Table of Contents
- What Are Virtual House Tours?
- Why Virtual House Tours Are Crucial to Sell Homes in 2024
- Sell More Homes With Virtual House Tours
- Fast and Easy Virtual House Tours With PhotoUp
Virtual house tours have become a mainstay in real estate marketing, and buyers expect to see them on every listing.
These immersive, interactive 3D tours are popular – 67% of home buyers want a virtual tour when looking at a listing.
In today’s digital marketing age, virtual house tours expand a real estate sales agent’s reach to more potential buyers.
This article will explore in detail why virtual house tours are crucial to selling homes in 2024.
But first, let’s better understand these tours and how they are used.
What Are Virtual House Tours?
Virtual tours employ advanced 3D imagery and editing techniques, providing potential buyers with a realistic digital representation of almost any property on various devices, such as smartphones and laptops.
Immersing buyers in a property, a virtual house tour allows them to visualize themselves within the space.
Buyers now expect these virtual tours as they simplify selecting properties for physical viewings.
Offering numerous advantages and conveniences, virtual tours provide:
- 24/7 accessibility to properties without the need to schedule physical visits
- Sales agents can highlight a property’s key features with accuracy
- Expanded reach to a broader audience of potential buyers and their agents
- A significant reduction in disruptions for sellers by minimizing the necessity for in-person showings
The increasing adoption of virtual tours by real estate professionals stems from their marketing effectiveness and popularity among buyers and sellers alike.
In fact, a survey revealed that nearly 50% of potential buyers would consider making an offer on a home based solely on a virtual tour.
To learn even more about the advantages of these tours, read this article on the 11 benefits of virtual house tours in real estate.
Now that you better understand virtual house tours let’s explore why they are crucial for home sales in 2024
Why Virtual House Tours Are Crucial to Sell Homes in 2024
Here are 4 reasons virtual house tours are essential for real estate sales. And they all have to do with helping buyers decide about a property.
1. Virtual House Tours Offer Spatial Context
Every real estate sales professional recognizes listing photos‘ pivotal role in any property sale. After all, images are typically the first thing that captures the attention of potential buyers.
However, even a property’s most stunning photos have limitations and cannot fully convey its layout, flow, and spatial context.
For instance, photos alone can’t convey all the aspects of a property:
- Photos can’t fully capture the layout and flow of a home from one room to another
- Not every angle and perspective of a room can be adequately presented in photos
- Assessing whether furniture will fit into a space is challenging through photos alone
- Photos are unable to provide detailed information about a home’s amenities
A virtual tour addresses these limitations by immersing the buyer in the property. It enables them to control the tour and explore the flow, spatial context, and size, providing a more comprehensive understanding.
This is reflected in statistics that show 50% of buyers prefer virtual tours over photography alone when searching for homes for sale.
Therefore, combining a virtual home tour with a well-executed floor plan equips sellers with all the necessary information to make a well-informed decision.
2. Reach More Buyers With a Virtual House Tour
A virtual home tour expands the audience you can target with your advertising efforts.
Various marketing techniques appeal to different demographics. Consider how virtual house tours enhance your marketing outreach:
- Virtual house tours accommodate buyers with health and mobility issues, enabling them to view the entire property easily
- Buyers with hectic work schedules find it challenging to schedule showings, but virtual house tours allow them to explore the property at their convenience
- These virtual tours facilitate showcasing the home to buyers in different cities or those residing far from the property’s location
- Regardless of the weather conditions, virtual tours enable showings to occur seamlessly
Moreover, a significant demographic that embraces virtual tour technology is buyers aged 18 to 34, a key market segment. They are 130% more likely to schedule a showing if a virtual tour is available.
Every real estate sales professional understands that expanding the buyer pool enhances market exposure, leading to more offers at better prices.
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Photos. Floor Plans. Virtual Staging. Home Tours. Listing Websites.
3. Virtual Tours Help Buyers Emotionally Bond
Purchasing a new home involves both emotional and financial considerations. Recognizing this, seasoned real estate professionals understand that buyers need time to connect emotionally with a property.
Virtual house tours allow buyers to explore a listing at their own pace and gauge whether they develop an emotional attachment to the home.
Statistics demonstrate the significant impact of virtual real estate tours on listing accessibility:
- Targeted buyers enjoy 24/7 access to the property without feeling rushed to view it quickly
- Real estate listings featuring a virtual home tour receive 87% more views
- Buyers spend 5-10 times longer on websites featuring a virtual tour compared to those without one
Allowing buyers more time to engage with a listing increases the likelihood of forming an emotional bond with the property.
4. Virtual Tours Take the Pressure off Buyers
In recent years, nearly every real estate market has experienced unprecedented buyer demand and rapid sales pace.
Consider the following realities of purchasing a house:
- Showings typically last around 30 minutes, making it challenging to schedule follow-up appointments
- Many potential buyers feel pressured by others waiting outside to view the next house
- Buyer’s agents often advocate for quick decisions regarding the home.
- Hasty real estate decisions often lead to sales falling through later on
Virtual house tours offer a solution by alleviating some pressure on buyers. They give buyers the time and space to make informed and serious offers.
Are you curious about what a virtual house tour looks like? Take a look at this sample tour:
Sell More Homes With Virtual House Tours
If virtual tours can positively impact a sale, consider the benefits this technology can bring you as a sales professional and your real estate business.
The quality of marketing materials plays a pivotal role in the decision-making process of potential buyers and sellers when selecting an agent. Therefore, consider the following three key marketing insights:
- The quality of your marketing materials can significantly influence the outcome of a real estate transaction
- The quality of your marketing leaves a lasting impression regarding your business and sales expertise
- Successful real estate professionals utilize the best tools available to market listings, with virtual house tours being among the most effective
Quality, impressive marketing not only facilitates the sale of houses but also enhances your reputation as a photographer or agent. Your marketing directly reflects your skills and dedication as a sales professional.
Both buyers and sellers take note of real estate marketing efforts. According to a survey:
- 25% of home sellers prefer working with real estate agents who use virtual tours to market their properties
Therefore, invest in yourself and your business by incorporating professional virtual house tours into all your listings.
Now that you understand the benefits of virtual house tours in real estate, the only remaining question is: Where can you find easy and affordable virtual house tour solutions?
The answer is simple.
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Capture more leads with virtual tours and single property websites.
Fast and Easy Virtual House Tours With PhotoUp
Working with PhotoUp places effective and high-quality virtual house tours in your hands in as little as 5 minutes.
PhotoUp makes using virtual house tours as easy as possible:
- No need for a special camera – any 360 camera that shoots JPEGs works
- AI enhancement – integrated AI perfectly stitches your photo edges
- Pinning is a breeze – pinning is easy and straightforward for each scene
- Call out the highlights – you control what the buyer sees and can point out a home’s amenities, updates, and unique features
- Simple White Labeling – white-label your tour for a premium viewing experience
Additionally, you can add other tour features, such as floor plans or 3D virtual stagings, to any of your orders.
There are many other practical real estate marketing tools besides virtual home tours. As a full-service real estate marketing service provider, PhotoUp 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 using virtual house tours for 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.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post on why virtual house tours are crucial to selling homes in 2024. You should also check out these other related resources, too:
