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WHAT IS A REAL ESTATE CARAVAN? DO I NEED ONE?

By Trish Willis | Member of the Property Institute of NZ (IPAC)

A real estate 'caravan' is a marketing term to describe when a team of real estate agents visits your house at the start of the sales process.

The listing real estate agent brings other members of their agency along to view the property to get their input when it comes to assessing its strengths and appraising its value and to benefit from their contacts with potential buyers.

Other agents will probably know what their buyers are looking for and may know of someone who might otherwise have missed that property during their search.

While open homes are a powerful marketing tool, a caravan can be a help if buyer turnout was low on open day.

Benefits of hosting a real estate caravan

There can be good value in doing a caravan as real estate agents will feed back to each other what they think could be achieved in terms of sale price.

You are less dependent on just one agent determining what this could be. Of course this can go either way price wise.

While this might seem time consuming for estate agents, it does give them a chance to get the real look and feel of your property. The benefits of doing this can be worth the half hour it generally takes.

Agents differ in their opinions on the helpfulness of caravans with one camp valuing the input of other agents while others don't appreciate bringing in what they perceive as potentially competing agents.

Real estate agents are generally courteous when viewing properties and it is pretty standard for them to all leave their shoes at the door on arrival. They can sometimes whiz through so sometimes refreshments are offered to keep them there longer.

TIP: It can be a little overwhelming if you are there when the agents are, so best to go and have a coffee! They don't take long.

Digital presentations another option for real estate teams

Instead of doing a caravan walk through, the listing agent might give their team members a virtual walk through in the form of a digital presentation in the office.

They will explain the ins and outs of your property features, benefits, or challenges. Real estate agents often like to get feedback from their teams about where they see the value, which can be a check on what the listing agent values. They will generally share this information with you.

There are pros and cons of either way but the most important decision is determining which method you think will work best, and the difference it could make for you and your home sale.

Ask yourself the question: Do you think real estate agents are more likely to like it, and show their buyers because they have actually seen it?

If you have selected a competent real estate agent, they will be able to advise you well.

PROS & CONS OF OPENING YOUR HOME TO A CARAVAN

PROS

Real estate agents visiting your home in person and getting a feel for it will deliver a more accurate property appraisal in the age of computer algorithms generating online appraisals. Accurate appraisals reduce the risk of a vendor underselling their property.
Agencies that use caravans benefit from their agents viewing many properties to gauge true value rather than relying on neighbourhood statistics. This helps in matching buyer and vendor expectations.
The more people in the team the more buyers on the database.
Caravans are a tried and trusted agency process.
Sharing of homes and buyers by agents may make it easier to find the right buyer for the right house.
They work best if only agents actually interested in the house are on the caravan.
A team that includes less experienced agents may benefit from those agents bringing in buyers who are the best match.
When the market is slow more real estate agents mean more potential buyers. The more an agent sees and learns about a house, the more information they can tell people who might be interested.
There is a lot to be gained by sharing ideas with other agents which caravanning allows.

CONS

The vendor has a relationship with one particular salesperson who they chose because of experience or a trusted relationship and may not be expecting other agents to get involved in the process.
Other members of the team can now more easily view listings digitally without the need for everyone to visit a house.
Some believe they are no longer relevant in the age of the internet.
It could feel intrusive for a vendor having several people coming through their house critiquing it and looking at their things.
Some real estate agents don’t like doing them and if they have visited several properties in a day, may not even remember yours.
The involvement of just one agent could be preferable for properly managing the sales and marketing process and negotiation.

Preparing for a team viewing

While having a group of real estate agents trudging through your property can make you feel like you're in a fishbowl, it's a worthy exercise if it gets more agents promoting your house to home buyers.

It's important to prepare for their visit just as you would for buyers, so they get a positive first impression. The agents will be the ones marketing it to buyers and negotiating a sale price for you.

However, usually a team visit happens when the property is photographed and ready to go.

When you interview agents, prior to listing, find out what method of team viewing they recommend.

Wise Up NZ Awarded Most Reputable Property Advice Hub NZ 2021

Page updated November 15 2022 by Trish Willis | Member of Property Institute of NZ (IPAC)

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