While many agents are starting to use the advanced 3D virtual tour technology, others don’t have the means to incorporate it, given the restrictive measures local governments have taken to protect their citizens. Still, agents are finding ways around the obstacles they face.
Instead of relying on advanced proptech to conduct virtual tours, real estate professionals are now using the everyday technology that’s already at their disposal.
Through platforms like Facebook, FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom, real estate agents have been able to quickly adapt to the times without having to worry about draining their marketing budgets or struggling to learn new technologies.
If you haven’t conducted a virtual tour in the past, you may be a bit nervous to try it out. But you don’t need to be a videographer to create something useful for your potential customers. Of course, you may need a few takes or practice runs to get it right, but we’ve asked agents who’ve already gotten the knack of it to share their insights into how to create a strong virtual tour.
Remember, virtual tours are all about overcoming the limitations of still photography and highlighting the flow of your properties. So, before you create your virtual tour, make sure you are familiar with the layout of the home and consider what information about the home buyers are unable to see from your listing photos.
To enhance the quality of your tour, be sure to clean the lens of your camera and turn your phone to airplane mode. You don’t want calls or messages interrupting your footage.
As you present rooms from different angles, slowly move the camera up and down to show off the homes’ fixtures, floors, and finishes. Make sure you describe everything the camera sees and highlight specific features that may be of interest to buyers.
If you’re unable to make it to your properties, you can provide your sellers with these tips. Once they’ve created the video for you, you can use basic video editing tools, like iMovie, to add a voice-over track.
Adding a voice-over to the virtual tour will enable you to describe the property, so potential buyers can further understand what they’re looking at.
There’s certainly a learning curve involved in creating virtual tours. The more practice you have, the better you get. However, there’s no need to fret over the quality of your first few virtual tours.
Many real estate professionals believe that virtual tours coupled with COVID-19 addendums will lead to a rise in individuals buying a house sight unseen. Others view these virtual tours as a stopgap mechanism that’s unlikely to increase the number of homes purchased during these tough times.
Time will tell how virtual tours affect real estate transactions. But for now, buyers are still searching for properties and browsing the listings they see online. Any method you can use to market and show your listings virtually will get potential customers’ attention.
Your virtual tours may not lead to sight-unseen purchases, but they will motivate buyers to come to view your properties once the nation can return to business as usual.
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