AI and Technology

Is Sora Worth the Hype for Real Estate

Sora is OpenAI's AI model for generating videos from text prompts or images. If you have a ChatGPT account (and why wouldn’t you?) you can access Sora from the menu on the left side of the normal interface.

What does it do?

The promise… ‘Bring your imagination to life with text, image, or video’

• Sora creates up to 5 second videos based on your description
• It hallucinates, like most Large Language Models (as we demonstrate below)
• Downloaded videos bear an OpenAI watermark logo
• It might be useful for snippets of marketing campaigns created on the fly

What does it cost?

You can access Sora through a paid ChatGPT account:

• The US $20/month plan allows up to 50 videos per month at 720p and 5 seconds duration 
• The US$200/month Pro plan provides 500 videos, unlimited relaxed (slower) generations, up to 1080p resolution, 20-second max duration, five concurrent generations, and the ability to download videos without watermarks. 

What can you do?

Sora has a friendly user interface, so you can chat to it just like you would with ChatGPT, which is great. 

• You can upload and animate images (without people)
• You can generate in various aspect ratios and durations (5-20 seconds) 
• You can make custom presets for video styles, creating storyboard, remixing videos and more. 

What do we think?

Reading the expert commentary, many people find Sora promising, but there are some general concerns about its usability and value for money. As Sora matures, its quality, speed, and user experience will likely improve, as has been the case with all the AI tools we’ve experienced in the last couple of years. 

What Is It Good For as a Real Estate Agent?

If you ask ChatGPT, you get some seriously less than useful responses.

Who needs, for example, a virtual property walkthrough instead of the real thing? Not a First National agency, please! However, we see it contributing to lifestyle marketing videos, before-and-after visualisations, customised videos for client engagement, personalised videos sent to prospective clients, and (potentially) property marketing campaigns, highlighting neighbourhood amenities. But then wouldn’t a professional agent use a drone when authentic promotion is needed?

How Did Our Test Drive Go?

We imagined being a salesperson/admin based at FN Daystar (Revesby, NSW) wanting to insert some video snippets of local amenities into a property marketing campaign. We prompted Sora to create some video of a nearby riverside park:

‘Show an aerial view of the Georges River in Sydney near Revesby, emphasising the parklands beside the river and families enjoying recreational activities.’

We have to admit that Sora’s first attempt wasn’t bad. See for yourself below:

However, the second option introduced views of a truncated Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background. Great for inflating local property values but a complete hallucination and, no doubt, highly misleading from the consumer perspective (not to mention Fair Trading).

So, we’d say ‘four out of ten’ and ‘buy a drone’.

But what about creating some snips for a tenant onboarding video? This proved more promising. We prompted Sora to create some video of tenants checking a condition report:

‘Show a video of a young man and woman who are tenants, carefully reading a condition report. and comparing it to what they see in the house.’

They didn’t look very happy, so we asked Sora to make them look happier:

‘Recreate the last video so the couple looks happier’

This is where Sora completely forgot its earlier instruction and context, ditching the house and condition report, but taking the couple to a romantic sunset on the beach. 

So, determined to give Sora another chance, we asked ‘her’ to take an unrenovated Queenslander and give her a new, shiny corrugated iron roof (without rust), gleaming fresh white paint, and a handsome garden. The results were ridiculous! (or our prompt needed significantly more engineering).

Admittedly Sora can be coaxed to produce more useful content but it’s far from ‘game changing’ right now.

B minus – Not ready yet. Hallucinates and is easily distracted in class. More effort needed.

Work the Neighbourhood Smarter Using AI with Your Next OFI

Yep. We all know that once a house goes on the market, there’s a statistical likelihood that another home will be listed in that same street within three months. Some say it’s as much as 40 per cent. So, that’s why we always market around our listings to invite the neighbours to see the house and meet the best agent right? 

Maybe.

Perhaps instead of using those generic ‘Just Listed’ cards you’ve been using, how about leveraging AI to create a more targeted campaign and endear yourself to the street’s nosiest of neighbours? US data (NAR) shows agents with genuine neighbourhood connections pull 47 per cent more business than those in the ‘Dear Householder’ camp.

Let’s give something else a try in 2025. Sounds like a catch cry, no? Perhaps you should make it yours!

Try this prompt in your favoured Large Language Model (LLM) and for those of you who don’t yet have one, try one of these. Just Google them and open an account:

• ChatGPT 4o – Best in the GPT family for writing. 

• Llama 3.1 405B – Meta’s largest open source LLM

• Gemini 1.5

• Perplexity

• NotebookLM 

Create an engaging open house invitation letter for neighbours living near [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. The open house will be held on [DATE] from [TIME]. Include these key elements:

1. Acknowledge their role as valued community members

2. Highlight these unique features: [LIST FEATURES]

3. Mention how this sale could positively impact local property values

4. Include this neighbourhood history: [HISTORICAL FACTS]

5. Reference recent local sales: [SALES DATA]

6. Extend a special "neighbour preview" 30 minutes before the official start time. 

Use a warm, neighbourly tone while maintaining professionalism. Keep the length to one page. End with a clear call to action.

Standard approach: 

‘Open House this Saturday! Come see 123 Main Street from 1-4 PM. 3 beds, 2 baths, newly renovated. All welcome!’

AI Generated Approach:

‘Dear Huon Street Neighbour,

As a valued member of our cherished Broadbeach community, I wanted to personally invite you to preview 123 Main Street before we open to the public this Saturday. Having served this neighbourhood for over a decade, I know how much pride we all take in our historic district's character and charm.

This 1930s Colonial Revival, lovingly updated by the current owners, features original hardwood floors, modern kitchen amenities, and the kind of craftsmanship that defines your neighbourhood's unique appeal. As you may know, recent sales on Maple and Pine Streets have demonstrated strong demand for homes with this level of historical integrity, with properties selling at an average of 8% above the asking price.

I'd love for you to join us for an exclusive neighbours-only preview at 12:30 PM before we open to the public at 1:00 PM. It's a wonderful opportunity to meet potential new neighbours and share what makes our community special.

Your insights about the neighbourhood are invaluable – would you consider stopping by?’

Why you’ll stand out:

1. You’re giving the neighbours exclusive access (and yourself to them)

2. You showcase details that highlight your expertise and knowledge (a hint at your sales skills)

3. You reference specifics that generic AI content wouldn’t be able to

Where to use this:

• Neighbourhood Facebook group

• Letterbox drop to all homes in a three block radius

• Personal emails to neighbours you have met before

So, give it a try and tell us about your results at communications@firstnational.com.au