Like most businesses, the property and real estate sector has also been affected negatively due to the pandemic. The traditional method of property selling usually occurs at events such as open houses and galleries but in recent times, these large-scale events are no longer feasible or allowed. As the entire world hops on the digital bandwagon, real estate companies have to tag along as well but lucky for them, there are digital tools that are perfect to reel in customers and land sales. For businesses that primarily earn their profits through face-to-face meetings, the pandemic has taught them to leverage technological advancements to bring in leads before closing a deal using traditional customer service expertise. One such way to close a deal using a digital tool is to create a virtual tour of the property on sale.
Virtual tours are created using multiple images of a location that are stitched together to create a panoramic circumferential view that users can navigate through with just a click. A virtual tour of a property can be done through a custom tour with a DSLR or through Matterport 3D scanning using a Matterport camera. While both these options capture a 360 view of a space, they have some slight differences that may benefit certain clients. When a professional agency is hired to capture shots of a venue, the experts will also be able to edit and customise each tour to add in extra information about the space or even change the interface to match the brand’s overall design.
Since virtual tours are accessed through the internet, its accessibility allows clients from all over the world to have a sneak peek of your space, which reduces the need for in-person meet-ups and long client meetings that may not even materialise into a sale.
A virtual tour of a property for real estate companies is especially beneficial as it gives an accurate depiction and portrayal of each room. This makes it a preferred choice for prospective clients who are browsing through many different properties. For clients who prefer to have an overview before committing, a virtual tour is able to give them a sneak preview of the space before booking an in-person visit with their agent. Not only does this save the client’s time, it also seeds out potential buyers from leads so that agents can put more time and energy into servicing these prospective clients.
Moreover, with the restrictions on open houses, a virtual tour is able to replace them with an online gallery where agents can still give a tour of the venue through a screen sharing application that takes clients around the virtual tour of a property. Agents will be able to meet more clients than ever on an online platform, possibly increasing sales and profits.
Before hiring an agency to create a virtual tour, it is important to understand the features that prospective clients lookout for so as to emulate them and pull in a larger group of buyers.
1. Navigation menu
When scrolling through a virtual tour, it’s important to have an easily accessible list of all the rooms in a property so that clients can navigate to each room seamlessly. With a navigation menu, a dropdown box is available to zoom into each area of a property for more efficient viewing.
2. Floorplans
It is especially important for a virtual tour of a property to have a digitised floorplan that clients can refer to when navigating around the room. A floor plan of a custom tour may differ slightly from a Matterport 3D scan. Custom tours will embed a blueprint image of the space with navigation buttons to zoom into each area of the property. In comparison, Matterport is able to provide a bird’s eye view of each room so that clients can view a realistic floor plan layout from a top-down angle.
3. Infoboxes
Infoboxes are a very beneficial add-on to any virtual tour and these come as hotspots in a custom tour and mattertags in a Matterport scan. These infoboxes can be embedded into any area of a virtual tour that needs extra description or insight. Not only can texts be added into these boxes, images and videos can be embedded as well. This allows clients to understand the different features of a property better without needing to enquire with an agent.
4. Measurement tools
When viewing a property in person, it is common for clients to bring along measuring tools to take note of the dimensions around the property. This does not have to be compromised in a virtual tour as Matterport comes with a built-in measurement tool that is able to accurately measure the dimensions of doors or certain pieces of furniture to make a better-informed decision.
5. Smooth transitions and clean interface
One of the most important things to note when creating a virtual tour of a property is that smooth transitioning from one room to another is paramount in client satisfaction. Slow-speed virtual tours may put off certain clients from viewing the space, which is why it is important to hire an experienced agency that can create a seamless interface. Moreover, a clean UI/UX design of your virtual tour can add a professional touch to your website to make you more reputable to clients. Custom virtual tours are able to edit the colours and interface of the virtual tour according to your brand’s current template but a Matterport interface is fixed and cannot be customised.
If you are a property or real estate company looking to create a virtual tour and leverage digital tools for your business, get in contact with a trusted and professional agency that can build a customised digitised view of your space. Visit our portfolio page to view our past projects with clients in various industries from property to hospitality.
