woman holding a record
Many of the potential uses for Quick Response (QR) codes in real estate lie in advertising and the ability for an agent to better reach interested individuals. Real estate QR codes can be used on signs and flyers for home listings, which can direct someone to a website detailing more information about a property. Agents can also use them on business cards and similar banners to easily drive customers to their websites. In many ways, using QR codes for real estate means conveying information to clients in a new, concise format.
Quick response or QR codes are graphic images similar to barcodes that are square in shape and can be black and white or include colors. Certain devices, such as a smartphone with a camera, can scan these images and then read them using the software on that device. It then outputs the information to a screen, based on the data used to create the original code. Images, plain text, and website links can be used to create these images, which are passed on once the code is verified.
The potential uses of QR codes for real estate are being developed and explored and largely consist of marketing in many applications. Flyers and posters used to advertise homes, for example, may include an image that, when scanned, redirects a person’s phone to a particular website. This could be a landing web page associated with the sign, providing additional information about the home. Using QR codes for properties in this way allows agents to more easily provide links in physical listings that can take people to digital assets on that property.
Real estate agents can also use these images to better promote themselves and provide clients with additional contact information. A business card, for example, may contain a code that can be read by a camera smartphone. The scan may direct someone to that agent’s social media site or to a collection of listings represented by that agent. This type of promotion has been used in various fields and is becoming more and more popular as the use of QR codes for real estate.
Future real estate QR code apps will likely provide additional advertising opportunities. There are some concerns from agents that these types of promotions are gimmicks and that little real value is found in their use. However, as these codes become more and more popular, different types of data can be transmitted through them, as they make additional information more accessible.