Yet for years, the real estate industry’s default standard is expecting this decision to be made using just photos, a floorplan, and a short description.
This reliance is built on long-held, comfortable assumptions.
We assume mystery creates enquiry.
We assume holding information back generates curiosity.
We assume vendors only care about keeping marketing costs down.
But what if those assumptions are no longer true? And what if they are actually breeding distrust instead of building good faith?
Why We Asked The Questions
At Diakrit, we’ve spent more than two decades helping agents market property. During that time, we’ve seen incredible innovation in technology, media content and consumer behaviour globally. Yet some of the conversations around property marketing haven’t changed.
“Vendors won’t pay for video.”
“Virtual tours were only good in COVID.”
“The less information I share, the better.”
“I’ll lose the listing if I go in with more than photos and floor plans.”
We decided to stop guessing and ask the people who drive the market: the buyers deciding whether a property is worth their time, and the vendors deciding which agent deserves their listing. Not what agents think matters and not what suppliers want to sell.
Together with Stone Real Estate, we commissioned independent consumer research to better understand what consumers value, where property marketing falls short and what helps vendors and buyers move forward with greater confidence.
The findings show that property marketing is not merely cosmetic. It can influence trust, action and the perceived value of an agent. And a lot of industry assumptions around property marketing are, in fact, just that.
Consumer Expectations Have Moved Faster Than The Industry
Today’s consumers are deeply informed, digitally savvy and have grown accustomed to instant access to information, faster decision-making and higher standards of online experience.
You’d expect the stakes to be even higher when someone starts looking for a home or someone to represent the sale of their home.
Yet, many property campaigns still default to a basic, cookie-cutter formula of listing with only photos and floor plans. The digital channels have changed, but the actual consumer experience has not always kept pace.
One of the clearest messages from the research was that buyers feel under-informed.
You can research a $50,000 car, a hotel room or even a pair of running shoes in greater detail than they can often research a $1.5 million home.
That gap doesn’t create curiosity. It creates uncertainty.
The findings revealed that after photography, property videos and virtual tours matter most to buyers in the decision-making process—even ranking higher than floor plans.
Immersive marketing content helps buyers understand the layout, flow, condition, and lifestyle of a property before attending an inspection. The more confidence they have online, the more confident they are taking the next step.
This doesn’t just improve the buying experience. It also improves the quality of enquiries agents receive and the perception the selling agent has of the buyer.
Vendors Are Ready For More
The data also proves that vendors are ready for a shift:
41% note that the inclusion of marketing tools like virtual tours and property video positively influences their final decision of who to list with.
57% are openly willing to pay extra for premium marketing investments because they believe it delivers a superior financial result.
The biggest surprise? The findings show that vendors are placing a higher importance on the agent’s marketing strategy than experience when deciding which agent to list with.
That does not mean experience or volume of sales has suddenly become irrelevant. It means experience alone is becoming harder to differentiate.
In fact, 58% of vendors told us a marketing strategy plays a critical role in deciding who they choose to sell their property.
When your marketing plan looks identical to your competitor’s once the logos are stripped away, it means there’s little points of difference to help you stand out. When there’s not much in it between you and a competing agent, commission becomes easier to negotiate.
“Your current listings have already become your benchmark,” says Alexandra Warren, Australian Country Sales Manager at Diakrit. “By the time you walk into a listing presentation, vendors have already formed an opinion about the standard they can expect. Your role isn’t to convince them of your value; it’s to reinforce what your marketing has already communicated.”
Changing The Narrative From Expense To Investment
Vendor-paid advertising remains an uncomfortable conversation for many agents, but vendors may be more receptive than agents assume when the value is clear.
When presented with a campaign that extended beyond photos and floor plans to include property videos, virtual tours, drone imagery, and interactive tools, vendor sentiment transformed:
- 72% believed the agent would attract significantly more potential buyers.
- 62% believed the agent could help sell their home faster and more smoothly.
That’s an incredibly positive message for agents. It tells us vendors aren’t simply looking for the cheapest campaign; they’re looking for confidence and how each element of marketing leads to a better result.
“One of the biggest myths this research challenged is that vendors only care about cost,” notes Warren. “They don’t; they care about confidence and getting the best outcome. When agents explain how immersive, interactive marketing content is designed to attract, educate, and qualify buyers, vendors are far more willing to invest. Leading agents already understand that marketing is a trust signal, a conversion tool and a visible demonstration of the standard they bring to every campaign,” says Warren.
How To Use The Research To Support Business Growth
Going beyond the basics isn’t about cosmetic extras. The commercial value of comprehensive property marketing comes from the friction they remove, the uncertainty they eliminate, and the structural questions they answer for a buyer before they visit the home.
The research gives agents evidence to have stronger marketing conversations, demonstrate value and turn online presentation into a genuine point of difference.
Confident vendors list sooner. Informed buyers act faster.
Our hope is this research encourages agents to see marketing not as a cost to minimise, but as a strategic investment designed to deliver a better outcome for the vendor, the agent, and the industry.
Download the Diakrit Consumer Research 2026 report here.