WellcomeMat, the real estate video tour platform, released a new version of their software today. Rudy from sellsius and I had a chance to preview their new release this morning.
The new WellcomeMat refocuses the site around the idea of channels, and now allows anyone to create their own real estate channel. The new channel manager page lets you manage, activate, update and edit all your videos from one location, which you can push out to a single branded video page that includes your contact information (should you want it to appear).
I love this option as it now gives all Realtors a single place where they can aggregate their video listings. WellcomeMat even designed a video widget that lets you show all your videos from the comfort of your sidebar. (The example below is some of Doug Heddings of True Gotham‘s listings)
But they don’t stop there. A number of new video player options included in this release means Realtors now have even more choices when it comes to taking their videos with them. WellcomeMat makes it even easier to post individual property videos on sites like craigslist, MySpace or even on a personal blog posting.
The guys from the Mat even let it slip that WellcomeMat videos will soon be able to be streamed from Realtor.com – which is a huge win for them and for all video-wielding Realtors. Now you’ll be able to add your video walkthrus to all your listings on the biggest real estate portal in the US (see Hitwise’s State of the Industry).
I asked WellcomeMat about pricing for this service (which is currently free) and they said eventually it will be around $30 per video per month – I believe that this is prorated, meaning if the property sells in less than a month, you are only charged for the number of days the video was live.
For the time being, while it’s still in beta, there is no rush to implement monthly fees and any videos uploaded before the switch will be grandfathered in at zero charge.
In my mind, this release crowns WellcomeMat as one of the heavyweight players in real estate video. Any other challengers to the title?
