Why Home Sellers – and Buyers – Love 3D Virtual Tours

In real estate marketing, if you can find a marketing strategy that works well for everyone – agent, seller, and buyer – you have a winning solution. Most traditional visual marketing methods bring different pieces of value to each audience. For a long time, 2D photos have been the industry standard as they bring definitive value to agents, buyers, and sellers alike -- and for good reason. Beautiful images of a home can drive interest and emotionally engage a potential home buyer. They can also impress a home seller who wants to know their homes will be marketed in the best light possible, which can win an agent a listing.

As camera technology continues to advance - in terms of both DSLR cameras and those on your smartphone - hi-res real estate photography will continue to be a critical part of any real estate marketing campaign. But technological innovation never stops. Today, amazing real estate photos are only part of a successful equation for the buyer and seller. The future is in 3D virtual tours.

For the buyer:  More than half of home buyers start their search online. More and more of those individuals are looking for a home that is not located in their immediate area. Increasingly, these younger, digitally ‘native’ first-time buyers want to get a real sense of how a home really looks and feels beyond static photography. It’s not surprising to learn, then, that the two things that modern home buyers say they want most from a listing are large, high-quality photos AND 3D virtual home tours.1

For real estate agents and sellers: In a recent survey of real estate agents, 80% say that their clients would prefer to spend less time staging their home. Almost as many (77%) say that after a staging and photography shoot have concluded, they spot an important feature of the home they missed during the session. With Matterport, agents and sellers can create an always-open house which is perfectly staged 100% of the time. This can help drive greater interest in a property and better qualify leads who come to subsequent open houses. Read more about the staging process in our blog about kitchen staging.

Agents get 403% more leads from real estate listings with dynamic visual content.2

Here’s the reality. Large, high-quality pictures are a basic requirement for any real estate marketing package. Dynamic, 3D visual tours, however, can be a huge differentiator which can set an agent apart from their competition. Moreover, they are proven to generate more leads and more qualified leads. Potential buyers are more primed because they have already virtually visited the home. And agents can focus more of their attention on interested, informed buyers than on trying to list properties. That’s why listing portals, like realtor.com, have committed tremendous resources to make 3D virtual tours more available to their end-user by adding a new filter for buyers.

The numbers tell a success story across the entire customer journey:

• Virtual tours get clicked on 40% more than listings without virtual tours3

• Properties featured with virtual tours get 95% more phone inquiries4

• Properties featured with virtual tours receive 65% more email inquiries versus those without

• Virtual tours generate 49% more qualified leads5

The reason for these successes is that 3D virtual tours engage buyers in a way words and photos can not. They offer ‘location intelligence’ and a visceral sense of a property that increases emotional engagement. And unlike an open house or home visit, with a 3D virtual home tour, the prospect can take their time – from wherever they may be located – to delve into any feature that would make a house or apartment feel like a home.

For agents and sellers, the experience factor is vital for winning listings and building a business in a highly competitive marketplace. And it’s a way to show more details of a house quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively in a format that is modern, enjoyable, and memorable.

Agents are as tasked to be proficient marketers as they are to be proficient salespeople. Leaders are investing in dynamic real estate marketing to delight sellers and immerse buyers in the experience of a home listing. 3D virtual tour technology can improve both skill sets making you more competitive in your marketplace, and more successful with your prospects.

Matterport’s 3D and VR photography solutions bring listings to life. A Matterport 3D virtual tour adds amazing value. With one shoot, you get all the benefits of incredible photos and the power to immerse home buyers in the experience of a property so they can create both an emotional and intellectual connection with the property.

Do even more with your marketing and selling. Get in touch with our team to experience a demo and feel the difference between photography and virtual tours.

1. realtor.com, 20172. Inman, 20173. realtor.com, 20174. realestate.com.au, 20165. Apartments.com, 2016