For the last several months, Vancouver Realtor Ian Watt has been blogging his daily thoughts about real estate by video.

It’s a really bare bones production – he just props up a small camera on his dashboard and records himself as he drives to and from his listing appointments.

If you haven’t seen them, it’s one of the most interesting uses of video in real estate I’ve seen. You can see these video diaries on his web site at ianwatt.ca. Go watch a few and then come back.

Now, part of the attraction certainly is that Ian has a dynamic personality that’s just made for video (and, as a fellow Canuck, I get a kick out of the accent); but, more deeply, I think it’s because while watching his videos you get the feeling you’re getting a sneak peek into his world, which builds a kind of intimate connection with you and me, the viewers. You really feel like you’re in that car with Ian and he’s talking directly to you.

Most importantly, the reason Ian’s videos work is they hit on three important things in online video. They are short, entertaining and they are spontaneous; there’s no script, so it’s authentic and Ian gets to demonstrate his expertise in real time.

One of the big takeaways I got from the Digital Video Summit and REBarCamp last week in New York was that the real estate industry has perhaps been led astray in their thinking around online video. Too much of the focus to date has been on using video to market listings on the web, but the reality is that may not even the best/most economical use for video in real estate.

Video is much more than that and through video blogs, video chat, neighborhood tours, market reports, it is a powerful way to build connections with an audience online; whether that be colleagues, clients or consumers.

Just ask Ian Watt.

By the way, if you are interested in trying your hand at videoblogging; Ian is hosting a competition through Strutta.com for the most original real estate video blog. Details in the video, of course.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2799802[/vimeo]

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Turnhere, the California based video production company announced today that it has signed a deal with the California Association of Realtors (CAR) to provide video production services to CAR’s membership.

Exact details on the nature of this deal are unclear; I’m not sure whether it’s an exclusive supplier relationship, a discount on services to CAR members or some sort of affiliate program.

In any case, Turnhere has been on a bit of a tear lately, this announcement follows deals last week with Coldwell Banker and Chase International Real Estate.

They, along with WellcomeMat (and to a lesser degree, Reallyo), are on the forefront pushing online video solutions to Realtors. Each has a slightly different model, but there’s more than enough room in the industry for all parties as far as I’m concerned.

This announcement is further proof to me that 2007 will be the year that video finally kills the virtual tour. And good riddance.

When you see what can be accomplished with video (check out Doug Heddings’ masterful WellcomeMat performance if you haven’t already) – it’s immediately clear that video is such an intimate and rewarding medium for selling real estate compared to a washed out, blown out 360 picture or a weakly edited slide show.

Brokers not already looking to provide a video solution to their agents should seriously start looking now. Having a trusted, quality video solution (any of the companies mentioned above are good candidates) in place will not only be a huge competitive advantage in the short term, but an absolute necessity in the long.

More from Turnhere’s press release:

“Offering our members additional marketing tools such as online video will bring added value to their client offerings and provide them with an exciting new way to showcase their properties to prospective customers,â€? said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco.

“Part of the appeal of online video is presenting customers with a visually-engaging format to get an advance look at a property before visiting the location,â€? said Bradley J. Inman, founder and CEO of TurnHere. “By joining forces with the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, we are able to provide its members with an online video resource that will help them better serve the markets they represent.â€?

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