In the digital age, house hunters search the internet for their dream homes. This shift makes virtual tours for real estate a must-have in your listings. In fact, statistics show that virtual tours received more than 87% more views than those without 360 virtual tours.
However, not all virtual tours for real estate hit the mark. Some leave buyers feeling disappointed, which can harm your chances of making a sale. Remember, the goal isn't just to show the house but to present it in a way that captivates and engages. While virtual tours do this naturally, they could fall flat if you don't create them with the right lighting, staging, or other factors.
Whether you're an expert or a newcomer in creating virtual tours, there's always room for improvement. So, how can you ensure your virtual tours for real estate stand out and effectively showcase your properties? Stay tuned for our top ten tips to boost the effectiveness of your virtual tours and make them a powerful tool in your real estate arsenal.
Characteristics Of a Virtual Tour
Before arming you with some tips for virtual real estate tours, knowing what any basic virtual tour should include is helpful. Ultimately, a true virtual tour is like exploring a home in real life but on your screen. It's not just a video; it's a 3D tour of the house that offers an immersive 360-degree experience.
Here's what sets these types of virtual tours apart:
- You can move around as you wish, controlling your journey
- The tour uses real pictures of the home
- You can visit any room at any time
- It's easy to use on a computer or phone
- The images are high quality
- It works well on mobile devices
- The controls are simple and intuitive
- It feels like you're there
So, remember, a virtual tour is more than just a fancy video. It's an interactive experience.
10 Tips for Optimizing Your Virtual Tours for Real Estate
Now that you know what any great virtual tour should have, are you ready to make your online property tours more engaging and effective? Follow along as we look at ways to enhance the viewer's experience and potentially increase your chances of selling properties. By following these tips, you can make your virtual tours stand out in the competitive real estate market.
1. Guidelines for Capturing Staged Homes
First, let's start with some basic guidelines for any virtual real estate tour. These guidelines will help you present the property in its best light, attracting potential buyers. Remember, it's all about making a house feel like a welcoming home through your photos.
Equipment
Always keep your equipment ready for action. Charge your batteries fully, and ensure your SD card has ample storage space.
Photos & Staging
You want buyers to picture themselves living there when selling a house. To do this, clear out personal items like family photos and crafts. Keep basic furniture but declutter the space. This way, you highlight the home's features without distractions, helping buyers see the room's potential.
Timing
Choose sundown for your property photo shoots. At this time, the warm, quality light avoids the overexposed look common at midday. Your images will be more appealing, perfectly capturing the property's essence.
Shutter Speed
When shooting in bright light, like at noon, decrease your shutter speed to limit the light intake and darken your photos. Conversely, increase the shutter speed in dim settings to allow more light for brighter images.
Cleaning
Ensure your shooting area is tidy. Remember, your camera is going to capture everything in a 360º view! If items like your camera bag are left out, they'll appear in the photo. To check if everything's perfect, stand where you'll place the camera, spin around, and hide anything that looks out of place.
Lighting
Ensure consistent, bright lighting in every room to enhance your property's appeal. Open curtains, remove blinds and add artificial light if needed. This will make spaces appear larger and more welcoming in photos and videos, greatly improving the overall impression of your property.
Framing
Stay mindful of cameras; they capture what's in their sight. Position yourself and your guests away from the camera's view, ideally in a separate closed room. Be wary of mirrors as they could unexpectedly reflect your image. If hiding isn't possible, remember where your shadow falls in the frame.
Features
Showcase what sets your home apart! Let these unique features shine, whether it's a secret cabinet, an impressive pantry, built-in shelves, or a stunning patio with a view. They're not just selling points - they add character to your property.
Avoid Close-Ups
Avoid placing your camera too near objects. Position the camera centrally, not against the wall or furniture, to give viewers a good room perspective. You might put it on a central piece like a bed or coffee table in smaller rooms.
2. Empower Viewers to Navigate the Virtual Tour
Virtual tours for real estate (the good ones, at least) should empower viewers by offering a complete, immersive experience. They can explore every room and adjust viewing angles at their own pace. This freedom of choice in navigation sparks curiosity, keeps viewers engaged longer, and enhances the memory of the property. Consequently, it boosts interest among potential buyers.
3. Create Footage from a Realistic Point of View
Shooting your tour footage should mimic a real person's experience. Move naturally around the property, entering rooms and highlighting windows and doors. Don't forget to capture stunning views or areas overlooking stairs and other floors. Our pro tip to achieve the perfect angles? Shoot from room corners, not the center. This gives a more complete perspective of the space.
4. Emphasize the Interconnectedness of Rooms
Virtual tours should offer an exciting journey through each room, showcasing how they seamlessly connect. As viewers navigate the spaces, they discover not just their current location but the entire property's layout.
To enhance this experience, include views beyond the home's interior. Displaying outdoor sights, natural surroundings, and extra amenities can create a more comprehensive understanding of the property. This approach enriches the tour, making viewers feel like they're truly exploring the home inside and out.
5. Include All Spaces
Every nook and cranny in a property showcases its unique character. Including these seemingly insignificant spaces in a virtual tour is crucial. Doing this gives potential buyers a complete picture of the home. They feel a deeper connection as they explore each area. This full immersion helps them understand the home better and makes it more memorable.
6. Start & Conclude with Outdoor Spaces
When showcasing a home for sale, it's vital to create a sense of place for potential buyers. Kick off your real estate virtual tours from the street, highlighting local amenities and neighboring houses. Then, lead them into the yard to accentuate its inviting curb appeal.
Wrapping up the tour with a glimpse through a window provides a memorable snapshot of the outside area. This strategy paints a vivid picture of the home's surroundings and anticipates and addresses any lingering questions about the outdoor spaces.
7. Review the Virtual Tour for Mistakes
Before finalizing your virtual real estate tour and publishing it on your listing page, check for errors. Ensure each shot is crisp and blur-free, which can often result from movement in panoramic photos.
Additionally, pay close attention to the sequence of your shots. They should offer a natural and seamless flow around the house. This careful review will ensure you present a high-quality virtual tour to potential viewers.
8. Consider the Mobile-Friendliness
Mobile devices are a popular choice for viewing videos and tours. Therefore, making virtual tours work smoothly on all modern gadgets is essential. You need to ensure fast loading times and prevent any crashes or delays.
To achieve this, test your tour on various devices and make sure it's VR-compatible. This way, you can provide an excellent experience to your viewers and keep their satisfaction levels high.
9. Build a Robust Marketing Strategy
You should consider a virtual tour the focal point of the listing, so all other material there should complement it. However, you shouldn't only use listings to promote your home sale. Instead, you want to build a comprehensive real estate marketing strategy. For example, taking advantage of social media and using ad campaigns to attract more potential buyers is also important.
10. Take Advantage of Feedback
You'll likely get the most important and helpful feedback from people who regularly work with virtual plans or view them. Therefore, taking surveys and asking questions will help you improve your tours' quality and performance.
Try to keep track of the analytical data and other metrics to understand what works best. This makes it easier to draw conclusions about the tour and helps you improve the efficiency of every virtual tour you create.
Optimize Your Virtual Tours for Real Estate Today
The future of home shopping is here, and if you're not already using virtual tours for real estate, then you're going to want to start soon. Don't know where to start? Right here at Hommati.
With our innovative 3D virtual tours and other agent services, you can help potential buyers explore properties from the comfort of their homes. Allow them to dive into a detailed, immersive experience, taking in everything from the light fixtures to the flooring, even the view from the windows.
You don't want to get left behind as an agent or homeowner. Contact us today and let's revolutionize your home-selling process with our virtual tours.