Social Media Sparks New Home Sales for PulteGroup

No longer just a place to connect with friends, post photos and videos and share status updates, social media is now serving a new function for users looking for their dream home. One of the nation’s largest homebuilders, PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) is leveraging live Facebook events to help bring its new communities and homes to meet consumers where they already are: online.

“Social media presented an innovative and exciting opportunity to debut our new community during a time when the sales office was previously closed and maintaining social distance remains imperative,” said Jessica Edwards, Marketing Manager for PulteGroup’s Southwest Florida division. “The greatest asset of hosting a live event via Facebook is the ability for our team to engage with consumers and answer their questions in real-time, where everyone watching can also hear their response and contribute to the conversation.”

Instead of postponing its grand opening event, PulteGroup’s Southwest Florida division hosted a Live Virtual Model Tour on Facebook of its latest Pulte Homes community in Fort Myers, Edgewater at Babcock Ranch, on May 9. During the live hour-long event, sales consultants took viewers inside each of the three new model homes and showcased the community to virtually replicate the experience of an on-site visit.

“At the end of the event, we officially opened for sale and buyers were able to reserve their homesite of choice in the community. Within minutes—while we remained live on Facebook—our sales team received reservations, resulting in seven new home orders. This response and success exceeded our expectations for Edgewater at Babcock Ranch’s online grand opening event,” said Edwards.

With community events happening across PulteGroup’s diverse portfolio of brands, the audience for social media home tours is not limited to any particular buyer group. The company’s active adult brand, Del Webb, recently unveiled its brand-new home designs at South Carolina’s Sun City Hilton Head community on Facebook. Debuting its six new GenYou model homes during a Facebook Premiere, viewers tuned in to learn more about the new innovative designs and preview two freshly decorated models. The team plans to showcase the remaining models over two additional Facebook events scheduled this month.