Why 3D Virtual Tours Are Loved By Home Buyers, Sellers, and Agents

Many real estate strategies are effective. Private shows, open houses, direct mail efforts, and the like each have their own advantages. That is why they are used. But that doesn’t mean they are equally useful for everyone involved. Add a 3D virtual tour to your listings and you have a solution that works for both your buyers and sellers – and for you. Showing a home in person to potential buyers has its benefits. You can walk them through a home, point out any interesting features, and assess whether the property meets their needs and wants. Buyers love private viewings because they can get a sense of what it would be like to live in the home and see many details of the property with their own eyes. It’s efficient for sellers, but having their home ready for strangers to invade at any time is a bit of a chore.

Open houses are a great tool for agents to generate potential leads. Sellers agree with them because they feel effective and because it looks like a broker is earning their commission. But an open house is not convenient for sellers; it’s more like a home invasion. And for buyers, an open house isn’t as personal as a private visit.

A 3D virtual tour, on the other hand, offers benefits and alleviates the worries of all parties. And now, at a time when agents are adjusting to house orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an efficient and engaging tool is just what an agent needs in the toolbox.

What is a 3D virtual tour?

A virtual tour (like the Matterport 3D Showcase) is an authentic, immersive digital twin of a physical location that can be streamed over the Internet and viewed on almost any computer or mobile device. By adding sound effects, music, narration, text, measurements and more, you can provide your customers with a fully interactive and totally immersive 3D experience from the comfort of your home or the corner of a coffee.

A 3D virtual twin from Matterport, for example, allows you to navigate through a property step by step, floor by floor and room by room. Using infrared scanning technology, a Matterport tour collects precise visual and spatial data to create a 3D representation that guests can interact with. You can capture 360 ​​degree views of all enclosed spaces, click on markers that highlight property features, measure walls, doors and other surfaces, leave feedback and ask questions.

You can embed the tour on your website, share it on your social media platforms, and embed it in your Google business listing. 3D virtual tours are fully detectable and increase your website’s SEO value. You can also interact with your customers, answer their questions and give them a real-time personalized “journey” of the property.

With a 3D virtual tour, you can give your clients a realistic idea of ​​what a property looks like in high-definition, high-resolution images long before they decide to see it in person.

Benefits for buyers and sellers

Your customers appreciate the benefits of a 3D virtual tour. This is evidenced by the fact that over ninety percent of homebuyers use the Internet as part of the home buying process. And more than half of them buy homes they find online. Young buyers are particularly interested in the use of virtual reality in real estate (71% of millennials, who constitute the majority of the market) and more than three quarters of buyers want to see a virtual tour of a property before buying it. actually see. Additionally, more than sixty percent of Americans choose a real estate agency that offers 3D virtual tours. Why not? Homes with ads with a 3D virtual tour sell faster and at a higher price than homes without.

A few other reasons why buyers and sellers love 3D tours?

• Save valuable time for both buyers and sellers. Buyers spend less time visiting properties that are ultimately not suitable for them; Sellers spend less time tidying up their homes every time a buyer wants to visit, sometimes only to find that the buyer wasn’t all that interested. Instead, buyers want to get a more accurate impression of a home before viewing it, and sellers want to waste less time on viewings that don’t produce results.
• Buyers can take their time viewing a home. With a 3D virtual tour, there is no rush. And no rush means less fear. No one stands over their shoulders as they make their third trip to inspect the kitchen or master bathroom. Instead, buyers can virtually visit a home in the comfort of their own home and at their own time. And they can communicate with their agent during or after the trial.
• A virtual tour is like a full time open house. Although a 3D virtual tour is available 24/7, it is captured as a single event. This means that their home is available to buyers at all times, and yet sellers don’t have to prepare or try to plan all those visits.
• Furnishing a home can be less tiring. Sellers don’t have to worry about cleaning and furnishing their home as often as they could if their listing didn’t include a 3D virtual tour (which can really help if a family still lives in their home while it’s for sale). There is no need to keep your home in top condition for frequent visits, one of the most stressful components for many sellers. A virtual tour relieves some of that stress and increases the likelihood that buyers visiting the property will take it seriously.

Agent Benefits

When it comes to 3D virtual tours, there are many benefits to being an agent. Imagine having a home that you’ve listed that can be viewed day and night at any time of the day or night, not just when you and the seller are available to schedule a viewing or an open house. Or you can screen or pre-qualify a buyer for a property before scheduling a viewing. When buyers decide to visit a property in person, they are already “prepared” for the occasion.

There are more benefits. Here are a few.

• A 3D virtual tour also saves time for an agent. How many times have you taken a customer to see a property only to find out quickly enough that something turned them off? Something that would have ruled out the visit altogether if they had known in advance? A virtual tour acts as a filter to match the right buyer with the right home for a live screening. This can be particularly useful if the property is in a remote rural area. This leaves less time for deployment and planning and more time for communicating with your customers.
• You increase your online engagement. You get a stronger online communication channel with your customers when you offer a 3D virtual tour. Buyers can comment on every aspect of an offer during their virtual visit. You can answer their questions and comments in real time, but it’s not necessary. Instead, you can reply to your customers when you are available. If they have a question during the midnight 3D tour, they can contact you and you can answer them the next day. With a virtual tour you have also invited your customers to participate online. Once there, you can redirect them to other resources, including your website.
• 3D virtual tours bring results. Studies have shown that the use of virtual technology for the real estate sector has produced positive results. Keep in mind that a list with a 3D virtual tour can generate four times more leads and acquire a greater number (49%) of qualified leads. Your online listings get 40% more clicks when they include a 3D tour. Add to this 95% more telephone inquiries and 65% more inquiries via e-mail. It is excellent value for money. It doesn’t stop there. Younger shoppers are 130% more likely to book a show if they’ve seen a virtual tour first. And nearly seventy percent of all shoppers would like to see more virtual tours. Oh, what about your return on investment? Four weeks or less.

A solution for social distancing

Another benefit of 3D virtual tours for buyers, sellers and agents is when it is necessary to adhere to social distancing principles, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. If not, how do you highlight a house when the coronavirus is on the loose and a stay-at-home order is in place?

Of course, stunning professional images (such as those produced by high dynamic range photography) are an essential part of your print and digital efforts. Direct mail campaigns for real estate postcards and brochures, like any print advertising, remain an important part of your marketing mix. Your presence on social networks is vital for your customers who are looking for a reassuring voice in these uncertain times. But incorporating 3D virtual tours into your listings is the best way to bring buyers to sellers when they can’t visit in person.

Give your clients the opportunity to explore their home buying and selling options with a 3D virtual tour of Matterport, the digital twin of a home, viewable from the comfort of their living room or kitchen. Give yourself the advantage of communicating with them from the safety of your home or office. Take advantage of the trend of being online while everyone stays at home. And stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive market.