How to Use Virtual Reality in Real Estate
Virtual reality used to just be for video games, but over the past few years, it’s actually been a boon to real estate agents. The housing market was hot during the pandemic, but going out to meet a real estate agent in-person was risky. Virtual reality allowed home buyers to step into another property and view homes without fear of getting sick.
Even now that the quarantine is over, virtual reality is a wonderful tool for real estate agents. It makes the world more accessible to both buyers and sellers, and the technology is improving every day. Here is how you can use virtual reality to your advantage.
Virtual Property Tours
The most obvious and popular use of virtual reality in real estate is, of course, property showings. We’ve talked about how the majority of potential buyers will decide to view a property based on your listing’s photography. Well, Matterport reports that potential buyers are 95% more likely to enquire about a home sale that has a 3D virtual tour, and 20% made an offer after just the virtual tour.
Most major property listing portals now support virtual reality, so it’s worth investing the extra time and resources to put together a virtual tour of your properties. Considering how properties with a virtual tour spend a third less time on the market, you could be selling faster than ever.
Home Staging
Home staging has been common since 1972, and when done right it can help potential buyers visualize themselves living in a house. However, it can get expensive, as you need to buy the furniture for each room, transport it to the house, and either give up the furniture to the new buyers or pay to have it stored somewhere to be used in other properties.
Virtual reality can not only cut down on those costs but give you far more options on how to stage each room. You can play around with the virtual furniture and decor you include in each room, adjusting to individual preferences and tastes at the drop of a hat.
Virtual Guides
Usually during an open house or scheduled house tour, you would have printed out property guides to give your viewers that they could reference for FAQs, maps, room dimensions, and more. With virtual reality, you can save some paper and time by including these guides in the virtual tour. Buyers can watch the tour before even showing up at the house so they can immediately feel at home by knowing where all the outlets, appliances, and rooms are.
Virtual reality puts the “real” in real estate and it’s a real advantage you shouldn’t miss out on. It can make your home viewing so much easier, accessible, and efficient, plus increase your profits and house turnover rate. This technology is easily one of the most useful assets you can have in your real estate business’ arsenal.
