Hard Hat Tours to Virtual Tours: How One Apartment Community Powers Its Pre-Leasing with Renderings

When pre-leasing began for The Osprey at Lake Norman in May 2020, the problem was clear: more renters were demanding virtual touring options due to COVID-19.

Hard hat tours are a basic need for all multifamily developments. But with a pandemic making face-to-face meetings more of a challenge, some renters have turned to virtual tours during their home search.

Switzenbaum Management, who manages The Osprey in Mooresville, NC, needed to find an alternative way to give tours that were both safe and motivated renters to lease.

Blending Drone Footage with Renderings: A Dark Horse for Pre-Leasing

To address the challenges brought on by COVID-19, the developer, Atrium, enlisted the help of LCP360 to create a 3D rendered Panoskin tour, flat renderings and a 3D animation.

The virtual tour has been active since spring 2020, and has been a driving force for The Osprey’s pre-leasing efforts.

“With COVID-19, these 360 tours and the animation video have been essential to our leasing team,” said Chandler Burckbuchler, Social Media and Marketing Manager for Switzenbaum Management. “For those who are potentially not comfortable coming to tour in person, as well as people who are relocating from out of state, the 3D tour and animation have definitely been incredibly helpful tools.”

In the animation, the 3D renderings are superimposed over real drone footage to capture the true environment of the apartment community on Lake Norman. The goal of the video is to engage renters and generate excitement.

Blending drone footage and 3D elements is typically unheard of, as most developments opt for fully rendered animations. However, the combination of the two types of media has proven to create a truly unique cinematic experience.

“Renters have been excited about the animation video,” said Burckbuchler. “The video especially has been a tool that we've seen generate a really favorable response.”

Burckbuchler says combining the drone b-roll with renderings has helped renters visualize the grounds, see the placement of the buildings around the lake, and show them what their view might look like realistically.

Leveraging Renderings to Achieve Maximum Results

Having the right tools to pre-lease is only the beginning—knowing how to leverage those tools can be the difference between whether or not you meet occupancy goals.

In order to build visibility as well as boost interest prior to The Osprey’s opening in November 2020, Switzenbaum Management is spearheading several key marketing initiatives:

• Offering the 3D virtual tour on the website, as well as other ILS websites, including Apartments.com
• Leveraging the renderings in advertisements
• Offering both virtual and hard hat tours based on renter comfort level
• Prioritizing prospect follow-ups after a guided tour
• Playing the 3D animation on a loop in the leasing trailer

Additionally, the built-in analytics have helped with measuring what areas of the community resonate most with renters, Burckbuchler said.

“It’s very helpful to see what people are responding to from the backend,” she said, citing that the custom elements and ability to test different scene orders on the virtual tour has helped with performance.

With virtual tour analytics, the marketing and development teams have been able to fine tune their strategies by tracking impressions, scene views and clicks on the virtual tour.

The Osprey at Lake Norman will open fall of 2020 and has already leased their first units in advance of their November delivery.

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