Apartment hunting in the age of social distancing just got simpler and safer.
Brivo Smart Apartment, a security solution for multifamily properties, now offers Self-Guided Tours — a trend that’s been fast-tracked due to COVID-19.
“People used to not think twice about meeting a leasing agent to tour an apartment, but that’s changed,” says Steve Van Till, Brivo CEO. “This pandemic is going to affect how we live, and shopping for homes won’t be an exception.”
In other areas of the market, home listing site Zillow saw its 3D home tours jump 191% in the first half of March. Real estate brokerage Redfin saw a 494% increase in video home tour requests during that same period.
Beyond public health concerns, Self-Guided Tours offer some big perks that in-person showings can’t. Here’s how Smart Apartment makes modern leasing simpler and safer than in-person showings.
“This pandemic is going to affect how we live, and shopping for homes won’t be an exception.”
How it’s simpler
For starters, Self-Guided Tours are more convenient. Property managers obviously don’t have to be present, freeing up a lot of their work time. For apartment hunters, it eliminates the pain of schedule coordination. In fact, more than 40% of renters said they’ve passed on a property because they couldn’t find a convenient tour time, according to research from Zoby Analytics.
With Smart Apartment, renters go through the screening process and then get an access code via a text message or email. And you don’t have to download any apps, either.
After the tour, property managers can review analytics showing where people lingered during the tour.
At face value, Self-Guided Tours are safer because they no longer require strangers to interact. While thankfully, those meet-ups seldom turn dangerous, it is a risk for many showing agents. With Smart Apartment, safety goes far beyond that.
How it’s safer
“For example, some property managers might worry about damage to the apartment if they’re not there to keep an eye on things,” says Brivo CTO Jeff Nielsen. Smart Apartment’s video cameras, which are also capable of image capture, offer a discreet solution.
The technology not only protects the individual apartment, it protects the entire building. Self Guided Tours are a full end-to-end solution for multifamily properties. It’s cloud-based security from the front gate to the front door.
The Self-Guided Tours is the latest example of Brivo’s holistic and futuristic approach to property security, Nielsen adds.
“Our goal is, and always has been, to provide seamless security,” he says. “Providing that sends a clear message to your residents that you value their safety and quality of life. Increasingly, that will be the key to resident attraction and retention.”
For more information about Brivo Smart Apartment, click here.