What Buyers and Sellers Must Know About Virtual Home Tours

Originally posted on 10/26/2020.

Virtual Home Tours have, for years, been an essential part of the tools that real estate professionals have used to help buyers find their perfect home. International buyers looking to relocate to another country or invest in a vacation home, out-of-state investors and home buyers, military personnel relocating. They have all benefitted from being able to preview potential homes virtually before buying.

Virtual tours are also a great marketing tool for listing agents, enabling them to present a home in a much more engaging way than by still images and text alone.

In 2020, during the pandemic, we have experienced a massive spike in the use of virtual home tours. Pre-pandemic, roughly 2% of all home tour requests were for virtual tours. Recently, that number has spiked to approx 33%. Purchases, where the buyer has only seen the home via a virtual tour, have also increased significantly.

When travel restrictions and social distancing are necessary, it is easy to understand why virtual tours have gained popularity. It is essential to realize that while virtual tours are vital to buying and selling real estate, they are not the only option buyers and sellers have.

However, virtual tours are trendy right now, so let's look at five important "secrets" behind virtual tours to understand better how they impact buyers and sellers in the current market.

Virtual Tours Have Evolved and Continue To Do So

Perhaps one of the main reasons buyers didn't request virtual tours as often before the pandemic was that they were not widely available. Many agents may have found it an overwhelming or unnecessary task to create virtual tours.

Social distancing and the need to keep clients safe changed all this. As virtual tours became an increasingly important part of the real estate process, defining what constitutes a virtual tour expanded.

Traditionally virtual tours are comprised of 360-degree photos that enable you to see a space from all angles. The images allow the viewer to look all around as well as up and down. It is possible to create a digital model of a home, almost like a dollhouse. These 3D tours make it possible for a potential buyer to walk through the home virtually. In many cases, these 3D tours may also be virtually staged.

Walkthrough Virtual Tours or Online Walkthroughs are when an agent, a selling (buyers) agent or the listing agent, will walk through the home, holding a video camera. They will often be referred to as a Virtual Open House or an Online Open House if they are live.

Virtual Showings is the term used for a scheduled, one-on-one virtual showing of a home. These events enable the agent to give a personalized tour of the property, almost like an in-person showing.

A Virtual Tour Does Not Have To Be Impersonal

It is unquestionable that Virtual Tours, no matter the format, is a far better way to showcase a home than the traditional photos. Virtual Tours are also an incredible tool for personal connection. Not quite as good as a face-to-face, but almost.

Virtual Tours can give the prospective buyer a feel for the property, inside and out. Done right, you can easily imagine yourself in the home and the surrounding area. Live Virtual Tours also allow you to ask questions, hear if the floor is creaky, have your agent zoom in on details, etc. A well planned live Virtual Tour will also allow time for a walk of the neighborhood.

As a seller, Virtual Tours offer you an unparalleled opportunity to showcase your home in a way that no other media can thus attract more potential buyers.

While we see an increase in buyers putting offers after having only virtually toured homes, most buyers would still want to see a home in person before putting in an offer. The value of virtual tours for these buyers is that they only need to tour the homes they are genuinely interested in physically. This saves time and also reduces potential exposure to COVID-19. This, of course, also means that sellers are less exposed to the risk of COVID-19 with fewer buyers touring their home.

It is vital to take appropriate precautions during these pandemic times when the buyer is ready to tour the home in person. AT the very least, buyers should wear face coverings, and hand sanitizer should be made available. Buyers, sellers, and agents should disclose if they have a temperature, think they may have contracted COVID-19, or have been in contact with any infected persons. Only one person, the seller or the agent, should turn on lights, pull back curtains, and open doors and cupboards to minimize surface contact.

Virtual Tours May Help You Reach Your Goals Faster

Virtual Tours can significantly cut down the time it takes before you find the home of your dreams. In 2019, buyers spent an average of 10 weeks, viewing ten homes before they found the right home. Thanks to virtual tours, buyers can reduce that time significantly as they don't have to set aside time to drive to see all the homes they are interested in.

To sellers, this means that virtual tours are more critical than ever as homes with virtual tours receive more showings than homes without. One study indicates that homes with virtual tours achieve between 2 and 3% higher sales price than homes without.

So, buyers who enjoy viewing homes from the comfort of their living room are not alone and should know that many other potential buyers may be virtually touring that same home at the same time. As a result, working with a real estate agent who can assist in submitting a firm offer is more important than ever. If you are a seller, don't be tempted to entertain as many offers as possible. It may backfire. Working with an agent can significantly reduce your time on the market and improve your net proceeds from your property's sale.

Virtual Tours May Not Always be Your Best Option

Creating a virtual tour can be pricey and time-consuming. Producing a 3D tour using platforms like Matterport or Immoviewers can cost hundreds of dollars. Adding virtual staging will further increase the cost. Without marketing the virtual tour, it has no value to your seller. This, in return, adds several hundred dollars to the cost of marketing the home. Even inexpensive options like a Video Walkthrough still require time and effort on behalf of the seller (if they still live in the home).

These costs mean that it is not cost-efficient for sellers and listing agents to offer virtual tours on all listings. As a buyer, you should not discard those homes. Ask your agent to do a virtual showing for you if you are not able or interested in attending an in-person showing.

Virtual Tours Are Always One of Your Options

At least with us, it is. If a home doesn't offer a Virtual Tour, we will always do a live video tour of any home for our buyer clients. Just call us, and we will guide you through the process.

1. Rocket Mortgage - https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/evolution-of-home-showings-during-covid-19
2. Radio Iowa - https://www.radioiowa.com/2020/07/28/trying-to-sell-a-house-ui-study-finds-virtual-tours-will-bring-more/
3. NAR Showing Guidance During Reopening - https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/Showing-Guidance-During-COVID-05-14-2020.pdf
4. NAR 2020 Member Safety Report - https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2020-member-safety-report-08-31-2020.pdf
5. NAR 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers - https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2019-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers-highlights-11-21-2019.pdf
6. Realtor.com - https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/how-to-host-virtual-home-tours-almost-as-good-as-the-real-thing/