What’s new with our WhatsApp video call service?

Communication channels have changed dramatically over the last three decades. Letters bashed out on old-fashioned typewriters, calls to landlines and fax machines were very much the order of the day as recently as the 1990s.

The mass production of computers and advent of the internet, however, took us firmly into the digital realm, but as an industry bound by legal compliance and with someone’s most valuable asset at stake, a degree of formality has always been important.

For many property professionals, embracing instant messaging, texts, social media and even emails have been a step too far into the informal – communication that feels unprofessional and flippant for such a serious life milestone.

WhatsApp: integral to personal and professional lives

Perhaps that’s why Viewber has found many of our existing clients didn’t realise we offered live WhatsApp calls from any given property. WhatsApp started out as an instant messaging service to rival texts but has quickly developed into our preferred method of communication – words, emojis, gifs, documents, voices or video. What’s more, it’s all free.

Agents and auctioneers are gradually realising the power of alternative communication, putting their fears of unprofessionalism aside to embrace modern methods of contact and information sharing. In fact, in February 2023, a secure instant messaging platform specifically for estate agents and the wider property sector was launched. Called Tappter, it aims to connect buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants with agency teams in a way that replicates existing instant messaging services.

The preferred communication method in estate agency

Property professionals nervous about the informal nature of services, including WhatsApp, needn’t worry. Statistics from yourbusinessnumber.com found 90% of clients prefer instant messaging chats as a way to communicate with estate agents. After all, it’s the communication method most people know how to navigate and use daily.

As a digital-first business, WhatsApp has been an integral part of our business offering for a number of years. Our live WhatsApp video calls started gaining in popularity during the pandemic but their benefits have long outstayed Covid restrictions.

Viewber wanted to measure how important live video calls were among property buyers and tenants, and our survey findings make for compelling reading. When asked if seeing a property via a live video tour would be useful, 95.3% of home movers who lived far away from a house or flat they were interested in said it would be.

Viewber also found that some home movers would actually buy or rent a property on the strength of a live video tour alone. In fact, 18.2% of purchasers would buy a property having had a live video tour but not actually seeing the home in person, while the same was true for 25% of tenants.

Benefactors of WhatsApp video calls

Viewber’s live WhatsApp video calls can be booked by estate and letting agents, property managers, auctioneers, private and social landlords, and investors. Seeing the property live streamed can aid all sorts of sectors – and of course being able to look over a property from your desk, with a live viewber at the property streaming to you before travelling to see it, whether to sell, let or manage, is a real boon….so who might benefit:-

Relocators: very few people relocating to the UK or movers setting up home some distance away can repeatedly travel in person for physical viewings, so live video calls are the next best thing. Live videos help people to shortlist properties, make well-informed offers and even buy without visiting in person.

Investors: yields-chasing investors will be driven by figures, rather than where’s closest to home, and that often means considering properties at the other end of the country. An investor taking part in a Viewber’s live WhatsApp call is an excellent position to assess condition and potential from afar, without spending time and money seeing an unviable prospect in person.

Property managers: see a property to check if it’s worth taking on first, then keep an eye on the condition of a tenanted or vacant property – crucial for property managers – especially if the home is out of geographical catchment. A Viewber’s WhatsApp video call is an efficient way to perform an inspection, qualify maintenance issues and check on repairs without leaving the office. A property manager can direct the Viewber to where they need to see, get them to zoom in on certain areas and report on more ambient aspects of the property, such as odours, noise and temperature.

Time-pressed movers: not every home mover can take time out of busy professional and family life to visit multiple properties but the app-nature of WhatsApp allows them to take live video calls anywhere and anytime. When you combine this facet with Viewber’s seven day a week availability, with evening, weekend and Bank Holiday appointments, agents can facilitate every viewing request.

How Viewber’s live WhatsApp call works

• Book a Viewber to visit a property using our online dashboard, requesting a live WhatsApp video call
• Specify whether you’d like the Viewber to collect keys and let themselves into the property
• Take the call wherever suits you best – at your desk, while ‘out of office’, at home or even on holiday
• Set up a WhatsApp group or create a video call link so multiple people can join the video call, if required
• Accept the video call from the Viewber, who will already be at the property
• Assess the property in real time, directing the Viewber to where you want to go

Statistics about WhatsApp usage

If you’re still hesitating about conversing with client using instant messaging services like WhatsApp, it’s worth bearing in mind the following statistics:

• WhatsApp is the most important app among Brits^[1]
• WhatsApp gains 500 million new users every two years^[2]
• As of July 2021, WhatsApp became the most popular mobile messenger app and the third most-used social platform in the world^[3]
• Most WhatsApp users are between 26 and 35 years old, closely followed by 35 to 45 year olds^[4]

We’d love to discuss the property possibilities when you utilise a WhatsApp video call. Contact the Viewber team to explore the options.

[1] Audience Project

[2] VentureBeat

[3] startupbonsai.com

[4] Statista 2021