Marketing Masterclass: What agents can learn from selling The Block's House #3

Promoted by Little Hinges.

The cultural phenomenon that is The Block took things up a notch this year, heading to the countryside for the show’s first ever tree-change season.

But the homes aren’t the only things that are getting a makeover, with House #3 showcasing an innovative marketing campaign designed to attract international buyers.

House #3’s sales team, headed up by consultant property strategist and advisor Raman Johal at Luxe & Co, with Sean Parker from Macedon Ranges Sotheby’s International Realty, in partnership with Little Hinges, delivered a masterclass in how to generate buzz before an auction.

Pairing a 3D, millimetre accurate virtual tour with videos, imagery and a dedicated social campaign, House #3 has become one of the most viewed properties in the show’s history.

House #3 has just sold for $4.25m, generating a profit of $170k for Sharon and Ankur. It's not only a great result for buyer Adrian Portelli (who has announced he will be raffling off the property), it also pushes House #3 into second place above House #2, which generated a $169k profit.

The property has seen over 100,000 virtual inspections over the course of the month-long campaign, with 17,000 people spending more than 2 minutes inspecting the house in detail, and 13,000 visiting the tour multiple times.

Raman Johal of Luxe & Co., said “Sharon and Ankur knew that House #3 would have significant appeal for an overseas audience, and wanted to open up their property to as many potential buyers as possible.

Ms Johal said, “We knew a 3D, millimetre accurate virtual tour, combined with video and imagery, would allow buyers to inspect every inch of the property, which is not always shown in detail on TV. Production and filming finished prior to the house being auction-ready, so what you’re seeing in the virtual tour is an accurate snapshot of the property as it is today.

“We wanted to partner with the best in the business to deliver a digital inspection experience that would showcase the property, inside and out, offering potential buyers and TV audiences unprecedented access to House #3. We needed someone who could represent us in the best possible light, making Little Hinges the only choice.”

Little Hinges CMO, Mike York, said, “House #3’s marketing campaign is a masterclass in using technology to open a property to buyers, wherever they may be in the world.

“The great thing about this marketing campaign is that it doesn’t only apply to luxury properties. The principles of generating hype, opening up the property to as many potential buyers as possible, and creating a suite of assets ranging from virtual tours to video and photography, can be used by any agent, for any type of property.”

While your property might not have the benefit of an international reality show behind it, agents can still learn from the marketing masterclass that the team behind House #3’s marketing campaign have undertaken to get Sharon and Ankur the win:

Generate hype before the property goes on sale with exclusive sneak peeks and content designed to get buyers excited. Add a QR code with a link to your virtual tour on your signage and on social media to let potential buyers know something big is coming.
Tap into buyers from all around the world - some of your highest bidders might be in the market from interstate or overseas. Raman knew that House #3 would have considerable interest from overseas, and the data from the Little Hinges insights portal confirmed this. Ms Johal said, “without the virtual tour, we wouldn’t have seen prospective buyers from almost every continent, including the US, UK, India, New Zealand and South Africa.”
Give prospective buyers the right content at the right stage of the buyer journey - don’t make them wait until the open home to start inspecting. Adding a virtual tour to the marketing mix means buyers can engage with the property when they are ready to - any time of the day or night.
Buying property is a big investment – buyers might need to inspect the house multiple times, take measurements and share it with their friends and family, but this extra due diligence means they feel more comfortable making their best offer.
Leverage the networks of not only the agency & buyers advocates, but the sellers as well. While Sharon and Ankur have the benefit of a large social following, sellers have their own engaged networks and should be encouraged to share their listing across social media. House #3 used video, gifs pulled from the virtual tour and language that emphasised the exclusive nature of the content to drive excitement and interest.

To inspect The Block’s House #3, visit the Domain property listing or visit the virtual tour directly here.

About Little Hinges

Little Hinges is Australia’s largest and fastest growing virtual tours platform. We combine world class Matterport 3D technology with our nationwide team of experts and our world-first analytics and insights portal, and have a client list that includes some of the biggest names in property. Since launching in 2020, we’ve helped over 4 million people inspect property digitally.