Do you use virtual tours as a real estate selling tool and, if so, how do you feel they have assisted your business?
“We put virtual tours on 100 percent of our listings. It has been a very important tool because of the fact that almost 80 percent of the buyers go on the Internet before they call us.”
-Walter Williams, Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty
“Yes, virtual tours have added a significant dimension to the home buying process. With the emergence of the Internet as a tool for searching and the demand for convenience by the consumer segment, the quick, easy and clear image of a property allows the customer to evaluate any interest they may have in the property. This has made our jobs as Realtors easier and more difficult at the same time. It is easier now because the customers themselves can eliminate the need to see a property in person if the imagery is not appealing. It is more difficult for those Realtors who have consistently taken shortcuts to correctly describe their listings. Now they must actually take the time to ensure that their descriptions are not contradictory to the image, thus making for more accurate representation of the property. Virtual tours have become a must item and agents who use them seem to be more effective and conscientious about every other detail of their business.”
-Paul Andry, Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty
“They’re a good presentation tool. The usual fish-eye view covers more subject matter, but also distorts the view. I always supplement them with an extensive photo tour in the Multiple Listing Service. The virtual tours also take time to download and run. Some buyers don’t take the time to view them when they’re screening listings. At a recent Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Beaches Council meeting, an unnamed presenter said that virtual tours are not the preferred viewing means for most buyers. They prefer photo tours. We supposed it’s because the virtual tours take longer to upload and run.”
-Paul Gruenther, Vanguard Realty
“No, virtual tours are not necessary in presenting a property. Multiple photos are best, in my opinion. (Virtual tours are) just another gimmick to add on costs in listing. I like the Comcast slide show better. But, I have my doubts that it helps a sale. It is just another gimmick to please the lister. I’ve been in the business 15 years, so this is not a newbie response.”
-Sarita May, Country Club Real Estate of Ponte Vedra
“Yes, most definitely they have made an enormous impact on our industry by enhancing our services to the consumer. I have found that most consumers look at homes that have virtual tours on them first. The consumer wants to see if they like it before they call a Realtor many times. Sellers appreciate the expanded exposure.”
-Lori Stephens, Watson Realty
“Yes, I always offer a virtual tour to my sellers as a marketing tool. It is impressive to them to be able to go online and view a virtual tour of their home. They also receive a CD of their listing.”
-Sydney Whidden, Prudential Network Realty
“Yes, my sister and I just had both sides of a listing/sale as a result of the virtual tour. The buyer was looking online and passed right by the listings without a tour. So we will continue to do tours as a result of this sale!”
-Dawn Greene, Watson Realty Corp.
“Yes, I think that virtual tours have had a positive impact on our industry. It gives the buyer an opportunity to get a feel for the home before ever choosing to go and see it. I am sure some Realtors would say that this has made their jobs somewhat harder because sometimes the customer will choose not to view a property because of the way a photo portrays the space. However, in this market, I believe it is the responsibility of the Realtor to be honest with the seller about those things that should be done (removing clutter, making sure the space is tidy, etc.) in the hopes of getting the best picture possible of the property. It does require a little more personal attention from the Realtor if they would like for their customer’s property to be shown in the best possible light.”
-Sharon D. Mills, Watson Realty
“Yes. I truly believe that if you are in real estate and not online, then you’ll soon be on the unemployment line. Seriously, with the advent of the virtual tour, we have not seen a more effective tool for selling real estate since the cell phone. With the price of gas on the rise and spare time at a minimum, today’s buyer needs speed and convenience when searching for homes, and virtual tours provide just that. Virtual tours have enhanced the Realtor’s ability to provide a higher level of service all with the click of a mouse. Can you imagine not only having virtual tours of every property listed, but also of the associated schools, churches, and surrounding amenities? This is the future of real estate and it will be here before you know it.”
-Phyllis Staines, Re/Max Coastal Real Estate
“No, I don’t think virtual tours are necessary as long as your agent takes many good photos of inside and outside your house. If your agent isn’t handy with a camera then yes, virtual tours are great!”
-Maureen Dunn, Weichert Realtors 1st Coast
“Yes, virtual tours are must in our business. With over 85 percent of buyers looking at the Internet prior to buying, virtual tours provide an excellent tool for exposure for the seller and a comfort zone for the buyers. Virtual tours have not necessarily made it easier or harder for the real estate professional. It is another great tool among the many tools that a true real estate professional will use to meet the needs of the customers. The tours have enhanced the opportunity for communication with our customers. With a very large group of the population as visual learners, the tour helps meet the need for visualization. The tours, when properly used by a professional, can help with listing a property in the proper price range as well as helping with the buyer interview to ensure that the professional truly understands the desires of the buyer. The improvements in the virtual tour industry with more realistic views, streaming video, and reporting for the customers has added even more value to this tool. National Association of Realtors surveys indicate that the customer wants communication with the agent; this is a great reason for and way to communicate more often with the customer. Customer service is the focus, so we are glad to provide our associates and customers with choices in the virtual tour industry. Visualization and technology enhance our level of customer service and provide another tool for communicating effectively with our customers.”
-Sheron Willson, Broker/Director of Training, Prudential Network Realty
“I use the visual tour and it is great. It really shows off the house online.
More and more people are using the Internet and want to see photos.
Adding the visual tour and photos really catches their interest. It does take a little longer to add the photos and tours but the marketing impact is worth it. In today’s market, you have to call attention to your property.”
-Ginny Peace, Keller Williams Realty, Atlantic Partners
“The tours are fabulous! We get great comments and it really shows the customer what the property looks like. It helps us eliminate properties that customers might not want to see and saves us all time and money in the long run. I do virtual tours on almost all my listings. It is a fabulous for buyers and agents to preview the properties! You can view the tours any time night or day and it certainly helps to eliminate properties you are or are not interested in! The convenience of being able to add this to Multiple Listing Service and Web Sites or to email to customers is a real plus.”
-Josie Deal, Coldwell Banker/Jasinsky and Associates -Amelia Island
“Yes, I feel virtual tours are extremely important for both the buyer and seller. Many buyers have said to me if they are looking online they won’t pay much attention to listings without virtual tours. And for sellers, it’s now a marketing tool they expect their Realtor to offer. And I agree, it’s inexpensive and is valuable to both the buyer and seller.”
-Marianne Brown, Keller Williams Realty, Atlantic Partners
“Yes, virtual tours are another great way to showcase properties on the Internet. They can give buyers a really good idea of what the property looks like before they get here. Our slide show tours have background music and customized text to describe to the buyer exactly what is in the picture. They can also be attached to emails and attached to Multiple Listing Service displays. This technology gives sellers a great marketing venue, buyers a sneak preview and Realtors great leads. What’s not to like?”
-Dirk Schroeder, Century 21 St. Augustine Properties
“I know as an agent when I’m looking for a particular house style or details I won’t preview the virtual tour but I will preview the photos, and the more the better. I think buyers prefer how rapidly they can flip through photos, as well.”
-Clare Berry, Berry & Co. Real Estate
“Yes, I do use virtual tours as a marketing tool. The sellers seem to like really like the virtual tours, especially when they find out that the main purpose for the virtual tour, is so that when people go on the Internet to see the homes on our Website or Realtor.com they will be able to get an idea of what the house looks like before they go to see it. This way it saves the seller time in having to open their home to people that do not have any interest. The only downside to a virtual tour is that sometimes it gives a false sense of how big the rooms are. I always tell my buyers that a virtual tour just gives you an idea of what the house looks like, but it should never replace going and looking at the home.”
-Lisa Smejkal, Watson Realty
“I have successfully used virtual tours for properties that were marketed to relocation, second home or investment buyer. These ‘remote’ prospects value the opportunity to ‘see’ the listing prior to a site visit. For properties that are intended for buyers who already live in the area, I prefer to have them visit the property in person so I develop a relationship and direct them to another listing if this one is not a match. V-Tours and Cyber-Modeling can take out some of the ‘sizzle’ of a property, the imagination is a much more powerful tool and when providing ‘too much information’ we take away the ‘feel and emotion’ of a place.”
-Jeff Kern, Embassy Mortgage and Real Estate
“I use a virtual tour on all of my listings. I wouldn’t list a property without one. I do most of my advertising on various Internet sites. Customers have told me that when they are looking for homes on the Internet, they will look for homes with virtual tours first and then homes with multiple photos. I attribute most of my listings selling due to the use of virtual tours. I do my own virtual tours and include neighborhood views in addition to the home. This allows the customer to see not only the home but the area before they make a decision to go further and make an appointment to see the home.”
-Janet Carey, Watson Realty
“If the house is occupied when I list, I use a virtual tour in all cases, no matter what the price of the house is. I find it is regarded by home owners as a must. I do not like the ones that use fisheye look that distorts the house but I have found one that does not do that. I also think a number of pictures with the house even including schools and amenities are very helpful. Good photography is essential. I use it on my own Web site and in discussion with prospective buyers.”
-Michael Shurr, Watson Realty Corp.
“Virtual tours are a great tool since they allow consumers to spend more time browsing our listed properties while searching on the Internet. We know prospective buyers spend a fair amount of time conducting searches in this manner, and creating more stickiness to our marketing lengthens the amount of time they consider properties we’ve been contracted to sell. This is a good thing for professional Realtors. It can improve the chances that they’ll make an appointment to see the property if they like it, or may prevent them from wasting time on a property that doesn’t meet their expectations or criteria. Additionally, if we use a company that posts virtual tours to another real estate Web site, such as www.Realtor.com, it expands the marketing for the property and allows consumers to peruse other properties we’ve listed. Finally, it makes our sellers happy, which adds to their satisfaction with the services we offer as salespeople.”
-Jon Singleton, Watson Realty
“Yes, we use virtual tours as a selling tool. Anybody that lists homes should use this feature. Almost 80 percent of all home searches start on the Internet and the use of a virtual tour attracts more prospective buyers to your listings. When people are doing searches they like to see as many pictures as possible and a virtual tour provides the buyer the next best thing to seeing the house in person. Also, sellers want to know their home is going to be marketed using a virtual tour. All agents should be using virtual tours in their business today.”
-Raymond Rivera, Exit Realty Affiliates Network of Jacksonville
“If the house is occupied when I list, I use a virtual tour in all cases, no matter what the price of the house is. I find it is regarded by home owners as a must. I do not like the ones that use fisheye look that distorts the house but I have found one that does not do that. I also think a number of pictures with the house even including schools and amenities are very helpful. Good photography is essential. I use it on my own Web site and in discussion with prospective buyers.”
-Michael Shurr, Watson Realty Corp.
“From past experience it has always been a great selling tool when you are selling out of town buyers or there is no model of that particular home to walk through.”
-Bob Toback of Coastal Oaks at Nocatee, Toll Brothers
“Today’s consumers are very Internet savvy and want to have as much information as possible prior to calling an agent. I believe virtual tours are a terrific way of educating a buyer or seller, as listings with virtual tours are often given priority listing on several Web Sites, and tours allow the buyer to ‘see’ what the rooms in the home look like, what the light looks like, etc. The more research we provide buyers and sellers with, the more informed they are, and the decision process becomes easier.
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-Carol Zingone, Vanguard GMAC Realty