5 Tips for Winning Real Estate Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are all the rage now in the real estate industry, and for good reason: their immersive nature makes it easy to give a client a full experience of a property and statistics have shown an increased likelihood to make a buying or leasing decision compared to traditional methods.

To get a stellar virtual tour is not easy, however. Being as it is a new and technical innovation, you’re going to have to put in extra effort to get high quality tours. According to Carolina Designs Realty & Vacation Rentals, here are a few ways you can enhance your tours and consistently produce ones that’ll amaze your clients:

Stage the Home Properly

Staging has always been crucial in making a good impression on a buyer, and the same thing applies in virtual tours as it does in physical ones. Don’t use an empty house for a tour, but don’t use a cluttered one either. Strike a happy balance by leaving only about half of the furnishings to get the effect of livability while also giving an impression of spaciousness.

Use Bright, Consistent Lighting

Lighting is a core determinant of how a space or object is perceived. With clear lighting across the entirety of the home, anyone going through the virtual tour will find the home more attractive. If the light is dim, it’ll give off moody vibes and make the rooms look smaller than they are and if the lighting isn’t consistent, it can create a jarring experience that’ll likely leave viewers disoriented.

Get High-Quality Professional Help

When you’re hiring a company to handle your 360 footage and make them into truly interactive video tours, the best thing you can do is to go for the very best. Ask around for referrals and consider the portfolio of the companies you’re considering. You can also use free video editing software to get amazing results if you’re willing to put in the time to learn the ropes and produce great tours. With cost out of the way, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be using virtual tours.

Remove Continuity Errors

If you’ve seen virtual tours with an ugly blur in some scenes, then you’ll agree that it’ll not be impressive to your client if your tour has one of those. They are caused by movement in the frame when shooting panoramic photo shots, especially 360° ones. Put measures in place to prevent movement around the area and consider reshooting if wind or animals affect outdoor scenes. Avoid changing the position of staged objects too – it’ll be easily noticeable as the tour moves from frame to frame and it’ll be disorienting to the viewer.

Showcase Unique Features

While a tour is supposed to give an overview of the property and its features, you can also take the chance to highlight unique features that add to the personality of the home. Whether it’s a structural feature, an antique furnishing or even the beautiful views from different locations in the home, position the camera to capture that and use it to pique the interest of potential buyers.