Table of Contents
- 11 Benefits of Virtual House Tours in Real Estate
- Virtual House Tours Can Help You Grow Your Business
- PhotoUp Makes Virtual House Tours Easy!
Virtual house tours use advanced photo editing techniques and 3D photography to provide a highly-realistic online experience of any property.
Savvy real estate sales professionals know that virtual house tours have many benefits, including better buyer experiences, happier sellers, and faster sales at higher prices.
So, in this blog post, we’ll discuss 11 benefits of virtual house tours in real estate.
Let’s jump right in, shall we?
11 Benefits of Virtual House Tours in Real Estate
Here are 11 benefits of using virtual house tours in real estate sales. And they all have to do with helping buyers decide about a property.
1. Virtual House Tours Provide Spatial Context
Listing photos are essential in any real estate sale. After all, images are what usually first capture buyers’ attention.
But even the most amazing photos of a property can’t fully convey the layout, flow, and spatial context.
For example, consider how photos have the following limitations:
- Photos don’t fully convey the layout and flow of a home from room to room
- Not every angle and perspective of a room can be presented in photos
- It’s hard to judge whether furniture will fit a space simply by looking at photos
- And photos can’t go into detail about a home’s amenities
A virtual tour helps the buyer feel they are in the property. They can control the tour to explore flow, spatial context, and size. And this explains the following statistics:
- 50% of buyers preferred virtual tours over photography alone when searching for homes for sale
- 67% of home buyers said they want a virtual tour when looking at a listing
So, a virtual home tour coupled with a well-done floor plan can give sellers all the information they need to make a well-informed decision
2. Virtual Tours Allow You to Reach More Buyers
A virtual house tour increases the number of buyers you can reach with your advertising.
Different marketing techniques appeal to diverse audiences. Look at the following ways virtual house tours broaden your marketing reach:
- With a virtual house tour, you can allow buyers with health and mobility issues to see the entire property easily
- Buyers with insane work schedules often find it hard to schedule showings – a virtual house tour allows them to see the property any time
- These virtual tours allow you to show the home to buyers in different cities or who live far from the property
- With virtual tours, showings can happen in any weather
And guess which marketing segment loves virtual tour technology?
- Buyers aged 18 to 34, a key demographic, are 130% more likely to book a showing if there is a virtual tour
Every real estate sales professional knows that a larger buyer pool will increase market exposure, meaning more offers at better prices.
3. Give Buyers More Time to Connect
Buying a new home is as much an emotional decision as it is a financial one. So, experienced real estate salespeople know buyers need time to connect emotionally with a property.
Virtual house tours give buyers the time they need to feel out a listing and see if they emotionally bond with the home.
Statistics show that virtual real estate tours dramatically increase access to any listing.
- Targeted buyers have 24-7 access to the property without pressure to view the property quickly
- Real estate listings with a virtual home tour get 87% more views
- Buyers spend 5-10 times longer on websites with a virtual tour than those without
Giving buyers more time with a listing increases the chances that they will form an emotional connection to the house.
4. Virtual Tours Take the Pressure off Buyers
For the last few years, nearly every real estate market has been crazy in terms of buyer demand and the speed of sales.
Many homes sell in hours and receive multiple offers. So, think about the following house-buying realities:
- Most showings last 30 minutes, and follow-up showings can be hard to schedule
- Many potential buyers frequently feel pressured by other people waiting outside to view the house next
- Buyers’ agents often push for a quick decision about the home
- Rushed real estate decisions often result in sales falling apart later
Virtual house tours can take some of the pressure off buyers, allowing them time and space to make informed, serious offers.
5. Buyers Decide What They Want to See on a Virtual Tour
In a virtual house tour, the buyers decide where they want to navigate – they control the pace and direction of the tour. Buyers having control over the tour offers several benefits, including the following:
- Buyers can decide to spend more time looking at the features that interest them
- They can return to rooms and spaces they want to see again
- If they miss a feature or amenity of room or space they can simply change direction
With a virtual house tour, the potential buyers direct their own tour, set their own pace, and decide where they want to go.
6. Virtual Tours Reduce Unneeded Showings
Many buyers will schedule a showing for a home they are quite uncertain about, figuring there’s no harm in looking. But if the buyers can thoroughly walkthrough a home virtually, it would cut back on unproductive showings.
For example, consider the following scenarios:
- Buyers want to know if the kitchen is large enough for their family’s needs
- A couple looking for a new home need to know if the master bedroom will fit their king-size bed
- An interested individual wants to get a better feel for the flow of the home than the listing photos can provide
- A set of buyers are uncertain if the living room will work for their family
Before virtual house tours, all of the above individuals would have scheduled an in-person showing to obtain the information they needed. However, a virtual house tour can give them that information quickly online, saving both you and them time spent on a showing.
7. Increase Website Traffic
This cutting-edge technology can drive massive traffic to your real estate websites. As a result, you’ll attract more potential clients. Consider the following advantages of increased website traffic:
- Listings with virtual tours receive over 40% more clicks compared to those using images alone
- The more clicks, the better your real estate website will rank in search results
- More online visitors translate into more showings and therefore, more offers
Buyers like virtual home tours and you’ll attract more to your listing by using them in your marketing.
It's Time To Level-Up Your
Real Estate Marketing
Capture more leads with virtual tours and single property websites.
8. Increase Visibility on Social Media
An eye-catching virtual tour is more likely to go viral on social media. People will share the virtual tour on social networks and tell their friends about it.
- Search engines use social media signals as a ranking factor
- If your website content goes viral on social media networks, it will positively effect your overall rankings
- And again, the more exposure your listing gets, the more likely a quicker sale at excellent prices
Virtual tours are easy to share on social media, meaning you’ll drive more traffic and appear higher in search results.
9. Using Technology in Your Marketing Will Help You Stand Out
Real estate sales professionals are always looking for ways to differentiate themself from the competition. Leveraging technology in your marketing efforts will get you noticed in at least a few ways:
- As we just mentioned, virtual tours tend to receive more online attention which is good for your business
- Both buyers and sellers will be impressed with your marketing efforts, thereby gaining you more clients
- Virtual house tours are easy to custom brand, making it simpler to promote your services
Impressing clients, increasing visibility, and demonstrating your marketing skills – there really isn’t any downside to using virtual tours.
10. Virtual Tours Are Cost Effective to Create
Many real estate sales professionals mistakenly think that virtual tours are expensive and take substantial time to create. But that’s just an industry myth – these tours are extremely affordable and easy to use.
For example, consider the following information:
- If you work with PhotoUp, a leading virtual tour provider, you can create a virtual tour in as little as 5 minutes
- Worried about the cost? Your first virtual tour with PhotoUp is free and all the others are very affordable
- You don’t need any special training or advanced tech skills – simply take 360 photos and upload them to your PhotoUp account
Thus, creating a virtual tour doesn’t require tons of money or expertise to create. And, if you have the 360 images ready, it’s only a matter of a few clicks to turn them into a meaningful and engaging virtual tour.
11. A Virtual House Tour Will Make Buyers Remember the Listing
Visual information is more memorable. The experience of having used the virtual tour will help your buyers remember more details about the listing. For example, think about the following:
- People are 65% more likely to remember visual information for up to 3 days compared to written or spoken content
- Potential buyers can easily refer back to these online virtual tours if they need help recalling the property’s information later on
- The more a buyer knows and can remember, the more likely they will make a faster decision, meaning quicker offers
As you can see, virtual house tours really help any listing stand out and stay in buyers’ minds.
It's Time To Level-Up Your
Real Estate Marketing
Capture more leads with virtual tours and single property websites.
Virtual Tours Can Help You Grow Your Business
If virtual tours can positively influence a sale, what can this technology do for you as a sales professional and your real estate business?
The quality of marketing materials plays a significant role in the agent selection process of potential buyers and sellers.
Therefore, think about the following three accurate marketing observations:
- The quality of your marketing materials can make or break a real estate deal
- The quality of your marketing leaves a strong, lasting impression concerning your business and sales skills
- Successful real estate sales professionals use the best tools available to sell listings – and virtual house tours are among the best of those tools
Quality, impressive marketing doesn’t just help sell houses — it also helps sell you as a photographer or agent. Your marketing directly reflects your skills and efforts as a sales professional.
Buyers and sellers notice real estate marketing efforts, as this survey result found:
- 25% of home sellers prefer to work with a real estate agent that uses virtual tours for marketing their houses
So, invest in yourself and your business, and always use professional virtual house tours for all your listings.
Now that you know the benefits of virtual house tours in real estate, there’s only one last question – where to go for easy and affordable virtual house tours?
The answer is simple.
PhotoUp Makes Virtual House Tours Easy!
Partner with PhotoUp for easy virtual house tours that can be created in as little as 5 minutes.
And PhotoUp makes using virtual tours as easy as possible:
- No special camera is needed – any 360 camera that shoots JPEGs works
- AI enhancement – integrated AI perfectly stitches your photo edges
- Easy pinning – pinning is easy and simple for each scene
- You select the highlights – you control what the buyer sees and can point out a home’s amenities, updates, and unique features
- White Labeling – white-label your tour for a premium viewing experience
You can also add other tour features, such as floor plans or 3D virtual stagings, to any of your orders.
PhotoUp Virtual Tour Demo
Wondering how to create a virtual house tour? Take a look at this virtual tour tutorial:
As simple as that!
What about the cost?
First of all, our free trial allows you to create a virtual house tour completely for free.
Second, for only $29 per month, you get 5 active virtual house tours and 5 single property websites. Select the Pro package and get 50 virtual tours plus 50 single property websites!
There are many other effective real estate marketing tools that complement virtual home tours. As a full-service real estate marketing service provider PhotoUp also features the following:
- Real estate photo editing
- Virtual staging
- Single property websites
- Custom websites
- Floor plans
- Video editing
- Property flyers
- Custom house portraits
- And virtual assistants
So, why wait? Take the first step toward quicker and better sales today.
Sign up for a free PhotoUp account, and we’ll help you take your real estate marketing to the next level.
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