HOME TOURS FOR TODAY
New ways to connect
Even before the days of social or physical distancing, Alberta builders were working on technologies and systems to conveniently reach customers. Some of these ideas could not have arrived at a better time.
Brookfield Residential piloted its self-guided mytime Tour last year but expedited the launch in Calgary and Edmonton so customers can safely visit unattended move-in ready and show homes.
Interested buyers browse homes profiled on the Brookfield website. Any listing that displays the mytime icon is available to view.
Visitors create an account or sign in and select their preferred date and time, using a credit card as identification. They receive a code, good for their requested hour, to unlock the front door.
During the current pandemic, a Brookfield representative may follow up with a call to screen potential visitors with health-related questions. Once in the unattended home during that one-hour window, a smart speaker will answer questions.
Krista Ellingson, Brookfield’s North American director of communications, says as a master-planned community developer, mytime is an entrusting gesture of being an open and vital part of the community.
“It’s important to be accessible and available. We’re here for the long haul,” she says.
For buyers waiting to take possession, customer care agents are conducting walk-throughs with an interface called I See What you See.
“Our agents are walking through with the customer waiting at home, zooming in to show them everything they want to see,” Ellingson says.
Edmonton’s Sterling Homes launched its self-showing system a month ago. It began as a convenience measure but is now about safety.
A limited number of spec homes and show homes throughout the city, listed on Sterling’s website, are equipped with lockboxes.
Customers register on the website, upload a selfie and an image of their driver’s licence before getting a code, which is live for an hour once activated. An online concierge gets an alert when a customer is in the home.
There are a limited number of access boxes, so customers can also make arrangements online for a staff member to unlock the home
in advance.
The staff member will then return after the scheduled self-showing to wipe it down and lock it again.
Erik Eisen, director of sales and marketing, says shopping for a new home might be a low priority at the moment but clients have reached out because they have a time crunch and don’t have the option to wait.
“We’re sensitive about serving our customers any way we can in this turbulent situation. There might be occurrences where someone might take advantage, but we’re not anticipating that,” Eisen says.
Calgary multi-family builder Battistella Developments moved to a digital model of presenting condos in 2018.
Instead of building show suites and models, it poured marketing money into the creation of high definition, virtual reality tours.
“It’s like going through a video game with detailed shots of views from each floor, renderings and even a model that can be spun around,” says Chris Pollen, director of sales and marketing, who says the digital assets helped sell condos to out of town buyers.