How Virtual Tours Work in Real Estate

Virtual tours are a great way to showcase properties to potential buyers. They offer a realistic, detailed view of a real estate property, allowing potential buyers to visualize the property’s space, layout, and feel remotely. In fact, 61% of home buyers rated having a virtual tour of a property as the most helpful technology—outranking more traditional options such as high-quality photos (51%) and accurate listing information (58%) ¹.

How to create a virtual tour for a real estate listing

Here are six steps to create a virtual tour for a real estate listing:

1. Select Your Equipment: You don’t need to invest in an expensive setup to start creating virtual tours. In fact, it’s even possible to buy an affordable fisheye lens adapter for your phone that can create the wide-resolution photos you need for just a couple hundred bucks. However, if you’re looking for the best quality, you’ll want to upgrade to a full DSLR camera. The trade-off is that these cameras can run upward of $3,500 ¹.
2. Choose Your Virtual Tour Software: After you find a camera that can capture your images, you’ll want to decide what type of software you’ll use to stitch them all together. You have several options, all of which have benefits and trade-offs. For example, Zillow 3D Home app lets you create a 3D tour right from your phone, making it the perfect tool if you’re using your phone camera ¹.
3. Take Your Photos: Once you have your equipment and software, it’s time to start taking photos. You’ll want to take photos of every room in the house, as well as any outdoor spaces. Make sure to take multiple photos of each room from different angles to give viewers a complete view of the space ¹.
4. Stitch Your Photos Together: After you’ve taken all your photos, you’ll need to stitch them together to create a seamless virtual tour. This is where your virtual tour software comes in. Most software will automatically stitch your photos together, but you may need to manually adjust some of the photos to ensure a smooth transition between rooms ¹.
5. Add Interactive Elements: Once you have your virtual tour created, you can add interactive elements to make it more engaging. For example, you can add hotspots that allow viewers to click on different parts of the room to learn more about them. You can also add background music or narration to give viewers a more immersive experience ¹.
6. Publish Your Virtual Tour: Finally, it’s time to publish your virtual tour. You can embed your virtual tour on your website or share it on social media to reach a wider audience. Make sure to include a call-to-action that encourages viewers to schedule a showing or contact you for more information ¹.

Conclusion

Virtual tours are a powerful tool for real estate agents and sellers. They offer a realistic, detailed view of a real estate property, allowing potential buyers to visualize the property’s space, layout, and feel remotely. By following the six steps outlined above, you can create a virtual tour that engages potential buyers and helps you sell your property.