Today with several groups and health authorities recommending and requiring physical distancing measures to reduce the health risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be wondering what alternatives you have for face-to-face Open Houses.
We wanted to share the news that you can now host a Live Stream Open House through Paragon.
All you need to do is arrange a live stream of a home and share it with specific clients in a given time frame.
To add a Live Stream Open House to your listing, the process is exactly the same as a regular Open House but the end result is slightly different.
In Listing maintenance, go to Add/Edit Open House. See below.
Once you have selected that option, you will get the same screen as when you add an Open House. However, now you will have to add a Live Stream URL as well as an appropriate date and time for sharing your new Live Stream Open House.
This is different than a Virtual Tour you may already have for your listing. You will need to use a system such as Zoom or another live meeting software you feel would be appropriate for your clients to use. You just need to be mindful of the fact that your clients will have varying levels of technical expertise and set-ups.
With a Live Stream Open House added, you will then see that a date is set but the slight difference now is you will see the Live Stream URL at the end of the confirmation page.
This data will be visible in Paragon and will be sent to REALTOR.ca for the public to see.
To see Live Stream Open Houses, you will need to search slightly differently and make a few changes to the results to see a Live Stream URL provided within Paragon.
First from the large icons at the top of Paragon you will need to go to Specialty Search and choose Tour and Open House.
With Tour and Open House open, click on the magnifying glass at the end of the line titled Tour/Open House – Live Stream.
With this window open, check off Yes in response to being able to see the URL.
Enter any other criteria and date range as needed.
With the results now open, we still do not see the Live Stream URL. This must be added to be visible. Click on Customize and then Fields.
In the next dialog box, select Tour / OH Fields. Now on the left-hand panel, you will see some new fields called Tour/Open House – Live Stream URL. You will need to check it off and Add it to the right-hand panel. After this is added, hit Save.
You will now see the Live Stream URLs when you perform this search now and in the future.
You can see the full Live Stream Open House details by going into the property and selecting the report called Open House (Detail).
As always, if you need help with this new feature in Paragon, email our HelpDesk and they can help you through the process. They can be reached at helpdesk@fvreb.bc.ca or 604-930-7626.