A panel of estate agents recently participated in a webinar to discuss the benefits of livestream open house viewings.

The webinar, part of the Kerfuffle podcast hosted by Simon Whale, included input from Matt Nicol (Director of Nicol & Co Estate Agents), Andrew Craig (Founder of Andrew Craig Estate Agents), Richard Poole (Partner at Michael Poole Estate Agents), and Andrew Dickinson (Owner of Oakwood Homes). Joel Smith, CEO of livestream viewing app Gavl, also took part in the discussion.

The agents discussed the impact livestream viewings have had on their businesses and whether fewer physical viewings will be needed post-pandemic, alongside providing advice to agencies thinking about adopting livestream technology.

As part of the discussion, the agents took turns to explain how livestream viewing technology is improving their business, providing some eye-opening figures in the process.

Andrew Craig, whose 10-branch agency operates across the North East, explained the details of a recent lettings property which attracted 10 prospective renters to the livestream viewing, five of which went on to make an offer.

He added that being able to answer all viewers’ questions at once, such as whether the property has a dishwasher and if the landlord accepts pets, is a huge benefit.

Meanwhile, Matt Nicol, who runs a three-branch agency in the Midlands, said his firm would need more staff to carry out viewings if it was not using livestream viewing technology.

Pre-pandemic, his firm employed four members of lettings staff to deal with less stock than three members of staff are now dealing with thanks to the efficiencies provided by online open house viewings.