Starting in May of this year, rising interest rates, record-setting inflation and increased home prices have understandably made home shoppers nervous about pulling the trigger on buying a new home. However, the data tells us that home search activity remains strong despite this shift in the market. While homebuilders continue to market and advertise to meet their sales goals for the end of the year, they should consider utilizing solutions like UTour that allow their buyers to control their home shopping experience and commit when ready. 

A “No Pressure” Sales Environment

Home buyers want to tour a new home without a salesperson so they can experience the home on their terms and feel confident before taking the next step. With UTour, potential buyers can schedule a self-tour that fits their schedule and can even book numerous home tours if they choose to. If they have any questions during their self-tour of the home, they can contact a salesperson directly. UTour empowers home shoppers to start the buying process when they are ready, which is more important than ever with the current climate.

Quantity AND Quality 

When using UTour, the quality of prospective homebuyer leads that self-tour homes are much higher than traditional “eLeads” — even if home shoppers are looking more casually for a home. Traditional internet leads only provide minimal information such as a name, an email address and, occasionally, a phone number.

With UTour, when a home shopper clicks the “Schedule a Self-Tour” button on a builder's website or an integrated ILS listing such as Zillow, they are directed to a white-labeled scheduling site to select a date and time to self-tour the home. As part of the self-tour scheduling process, UTour requires each visitor to register and verify their identity with a government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license) or a credit/debit card. In addition, authentication of their mobile phone number is also required. 

This visitor registration allows UTour to provide a comprehensive data record for every visitor including​​ their self-tour history and accurate contact information so your team can connect with them.

UTour also boasts an open ecosystem, meaning that the platform seamlessly integrates with many CRM software systems. When UTour integrates with a builder’s CRM system, Tour and Visitor data can be ingested directly into their CRM system in real-time.

Join the UTour Ranks

Since its inception, UTour has represented the industry’s most robust on-demand self-tour solution and builders have taken notice of this. Many of the top builders in the United States and Canada have utilized UTour to help their customers confidently, and conveniently, access their new homes and have meaningful conversations with a salesperson when they're ready to move forward. With the list of builders continuing to grow to meet the needs of homebuyers in a changing market, utilizing UTour has become a valuable, and expected, tool in the new home sales experience.

Want to hear more and see how UTour can help your communities? Schedule a private demo with our team today.

Most (if not all) homebuilder sales teams have struggled with staffing model home or community sales centers at some point. From sudden departures to unexpected sick days, keeping your model home staffed and ready for home shoppers 7 days a week is no small feat — especially during the unprecedented “Great Resignation” experienced over the past year.

Luckily, model homes no longer have to be staffed daily to cater to modern home shoppers. By enabling self-guided tour technology in your model home, visitors can independently explore without a sales representative present — even before or after normal sales center hours. 

A Positive Experience for Your Shoppers 

One of the key elements of traditional guided model home tours is having the sales representative share details about the home and community while leading the home shopper through the model. This important experience is also included in self-guided tours, although reimagined to utilize technology instead. 

During self-guided tours, your visitors can get more information in a number of ways. You can set up and integrate a virtual assistant using smart home devices in different rooms. This will allow home shoppers to interact during the tour and receive audible answers to their questions. 

Another option is utilizing the self-tour text assistant, which can conduct the same automated, builder-approved Q&A via SMS text on the visitor’s smartphone. This platform also allows home shoppers to continue engaging via text even after the self-guided tour ends. 

The A.I. voice and text technologies are able to connect the home shopper to the builder’s team as requested. And, you can personalize these messages — and see all self-tour data — directly in your UTour dashboard.

A Positive Experience for Your Sales Team

Once self-guided touring is activated in the models and inventory homes, you will also start seeing the benefits it brings to your sales team as well. And being able to utilize self-guided tours in your model home when your sales associates have the day off is only the start of what’s possible with this technology. 

You can also implement self-guided touring before and after standard model sales center hours. The reality is that 10am to 6pm doesn’t work for a lot of modern home shoppers. Increasing your hours of availability can help you cast a wider net and reach a new segment of home shoppers who otherwise may have never visited on site. 

UTour’s fully-integrated platform will also make life easier for your sales managers. They’ll have access to all of your visitor data, which can also be seamlessly connected to your CRM. Even home security will be handled through our integrations with leading security platforms such as Alarm.com, ADT and Resideo. The added peace of mind will be priceless for everyone on your team. 

Because of self-guided tours, your sales representatives will have more time to dedicate to top prospects looking to transact. UTour will take care of new leads entering the sales funnel by allowing them to explore the early stages of the new home sales process independently on their own schedule. When they reach your sales team, home shoppers will have already completed their initial discovery and ready to take next steps. 

Want to hear more and see how UTour can help in your communities? Schedule a private demo with our team today or download our complimentary white paper: “The Guide to Self-Guided Model Home Tours.”

Pre-Covid, home shopping — as was the case with essentially all consumer shopping activities — was shifting towards an on-demand, self-service experience. Roughly two-thirds of new home buyers agreed at least somewhat that it would be easier to unlock properties with their phone and tour them in-person on their own time*, 60% of online chats on homebuilder websites occurred after business hours** and home shopping activity was significant throughout all hours of the day. 

Then the pandemic happened, and this shift went into hyper-speed. An immersive, digital experience when shopping for a home and the ability to gather information on-demand (day or night) is no longer merely wanted; it is expected amongst today’s home buyers.

They demand the freedom and flexibility to be in control of their new home shopping experience and want: 

1. On-demand home information via multiple devices and communication methods

2. Self-direction/self-service convenience on their schedule in a no pressure environment 

3. A no-contact experience due to social distancing constraints, but also for reduced pressure and the ability to more fully self-evaluate new home choices

4. A variety of ways to interact with sales staff on their terms, whether it’s in-person, virtually or via AI automation (chatbots and voice)

Not only do home buyers want this, but so do sales teams. New home sales representatives are fed up with spending countless hours in repetitive “show and tell” interactions in a limited storefront (10am-6pm) and are overwhelmed with the time required to sort out unqualified or truly unmotivated shoppers to focus on real prospects. These customer service minded professionals want to serve the buyer’s needs but can’t work around the clock or be in multiple locations at the same time. They need help with follow-up and nurture activities that can be very time-consuming and inefficient.

This is why The Real-Time New Home Sales Experience Framework is needed. This new marketing and sales framework is designed to reduce friction and address the on-demand expectations of today’s home buyers while supporting the needs of new home sale professionals. 

If you missed our presentation on this Framework at the 2022 International Builders’ Show (IBS), you can now watch the presentation virtually via IBS on-demand, watch our Framework explainer video here and be sure to request your copy of our presentation via our website.

*New Construction Consumer Housing Trends Report 2021

**AtlasRTX National Client Average