everything about staging and lighting a listing properly. While you may fancy yourself a good photographer, you should very much consider that a professional photographer has the experience necessary to make a difference and create not only interior appeal, but curb appeal as well. Yes, this requires some financial investment from you, but that investment could very well pay off in the long term.

4. Use Email Lists

There are so many ways through which realtors can collect emails. Once you have those emails, you need to let the people who have those emails know about your current listings. Take advantage of email lists and periodically send mass emails about your listings. Now, don’t overdo it; you need to make sure that people don’t feel so overwhelmed that they unsubscribe from your list. But this can be a greatly effective way to reach a lot of people at once.

It’s difficult to be a real estate agent today; but with a few tricks, you can still reach the right buyers at the right time.