Sell Your Home Faster With A Virtual Open House

This year has changed a lot of things in the day to day lives both at home and at work in the real estate business. This is an industry where face to face contact and personal interactions are key in building a relationship with our clients. A lot of things we took for granted are now difficult or even impossible to do! 

As in-person showings are strongly discouraged (and sometimes forbidden), real estate agents have had to adapt in order to be able to show homes to potential buyers and achieve a sale. Virtual Open Houses is one option on how we can innovate and embrace new technology to adapt and overcome these obstacles.

Why do Virtual Open Houses?

Virtual Open Houses allow clients to virtually step into the home they are interested in and tour the different areas of the home. This allows buyers to get a feel for the home they are interested in without putting themselves, current homeowners, or their real estate agent (that’s you!) at risk.

Types of Virtual Open Houses

• Live Virtual Open Houses - This option is probably the closest to hosting an in-person showing, as it allows you to directly interact with attendees and answer their questions. You are able to spend more time in areas of the home they are interested in, highlight particularly exciting areas of the home, and immediately address any concerns they may have. Important Tip: You will probably need a friend to help you hold and control the camera!
• Video Showings - This option would require you planning and filming a tour of the home ahead of time. The production value for this can vary significantly as you can create a killer video with just a friend and your phone, or you can hire a professional videographer to use their expertise to create something even better. A static video is a little easier to plan as you can rehearse freely, run through it multiple times, and then edit the video until you have something you are happy to show your clients. One downside of this option is that you wouldn’t be able to get immediate feedback from viewers and address their concerns. 
• Virtual Tour Software - With Virtual Open Houses becoming more popular, there are a lot of tools/apps that allow you to create a 360° virtual tour of a home. This can be using your cellphone camera to take panoramic shots of the different rooms or using specialized equipment that will help you create a seamless VR experience for your clients. One company that does great work in this space is Matterport. Check out a few different options to see all the potential tools at your disposal. 

What’s next?

You should promote your virtual open house using all the same marketing channels you would use to promote a regular open house. Reach out to potential buyers in any way you can and generate interest in the property, giving them a time when they can access the Virtual Open House experience. If it is not a live virtual open house, make sure to let them know you will be available to discuss any questions or concerns they might have.

Once you are done, make sure to continue promoting your virtual open house video using all of your marketing channels. Don’t let all that effort go to waste.

Be sure to follow-up with all attendees and get that sale!