Virtual Tours Help Sell Homes
A nicely produced virtual tour is a useful tool to help sell homes. Think of a virtual tour as the digital equivalent of driving by the home to find out if the home looks good enough to warrant making a viewing appointment to see it in person. With a virtual tour, both the exterior and interior are shown by using either high quality photos or video.
Buyers who have time limitations, due to heavy work schedules or family commitments, frequently start their search for a home to buy with looking on the Internet. Other buyers that are moving to the area from another location, search for homes that are for sale on the Internet to get a feel for the types of home that are available, the quality of the area, and the market prices.
Effectiveness of Virtual Tours
- A study conducted by Clickz Stats noted that over half of the adult Internet users search for virtual tours when doing research online to buy a home.
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 79% of repeat home buyers search the available home listings on the Internet. A greater amount of 84% of first-time buyers, who are usually a younger demographic, search for a home to buy by using the Internet.
- The statistics offered by Realtor.com say that home listings, which have a virtual tour, get 87% greater views than listings without a virtual tour. They also note that over half of the potential home buyers (54%) will not even look at a home listing that does not have a virtual tour.
A virtual tour is a key component of the marketing efforts to sell a home. The minimal standard is having a sufficient number of quality photographs that show every part of the interior of the home and the exterior (both front and back) of the home. The photographs need to be well lit and clear. Using bad photographs has a negative impact. Outside photos with sun glare or inside photos with bad lighting or poor exposure, which makes it difficult to see the details, are not acceptable.
A high-definition professionally produced video walk-through that offers a panoramic view of the home creates the strongest positive response. These video virtual tours allow the Internet user to get a feel for what it would be like to live in the home before they make an in-person viewing appointment.
Standard properties more frequently use photographs to create the virtual tour. High-end luxury properties make more use of video virtual tours.
The idea of placing a virtual tour on the Internet creates “digital” curb appeal from the home and, when done well, shows dramatic interiors. When properties listed on the Internet have a virtual tour available, this helps a potential buyer to narrow their search down, making the home-buying process easier.
Sellers of luxury properties want to see significant effort begin made to sell their homes. From the seller’s point of view, a virtual tour, which looks impeccable, is absolutely essential. Sellers expect to be able to find their property listing easily on the Internet and see a very nice representation of it.