Making Real Estate More Real: How to Humanise Your Property Brand

The property industry is currently facing a perception challenge. Research from The Governance Institute of Australia and Roy Morgan’s Image of Professions survey shows that real estate continues to rank low on trust, ethics and honesty, often grouped with professions that attract significant public scrutiny.

This perception doesn’t reflect the values or intentions of many professionals working in property today. Rather, it’s shaped by long-standing industry stereotypes built over years of transactional communication and outdated sales approaches. While the industry has evolved, these legacy impressions have been slower to change.

The good news is that public perception isn’t fixed. With the right brand strategy, property companies can communicate their values more clearly, present themselves in a more human, empathetic and authentic way, and rebuild trust with the customers they want to reach. Here’s how.

‍

‍
1. Personality

Scroll through any real estate website and you’ll see stunning shots of properties, accompanied by a slew of stats: price, weeks on market, square metres, distance from schools and shops, and long, long lists of amenities. These numbers and features are essential, but without introducing customers to the people behind the transactions, your company can feel like a faceless entity.

So put your team front and centre of your brand. Tell customers about their journey, their values, their approach, their experience and what they love about their job, then package it all up in an engaging set of bios and videos. (After all, these are the people buyers or sellers will be trusting with their hard-earned money.) The more you do so, the more people will feel reassured that you’re a safe pair of hands – and can guide them safely and smoothly through the process.
‍

2.Credibility

In the war for attention, some companies lean on puffed up claims, offering “amazing returns”, “exceptional client experiences” and “unmatched off-market discoveries”. As attention-grabbing as these claims are, they’re often not backed up by any tangible proof, which only adds to customers’ wariness of being misled.

A more credible approach is to stick to real case studies and real results, as real estate coach Adrian Bo recommends. That way, you can show people you know what you’re doing and have the solid track record to do it. Tell the full story of how you helped a client, starting with the problem they faced, the solution you delivered and the results it achieved, accompanied by authentic photos and genuine quotes. And do so in an understated way: no buzzwords, no exaggerations, just a simple demonstration that you made someone’s life easier.
‍

3.Empathy

Property branding almost always starts with the properties, rarely the customers. Many brands sell their spaces with extraordinary care and detail, but don’t take the time to tap into the (often anxious) mindset of the buyer, renter or investor. 

After all, securing a property can be an emotional rollercoaster: there’s plenty of choice, plenty of jargon and a scarcity of clear advice. Then there’s the high stakes nature of it all: where you choose to rent, buy or invest will ultimately influence your quality of life for months, years or even decades to come.

These big emotions aren’t to be ignored. If you can build a brand proposition that really speaks to these emotional needs (i.e. confusion, stress, anxiety) and offers a strong antidote (i.e. clarity, peace of mind, rigour), customers will feel much more confident about your service. In fact, behavioural science firm System1 has discovered that emotional ads can achieve up to 6x the brand uplift and 20% more recall than functional ads. Which just goes to show: empathy is always a good strategy.
‍

4.Transparency

Last but not least, be very transparent about what customers can expect when they work with you. Some companies are light on details when it comes to their process, pricing and services, preferring to keep their copy general and high-level. However, this ambiguity can make customers feel uncertain, as if you’ve got something to hide.

A simple way to address this is to create a methodology, which breaks down how you help clients stage by stage. At each step, clearly define what you’ll do (e.g. search for properties), and what outcomes you’ll provide (e.g. a property shortlist, conduct initial inspections, etc.). If you’re feeling particularly bold, attach clear costs to it all: how much do steps 1 and 2 cost, what about half the process, and what about the full journey? It may seem labour intensive, but it means that everyone is on the same page from day one.
‍

Matched: Property That Puts People First

Matched are a buyer’s agency who do things differently, prioritising customers’ needs over the pursuit of profits. The problem was: trust in the category had been weakened by inexperienced competitors who often make grand promises, but deliver not-so-grand results.

To win over skeptical buyers, we built a brand that was less transactional and more personal. We framed Matched as the agency that takes a tailored approach to property, matching people to the place that’s right for them (and only them). We gave them a transparent methodology, the Matched Experienced™, which highlighted the care and consideration they give clients throughout the buying process. And we put their three founders, Bill, Eva and Hassan, at the beating heart of the business, highlighting their skills, experience, values and (disarmingly charming) personalities. All of which gave them the human touch they needed to succeed.
‍
View the Full Matched Brand

‍

‍