The real estate market for selling and renting property is breaking all records of crazy! Homeowners and realtors must be creative, innovative, and engaging to attract a high-profile potential buyer and stand high among competitors. Real estate virtual tours are the most empowering tool in the modern climate.
How to Create a Stunning Virtual Tour for Real Estate in Easy 6 Steps
A captivating and engaging alternative to a static image, virtual home tours are game-changing, offering numerous benefits to all the parties involved. According to the Zillow Report, one-third of 79% of online home buyers stated that virtual house tours are pivotal to their property shopping.
So, let’s get down and see how a real estate agent can create a stunning and eye-catching virtual tour!
What’s a Virtual Tour in the Real Estate Industry?
Firstly, let’s get clear! A virtual tour for a real estate business is a highly detailed walkthrough video that imitates the real-life tour buyers would take while visiting the property. It can be an actual fly-through video of the house or a virtual tour that uses real photos and computer-generated images to showcase the property, floor plan, specific features, and even detailed information about the property.
With 3D virtual home tours, agents can market and promote under-development real estate listings or properties that are in the midst of a renovation process.
Virtual tours in real estate are an excellent opportunity to accentuate a property’s selling points and capture real-life conditions, giving a clear picture to local and international buyers.
Elevate your Business: Benefits of Creating a Virtual Tour for Real Estate
Virtual tours are becoming a must-have digital marketing tool for agents worldwide.
- It allows 24/7 accessibility: This one is an absolute game-changer for the entire house-hunting experience. Prospective buyers can explore a listing at any place and time that suits them, eliminating the need for coordinating schedules with agents and property owners. Virtual tours ensure your property is selling itself even when you sleep and connect you to a buyer with an actual intent to move further.
- Global Outreach: A virtual tour for real estate on the international market is an excellent tool for erasing geographical boundaries. Whether your clients are coming from abroad or a different state, 360-degree tours make it easier for them to make data-driven decisions and boost their desire to make an offer.
- Enhanced Visualization: A virtual tour is all about an immersive experience and detailed, realistic images. Potential buyers can navigate through every room, inspect details, and get a genuine sense of the house’s layout and flow. This cutting-edge visualization level enhances their ability to imagine living in the space, ultimately increasing their interest.
- Boosted buyer’s engagement: Virtual home tours captivate potential buyers as they spend more time exploring the listing than scrolling through static images. Additionally, high-quality virtual walkthrough drives the desire to buy and connect with the agency or homeowner. Therefore, people are more likely to make you a sweet offer.
- Saving up on time and costs: Virtual 3D tours are often more cost-effective than hosting physical open houses and repeatedly traveling to show the properties. It saves both time and resources for agents and buyers alike. Moreover, buyers can easily narrow down their choices based on virtual tours, reducing the need for in-person visits to multiple properties.
- Competitive advantage: Embracing state-of-the-art virtual tours sets you apart on a competitive multiple listing service platform. It demonstrates your commitment to utilizing cutting-edge tech in order to provide extraordinary service.
Tips from the Experts: What makes an engaging Virtual Tour for real estate?
Creating engagement-driven real estate virtual tours requires a bit more magic than just stitching together some panoramic photos. To steal the buyer’s attention from a first glance, consider these tips:
- Use high-resolution photos and videos to not turn off viewers with blurry or grainy footage;
- The oldest trick of all real estate professionals – staging the property with tasteful furniture and decor that speaks up to your target buyer;
- Incorporate interactive elements like clickable hotspots or pop-up info bubbles about specific features or appliances;
- Ensure seamless navigation, making it easy for viewers to move from room to room and explore at their own pace;
- Well-planned lighting, like natural light or artificial light, adds character to the property and highlights the key areas;
- Include interactive property photos, floor plans, or 3D models to help viewers understand the property layout better;
- Don’t leave the picture alone without narration or sound effects. Use compelling language to evoke emotions;
- Provide a mobile virtual tour option that is compatible with smartphones and tablets;
- Consider opting for a VR immersive experience if you’re targeting high-end clientele;
- Include a clear call-to-action at the end, encouraging viewers to react to listings and reach out for in-person visits.
Using all the expert tips, you can guarantee your virtual tours are not just a fancy video of a place but a powerful tool for creating a digital marketing plan that will drive conversion rates and sales.
Step-by-step Guide to Creating a Virtual Tour for Real Estate
Producing compelling virtual tours is an art. Take your time or seek assistance from professionals to ensure your virtual home tours stand out and engage targeted buyers effectively.
1. Start with research
Kickstart the process by researching virtual platforms and software. Read reviews, watch tutorials, and experiment with a trial period to make an informed decision.
If you’re delegating a virtual tour for a real estate listing to a professional company, research the team, their experience, and what types of tours they’ve done in the past.
Lastly, research your audience. It will determine which route to take in further production. Are they town buyers or luxurious clients? Some buyers will be impressed with simple video tours, while other clientele require cutting-edge interactive 360-degree virtual tours.
2. Plan everything out
Before diving in, outline your virtual tour strategy based on the gathered information during research. Determine which areas of the property listing you’ll showcase and what selling points to highlight. Think about how to engage the viewer. Will you need a schematic floor plan, panoramas, or a narrator’s voiceover?
3. Invest in top-notch equipment
Sure, you can make a virtual tour for real estate listings with your smartphone camera. But will it bring you the desired results? Don’t be a Scrooge! Invest in reliable equipment to get high-quality photos and videos.
Additionally, at this stage, you should plan what tech and equipment you’ll need later, whether it’s a tripod for stable shots or 360-degree cameras to make panoramic photos. Make a list and gather everything for shooting day!
4. Prep a home to look picture-perfect
Staging should be your top priority if you’re filming at the ready-for-market property. The right furniture and decor can make any house look like an eye candy. Ensure that your virtual tours speak to a potential home buyer by adding elements they will appreciate more. It could be fun toys in the nursery, a high-end vanity table in the master bedroom, or an expensive drink with a cigar in the office – whatever hooks your high-profile buyer.
5. Make a quick run-through
Do a quick check-up before hitting the record button. Ensure your virtual tour camera works and the lighting and microphone are in place. Try the walkthrough several times to see the flow in the house and get familiar with the route. That will save you time and help you avoid shaky and unprofessionally-looking virtual tours.
6. Start producing and recording your virtual tour
When you’re ready, start recording the tour. Begin at the property’s entrance and systematically move through each room. Once you have filmed all the footage, it’s time for post-real estate video production. Upload the professional photos and videos to dedicated software to create a flawless virtual video tour. That’s a moment when you can elevate virtual tours by adding interactive elements like detailed information, sale price, call-to-action, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I hire a professional to produce virtual tours for me?
Research the best 3D visualization companies that work in the real estate market, providing VR tours, walkthrough virtual tours, interactive masterplans, flythrough animations, and much more.
What’s the best software for creating virtual tours?
Matterport is the leading software in the virtual 3D tour production industry. Most professionals use Matterport to create curing-edge virtual tours. Some other great options include Kuula, Roundme, Pano2VR, and Cupix.
What’s the average budget for virtual tour production?
The budget depends on whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring the visualization studio. The professional rates for a virtual tour for a real estate listing range between $200 and $1,000 based on various factors like the property size, features, additional interactive elements, and location. If you decide to manage production on your own, consider costs like renting the correct equipment and software subscriptions.
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