Just how relevant are virtual tours? Do clients use them? As a customer do you trust them to make informed decisions?Whats your preference a virtual tour or a video?
For reference I use www.cupix.com as my editing and hosting platform and bought the Theta V 360 on Amazon
One thing is for sure, the old days or posting a cruddy photo of a messy living space are long gone...or at the very least should be considered a gross disservice to clients in all their elements, buyers, sellers, renters and landlords alike.
Full disclosure, I'm new to the virtual tour world and learning each time I try. It's not an excuse its just my way of asking for forgiveness if you find errors and I'll do better next time!
My interest was sparked when seeking new ways to market my listings, hand held shakey videos were my first attempts, progressing onto the use of a gimbal for videos and then with the revelation of virtual tours I jumped in and bought a THETA 360. WHAT a device, it amazed me how the two lenses could take a picture so perfect and in 360 degrees. This blog is not about the best 360 camera or software to use, I'm sure there are better devices, its just my limited experience and the price point I was shopping in, under $400.
With the recent COVID 19 stay at home orders, the virtual tours came into their own, restricted from doing showings clients were able to "walk" through the property and in some cases made offers.. As of this writing there are 1578 listings on the Guam MLS, 61 have virtual tours and 47 have videos, this is 7% of the total listings. What an opportunity for ambitious, forward thinking agents. On a side note, of the 1578 active listings, 249 have only 1 photo!! what a disservice.
So back to my question. Virtual tour or video and do we trust them to make informed decisions?
My experience so far is that my listing clients like them, I don't find that I am getting more clients as a consequence of making the extra effort but it fulfills my own values in delivering the best service I can. In time it will pay dividends. Buyers and renters are pleased to see the tours, they don't expect a listing to have a tour or video so don't really look for it, but pleasantly pleased when they find one. The tours help in the decision making process but I would not say at this point they are trusted enough to sell a property on their own, time and circumstances may change that in the future.
In the meantime I am committed to posting virtual tours for all my listings and quality photos. Videos, I have reserved for social media marketing, I find my skill set and equipment too raw to do justice to a clients home.
For reference I use www.cupix.com as my editing and hosting platform and bought the Theta V 360 on Amazon