360°virtual Tour
real estate marketing 360 tours
How 360 Virtual Tours Are Transforming Property Marketing?
The real estate agent’s task of taking a property from listing to sale (or let) is rife with time-wastage. Whether it’s showing people around properties that they clearly have no interest in, negotiating infuriating city traffic to reach one property after another for viewings, or any of the myriad niggling tasks in between, there is a chasm in efficiency. So, too, is the journey of the buyer or tenant, who currently views an average of between 12 and 15 properties before finding their next home. There really must be a better way to market property.
The emergence of 360 virtual tours offers a dramatic solution for agents and buyers alike. Basically, rather than traipsing around those 12 to 15 properties, what if the buyer could narrow down their search by previewing properties virtually
The Rise of 360 Virtual Tours
At present, not a lot of people have high-end virtual reality hardware at home. Some may own a smartphone-enabled device, such as a Google Cardboard or Daydream, or a Samsung Gear. But the vast majority are still not VR-equipped. All signs point to a rise in adoption over the next few years, but at present, the computer or tablet screen is where they will search for properties.
Where an agent is able to produce a 360 virtual tour of a property, this property search can be more engaging and accurate than before. Two-dimensional photographs of properties are well-known for not necessarily giving a true representation of the space, with many property viewers subsequently disappointed when they view the property ‘in the flesh’. Those who have engaged with a 360 virtual tour, however, report satisfaction with the accuracy of representation enabled by a more three-dimensional view of the space.
By streamlining the time spent searching and narrowing down properties to view, buyers will only plan viewings for those in which they are most interested. This also relieves the agent of potentially up to eight hours per client, which can add up to a vast increase in efficiency on other pressing tasks.
Selling The Unsellable To offer a 360 virtual tour of a property obviously comes with a price premium. Whilst this extra expense is not always necessary, it is certainly worth considering on a property where a quick sale turnaround is required, or where a property has been stagnating on the market for too long.
Bring In The Professionals A key question is whether it is feasible to create your 360 virtual tour in-house using your own hardware, or whether it is better to engage experts from outside.
The Property Industry is now wide-awake to the revolutionary power of 360 virtual tours and virtual reality for marketing property. There is little doubt that the new 360 medium will soon replace two-dimensional imagery altogether. Isn’t it time that your agency was part of the revolution?