5 Reasons to Do a Virtual Open House

 

In real estate, the use of technology for buying and selling homes is on the rise. Don’t miss out on the chance to employ this trend—one that’s likely here to stay—to your best advantage. Check out these five reasons to do a virtual open house to understand why this marketing tactic is growing in popularity.

 

Sellers today have an undeniable advantage over sellers of the past: modern video technology allows you to give long-distance potential buyers a virtual tour of the home and increase your chances of selling. By opening up your house to a virtual event, relocators or those with hectic lives can now access your open house simply by logging into whichever platform you choose to stream from and interact with you directly to ask their questions. Statistics show that real estate listings with videos gain 403% more inquiries; they also estimate that up to 83% of general consumer traffic will be through videos by 2022.

 

Almost everyone’s on some type of social media platform in this day and age, and by creating video content or live streams, you can promote your home to the expansive audiences on those platforms. Schedule your virtual open house as a live stream on sites like Facebook and Instagram to interact with a bounty of potential buyers all at once. Alternatively, you can offer a more intimate one-on-one tour that will make buyers feel like your personal guest.

 

A virtual open house is a lot like a selfie—you get to choose the perfect lighting, the perfect framework, and the most appealing way to showcase your assets. Just like in a normal open house, you’ll prep your home and even stage it if you’d like, but virtual open houses offer another benefit.

 

Through software designed to help you make your home shine, you can now add in virtual furniture and décor if you choose to create a 3D tour for your potential buyers. While this won’t function in a live-streamed open house, you can embed your tour onto social media or your website as an open house that stays static for buyers to view. Additionally, sellers with multiple properties might consider an all-day virtual open house, where various properties are displayed throughout the day to garner interest and save valuable time.

 

In addition to making 3D tours, sellers have the option of posting their live virtual open house—recorded and saved—onto their websites, social platforms, and video services like YouTube to let potential buyers peruse at their leisure. Videos are becoming the king of marketing in every area, and real estate is no exception. Even before the start of 2020, nearly 80% of buyers searched online, and a third of buyers said that videos were extremely important to their home purchasing decisions, according to a Zillow study. As a younger generation of technologically fluent adults begins to buy homes, this vital tool will only become more important.

 

As we progress toward this new era of social distancing, virtual open houses will likely remain a popular way to browse homes safely. For sellers, agents, and buyers, virtual open houses are a way to not only keep healthy but also to avoid losing that personal interaction that’s so critical in selling homes. 

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