When buyers are looking for a home, they want to know as much as possible about it before they make a decision. The first thing most people do is search for information online because of the rich database. Buyers today have many search engines related to real estate. They want to take advantage of as many of these tools as possible to review the homes available before buying.
In fact, finding homes has become an increasingly digital experience. A popular digital tool that countless potential buyers are using today is a virtual tour. That means it becomes the key to an effective real estate marketing campaign.
1. What is a virtual tour?
A virtual tour is a digital simulation of a home that allows viewers to virtually experience a walk of the property. It usually consists of still images or videos arranged in a sequence that looks like a guided view of the rooms, corridors, wardrobes, courtyards, and other features that a home must offer. Viewers can click through to move in any direction of the house and they can also rotate the view to see different angles of the property. While most buyers will still visit the property before buying, a virtual tour can be a great way to attract and keep clients curious about the property.
2. How do you make a virtual tour?
Virtual tours can be a very valuable tool when selling a home, but only if they are done with the best quality. A rough tour is not only not useful for selling real estate, but can even be harmful to a sale. When people see a poor quality road, they may think it reflects poorly about home sellers, or even property itself. To avoid this, you should ensure that your virtual tour retains the property’s quality and provides a pleasant view.
Here are some tips for producing a virtual tour that will make the most of your real estate.
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Walk through the property to plan the virtual tour.
The point of a virtual tour is to show the best parts of the house. So you need to know what features to highlight in photos and videos to make the best impression. You can figure this out by walking through the home and mapping out the best angles, as well as the order in which the rooms should be viewed. Don’t forget that the outside of the home, both front and back, are important as well.
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Clean the home up and empty it out.
You want your virtual tour to show the home as clean and spacious, so you need to make sure that it is free of dirt and clutter. If the home is still furnished, you need to make sure that it is easy to walk through smoothly, and that the rooms don’t appear crowded. If they do then you might want to pull some of the furniture out and store it until after you record the virtual tour.
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Take high-quality pictures or videos.
Make sure you use a high-quality camera to document the home. It needs to have high resolution, and if it is video then the frames need to be steady throughout the movement. Pan through slowly, and consider using a tripod with a swivel to keep the footage from appearing shaky. The video should provide a 360-degree view of every room. You want to capture the home in optimal lighting, especially if one of the features of the home is great natural light.
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Record neighborhood utilities.
If the home is in a gated community or neighborhood that comes with amenities like playgrounds, dog parks, walking trails, pools, and other great features, then you need to include these in your walkthrough. You don’t have to take a video of these aspects, but make sure to take high-quality photos to include in the tour. These may fit in best at the end of the tours, after the home and yards have been viewed.
Once the virtual tour is created, simply upload it to your website for potential buyers to see. Don’t be surprised if you get some interested buyers calling within hours after signing up for the tour. If you are selling a home then a virtual tour is a great tool to have in your pocket.
