America’s real estate industry is thriving and minting money round the clock. A whopping 106,548 real estate brokerage firms and over two million real estate agents are active in the business where demand is ever-present – 842,000 houses were sold in 2020 alone! In fact, CareerBliss even called the job of being a real estate agent the ‘single most satisfying job ever.’ 

But, being one is not a cakewalk. With so many brokers and agents in the market, competition is cutthroat. The real challenge for real estate brokers is to keep up or even be a step ahead of this constantly growing business. 

If you’re a real estate broker, technology can be a key differentiator for your business if you know how to make it work in your favor. Yes, you can set up your social media account and spruce your website, but these are innovations of the last decade. You can’t unleash your full potential as a broker if you have not joined the bandwagon of luxury real estate virtual tours yet.

What’s a Virtual Tour in Real Estate?

Now more than ever, when movement is more limited compared to before, real estate business people must hunt for alternative ways of engaging with their clients. The best and most practical way of doing so is adapting virtual reality.

Virtual tours for real estate agents have the capability of marketing a property succinctly to clients by making them experience a prospective house, location, or space remotely.

Real estate agents too can give their clients a thorough VR house tour without being physically on the property’s location. Your home buyer can explore every room and every corner of the house with 360° movement. As an agent, you can market the property from every perspective and angle, from the ceiling down to the floor. 

You can control the navigation and move through the actual space however you and your client want. This immersive experience allows potential customers to visualize the house as if they were there. 

Real Estate Virtual Tour Video by Numbers

A 360 VR house tour is now a necessity for real estate businesses. Remember that the lesser effort your potential buyer exerts, the higher the chance of you closing a deal is.

Here is a list of the top trends observed in three-dimensional tours and why as a real estate agent, you should add it to your arsenal:

• 95% of shoppers and buyers go to the internet to look for properties.
• 77% of clients prefer a virtual tour. Only if they are happy with the remote inspection, they request an onsite house tour.
• 71% of millennials approve of the use of a virtual tour. Most millennials are digital natives and can easily adapt to the changes in technology. They also show eagerness to try alternate ways of doing things like using virtual reality compared to the older generation. Most of them prefer and opt for personal house tours.
• 68% of property shoppers would like to “see” how their furniture and house would look and feel before making a new investment.
• 62% of Americans decide on a real estate agency to help them find their future property only if 3D virtual reality tours are included in the services.
• 51% of shoppers close the final sale on a property they found online.

How Do You Do A Virtual Home Tour?

A virtual walkthrough real estate tour has several perks for you and your client. Of course, the preparations fall on your shoulders, and it is a new practice that you should acquaint yourself with. 

As an agent, how to make a real estate virtual tour can be pretty intimidating but don’t worry; it’s easy if you follow the right steps.

There are several ways to do a virtual home tour:

• Online Walkthroughs – the most effective and easiest way to do so is by grabbing a real estate 360 virtual tour camera. It’d help if you had your smartphone and your sales skills to make this happen.

All you need is to schedule a virtual meeting with your client, either using a video conferencing application or simply going live on your social media. As the real estate agent or the seller of the property, you create a live video by holding your smartphone and walking around the house or space. As you move and continue with the virtual tour, you can describe the property’s current setup and make subtle recommendations like how a particular room can also be converted into an office, gym, or playroom. 

This virtual showing also provides your client the opportunity to ask questions as you take them on tour around the house. This is done in real-time.

• Online Open House – similar to the concept of an online walkthrough, an online open house usually has several audiences virtually touring the property at the same time. Everyone is invited to view your virtual tour. They can join or leave the group video call anytime they please. You can use Skype, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and other video calling software for this.
• 3D Tours and Virtual Staging – this methodology requires the skills of professional virtual tour developers. This incorporates 360° images that you can see in all available angles allowing your potential buyer to look in every possible direction. Shoppers can check the exteriors and interiors of the property thanks to these 360º renders. 

With a software program, all these 3D visualizations can be put together to produce a digital model of the property. With virtual staging incorporated, buyers can decorate the rooms with digital fixtures and even change the wallpapers. This gives them precise and realistic expectations of the property. 

Do Virtual Tours Help Sell Houses?

Virtual tours have changed the game in the real estate industry. It has become a marketing strategy, and you would have to agree that it benefits both the real estate agents and the buyers.

Using video can help close property sales, so yes, it helps sell houses. This technology makes real estate agents’ efforts worthwhile, and for potential homeowners, the process of finding a property an easy and pleasurable experience. 

Here are the other factors why virtual tours help close the deal:

• This is the best way to showcase any property in its entirety.  VR tours immerse viewers into the properties, highlight the space, light, furniture, and materials while at the same time allowing you to add information or answer your client’s questions.
• It is easy to share. Any potential customer can click on a link or scan a QR code with their smartphone and will jump into a Virtual Tour. 
• It is time-efficient. By having virtual tours, only interested clients will continue communicating with you because they already have a visual idea of the property. As an agent, you know that your time is not wasted on shoppers who are not really interested. You and your client do not need to go through the inconvenience of making your schedules meet to do an actual house tour. It is a versatile and win-win solution for everyone.
• Real estate virtual tour cameras are cost-effective – you can start with your smartphone and upgrade your equipment as you go. You don’t need to have high-end gadgets right away to conduct and create a virtual tour. You will even start saving money when you incorporate virtual tours into your marketing strategy in the long run.
• You pique the interest of the buyers. The traditional way of posting images is not enticing enough. By creating an interactive and engaging way of showcasing the house, you get a firm hold of your potential buyer’s interest. You become a source of information and subtly influence them that this is the property that they need and want.
• You leave no room for misunderstanding – virtual tours double as a live Q&A, so as the agent, you can answer inquiries, lower hesitations, and set proper expectations for your clients. There is no room for miscommunication. You don’t need to worry about phrases like “based on photos” and “I thought…”, etc. Your clients can see the actual property as if they were on location.
• You help turn imagination into reality – in virtual tours; you can guide your client to see how their property can look once it is complete or once they change the paint from blue to beige. You help them have a vivid and accurate visualization of the property, assuring them that what they like it to be is possible. This promotes an emotional connection with the property.

How Much Does A Real Estate Virtual Tour Cost?

Real estate virtual tour pricing is flexible. If you plan to do it on your own, there is nothing to spend since you will be using your phone to do the virtual tour. However, it can be inconvenient and time-consuming, and unless you have good camera skills, the end result may not be realistic. 

The expenses are minimal if you prefer to purchase accessories like a tripod and some ring lights to help you do a real estate virtual tour.

What’s the easiest way of going ahead with a virtual tour of a real estate property? You can enlist the services of Plus Render, a company that provides high-quality architectural visualization services that are cost-effective, extremely realistic, and effort efficient.

Conclusion

Buying properties is never an easy decision for prospective homeowners and comes with a mixed bag of emotions. As a real estate agent, let your client feel that their decision-making and choices are on-point. Assure them this is the right move for them.

By walking them through a virtual tour, you help ease their anxieties and hesitations. They start considering you to be a reliable and innovative agent who is supportive of the clients’ wants. 

This builds a relationship founded on truth, communication, and trust. Eventually, it leads to a satisfactory deal for all parties involved.

Plus Render’s highly realistic virtual real estate property tours can be your best friend in this regard. Head on to their website and request a quote for your first virtual tour today – Plus Render’s top-class service and excellent pricing will make you go back for more every time you host a virtual tour for your clients.