Exploring the Revolution of Real Estate Virtual Tours
In 2023, the real estate industry witnessed a significant shift in the way properties are showcased to potential buyers. Virtual tours have revolutionized the home buying experience, offering a cutting-edge, immersive, and convenient approach for prospective homeowners. Gone are the days of relying solely on static images and floor plans; real estate virtual tours now empower buyers to explore properties from the comfort of their own homes, making the home buying process more efficient and enjoyable. The Rise of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Advancements in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies have propelled real estate virtual tours to new heights. VR headsets have become more affordable and accessible, allowing buyers to step into a property and explore every corner virtually. Augmented Reality, on the other hand, has introduced a new way of envisioning properties in real-world settings. Buyers can use their smartphones or AR-enabled devices to superimpose virtual elements, such as furniture or decor, onto an empty space, providing a clear visualization of how the property can be personalized to suit their needs. Virtual Staging and Home Customization Virtual staging has become an indispensable tool in the real estate industry. Gone are the days of costly and time-consuming physical staging; instead, virtual staging allows real estate agents and sellers to digitally furnish and decorate properties with a wide range of styles. Buyers can see a property's potential, transformed into their dream home, without the need to physically move any furniture. Additionally, home customization have become increasingly popular in virtual tours. Prospective buyers can visualize and explore various design options for rooms, allowing them to tailor the property to their preferences before making any structural changes. Interactive and Guided Tours Virtual tours have evolved from static, pre-recorded presentations to interactive and guided experiences. Today, prospective buyers can take control of their tours, deciding where to navigate and what to focus on, enhancing their sense of autonomy during the exploration process. Guided tours have also gained popularity, where a real estate agent or AI-powered virtual assistant can accompany buyers throughout the virtual journey, providing insights and answering questions in real-time. This personalized touch helps build a stronger connection between the buyer and the property, leading to more informed purchasing decisions. Conclusion Recent times have marked a turning point for the real estate industry with the rapid adoption of virtual tours. By harnessing the power of virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and interactive features, real estate virtual tours have transformed the home buying experience for the better. The seamless accessibility, customization options, and global reach have made virtual tours an indispensable tool for buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals alike, shaping the future of real estate in an increasingly digitized world. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

Mastering Technology to Stay Ahead in Real Estate
Staying ahead of technology trends as a Realtor is essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the real estate industry. With advancements such as virtual showings, 3D tour technology, and digital experiences becoming increasingly common, it's crucial to adapt and embrace these tools to better serve your clients and stay ahead of the curve. Let's explore strategies and best practices to help you leverage technology in your business to remain at the forefront of the industry. Get started: Embrace the digital age In today's real estate landscape, embracing the digital age is crucial for success. This involves harnessing the power of social media to connect with clients, mastering online listings and virtual tours, and implementing CRM systems for better lead management. Utilizing social media to connect with clients Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have become indispensable tools in the real estate industry. Engaging with clients through these channels fosters a sense of community and allows for personalized communication. By sharing valuable content, showcasing property listings and providing market insights, you can build trust and rapport with your audience. Social media also provides a platform for featuring client testimonials, further strengthening credibility and attracting potential leads. Mastering online listings and virtual tours With the shift towards digital interactions, mastering the art of online listings and virtual tours is non-negotiable. Utilizing tools like iGUIDE can provide immersive 3D virtual tours, floor plans and detailed property information, giving potential buyers a comprehensive view of the property. Clients expect real estate listings to provide the opportunity to explore properties from the comfort of their homes. Interactive 3D tours and drone footage do just that, helping to increase engagement and interest from potential buyers. iGUIDE also offers detailed analytics that you can share with the seller, showcasing the concrete outcomes of your marketing efforts. This can help you secure their future business and potentially gain referrals from their network. Implementing CRM Systems for better lead management Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system streamlines lead management and client interactions. These tools help organize contacts, track communication history and manage follow-ups efficiently. By leveraging CRM systems you can personalize your approach, segment your client base and automate routine tasks, allowing for a more personalized and effective client experience. Did you know? CRM platforms also provide valuable insights into client behavior that can help you craft targeted marketing efforts and enhance overall productivity, such as promoting a listing to a specific customer list based on their mailing address. How to stay on top of emerging tech trends Staying ahead in the real estate industry requires staying informed about emerging technology trends. Here are some effective strategies to help you stay up-to-date on the latest advancements: Subscribe to real estate technology blogs and magazines Make it a priority to subscribe to reputable real estate technology blogs and magazines such as Inman, Realtor Magazine, and Real Estate Tech News. These resources offer valuable insights into the latest tech tools, software, and trends shaping the industry, empowering us to make informed decisions and adopt innovative solutions. Attend tech-focused real estate conferences Seek opportunities to attend tech-focused real estate conferences such as the REALTORS® Conference & Expo and Inman Connect. These events provide a platform to learn from industry experts, discover cutting-edge technologies, and network with like-minded professionals, allowing us to gain a competitive edge and adapt to technological advancements. Join online forums and networking groups Engage in online forums and networking groups like ActiveRain and Real Estate Technology Professionals, where real estate professionals share insights, discuss technology trends, and exchange ideas. By proactively embracing these strategies, you'll position yourself to enhance your service offerings and ultimately stay ahead in the ever-evolving real estate landscape. Invest in technology education and training Seek out online courses and certifications Seeking out online courses and certifications tailored to real estate technology can provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to leverage technology effectively. Platforms like Coursera and Udemy offer courses in real estate technology, digital marketing and data analysis that can help you to stay ahead of the curve. Partnering with tech-savvy mentors and colleagues Collaborating with tech-savvy mentors and colleagues can significantly contribute to our technology education and training. By learning from their experiences and insights, you can gain practical knowledge and understand the best practices for utilizing technology in our real estate business. Leveraging the expertise of mentors and colleagues accelerates your learning process and helps you adapt to new technologies more effectively. Regularly updating skills through workshops Attending workshops and seminars focused on real estate technology is vital to continuously updating your skills. Industry conferences, local real estate associations and technology companies often organize workshops that offer hands-on training and insights into the latest tech tools and trends. Actively participating in such events ensures that your skills are up-to-date and aligned with the evolving technological landscape in real estate. Understanding the basics of smart home features Smart home technology involves internet-connected devices that allow remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems within a residence. These devices, such as lighting and heating systems, can be controlled through a central smart home hub, which controls the entire network typically through a smart home app homeowners can manage on their smart device. Get to know the latest smart home gadgets By staying informed about new products, devices and advancements in smart home technology, you can offer valuable insights to clients and demonstrate your expertise in integrating these technologies into the home buying and selling process. Not sure where to start? Here are a few of the technologies you should explore: Smart Thermostat: A programmable thermostat that learns and adjusts the temperature based on your habits, saving energy and money. Smart Locks: Keyless entry systems that allow you to control and monitor access to your home from anywhere using your smartphone. Smart Lights: Energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be controlled remotely, scheduled to turn on/off, and even change colors to create different moods. Smart Security Cameras: Wireless cameras that provide live streaming, motion detection, and two-way audio, enhancing home security. Smart Plugs: Devices that can turn regular appliances into smart devices, allowing you to control them remotely and monitor energy usage. Optimize your website and SEO By optimizing your website and implementing effective SEO strategies, you're able to increase website traffic to your website and serve up listings that potential buyers are searching for. A user-friendly real estate website enhances the overall experience for potential clients. Ensure that the design is visually appealing, easy to navigate and mobile-responsive. Utilize high-quality images and provide detailed property descriptions to engage visitors and encourage them to explore further. SEO strategies increase your visibility in search engine results. Conduct thorough keyword research to identify terms and phrases relevant to your target audience. Integrate these keywords naturally within your website's content, meta descriptions and image tags to improve search engine ranking and attract organic traffic. Make it a priority to optimize your website's loading speed, ensure secure browsing and create compelling meta titles to enhance overall SEO performance. Your website data is essential to gain insights into user behavior, traffic sources and popular property listings. Use tools such as Google Analytics to track website performance, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to enhance the overall online presence. Business can be easier with real estate tech tools Adopting AI for personalized client interactions In today's real estate market, staying ahead means utilizing cutting-edge tools. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers exciting possibilities for personalized client interactions. AI algorithms can analyze data to predict client preferences and behavior, allowing us to tailor our services effectively. Implementing AI chatbots on our website can provide instant responses to client inquiries, enhancing customer experience and responsiveness. By embracing AI, we can elevate our client interactions to a whole new level, fostering meaningful and customized connections. Incorporate aerial photography into your listing Drone technology has revolutionized property photography, offering captivating aerial views that captivate potential buyers. Drones provide an immersive perspective of a property's surroundings, showcasing its unique features and enhancing its visual appeal. Utilizing drones for aerial property photography allows us to create stunning visual content that sets our property listings apart. It adds a dynamic dimension to our marketing efforts, appealing to modern buyers seeking innovative and engaging property presentations. Did you know that your drone footage can be incorporated and delivered with the listings' iGUIDE? To thrive in the dynamic real estate landscape, embracing technological advancements is imperative. Those who harness the power of data analytics, virtual reality and iGUIDE to create the ultimate listing will be well-positioned to adapt to market shifts and meet evolving consumer demands. Accelerate your business and get ahead of the competition. Start your tech journey by booking a free consultation with one of our iGUIDE Specialists. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.   Thank you to iGuide for sponsoring this article on RE Technology!

Best Practices for Creating Floor Plans and 3D Virtual Tours
Creating floor plans and 3D virtual tours has become essential for real estate professionals in today's digital age. These assets provide potential buyers with an immersive experience, allowing them to explore properties from the comfort of their own homes. One of the most popular platforms for creating these virtual tours is iGUIDE. In this article, we'll share the best practices for creating property-accurate floor plans and virtual tours using iGUIDE. 82% of buyers are more likely to request a tour if a listing includes floor plans To create the best virtual experience, keep these two steps in mind: Have the right tools for the task Properly plan your shots to give the best tour Choosing the right equipment To create high-quality virtual experiences, it's important to start with the right equipment. iGUIDE Camera System: The iGUIDE PLANIX camera is calibrated to ensure the time-of-flight lidar scanner provides data used in iGUIDE floor plans and area calculations that adhere to the ANSI-Z765-2021 and RECA RMS 2017 standards Tripod: Invest in a quality tripod to help ensure your images are steady and not blurry. Digital storage: High-capacity USB memory sticks are the most versatile option. You plug them directly into your iGUIDE PLANIX Camera, making the process as plug-and-play as possible. Lighting: This isn't required, but is certainly recommended. Explore adjustable LED panel lights and diffusers to achieve consistent, shadow-free results, ensuring your scans capture every detail with precision and clarity. With these tools in hand, you're ready to showcase the property in the best possible way, giving potential buyers an accurate representation of the space. Planning your scans Before you begin capturing scans for your virtual tour, it's essential to plan your route throughout the property strategically. You'll want to avoid obstacles such as people, pets and spaces that are not ready to be scanned. iGUIDE provides feedback with real-time data showing coverage to give you a sense of where you have been and have yet to go. This will prevent you from missing key information when scanning. Remember to scan the intersection points where hallways meet rooms (kitchens, bedrooms, etc.) to improve the overall experience of the tour. You should be able to capture an entire property (up to 3,000 sq ft) in 15 minutes or less. Capturing high-quality images When capturing images for your virtual tour, quality is critical. Proper lighting will help showcase the property in its best form and highlight its unique features. Take multiple shots of each room from different angles to capture the entire perspective. A high-quality tripod is vital so you can keep the camera steady to avoid motion blur, as this can reduce the resolution of the images and make the virtual tour less visually appealing. Utilizing iGUIDE's features iGUIDE offers a range of features that can enhance your virtual tour and provide a more immersive experience for potential buyers. Real-time tagging: Use tags to highlight key areas of interest using on-site photos, videos and descriptions right in the 3D virtual tour. Analytics: Valuable insights about the actions you can take based on where your 3D tours real estate is receiving the highest amount of traffic and from whom. Utilize this information about traffic, customers, and viewing duration to assist you in making strategic decisions. Branding: The branding feature lets you personalize the iGUIDE interface by showcasing a banner at the top of the screen. Google Street View: An iGUIDE can be captured, processed, and sent to Google Street View. This provides individuals with a quick and simple method to virtually explore the property location prior to their physical visit. Additionally, iGUIDE's measurement tool can help buyers determine the size of rooms and ensure that their furniture will fit properly. By utilizing these features, you can provide valuable information to potential buyers and increase their confidence in the property. Creating high-value virtual tours with iGUIDE is an effective way to showcase properties and attract potential buyers in the competitive real estate market. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your virtual tours are engaging and visually appealing. Remember to choose the right equipment, plan your shots, capture high-quality images and utilize iGUIDE's features. By doing so, you'll create virtual tours that stand out and leave a lasting impression on potential buyers. Add iGUIDE to your real estate toolkit. Request a free demo today! To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.   Thank you to iGuide for sponsoring this article on RE Technology!

3 tricks to help make your virtual tour shine
The impact of digital technology on the daily workflow of a real estate agent continues to grow. Virtual tours are one of the most valuable digital tools agents can use to market a property. According to a 2022 report by the National Association of Realtors, nearly 40% of home buyers found virtual tours very useful when looking for properties online and a top 10 tool agents use to market homes. In its most recent Consumer Housing Trends Report, Zillow found that 60% of sellers say that a virtual tour is very or extremely important for marketing their homes. Today's virtual tours are created with automated software tools and marketing platforms, making them ubiquitous: they look and feel the same. And while 3D immersive tours with floor plans give potential buyers greater insight into the home's features and layout, it doesn't provide context: how the property may be different or better than others listed for sale. If you want your virtual tours to stand out from the competition and increase potential buyer engagement, there are a few things you can do to create context about each property you list for sale. 3 Tricks That Can Make Your Virtual Tour Stand Out 1. Add Captions In this era of silent auto-play videos on social media, captions are not merely an add-on but a necessity. The mute start feature of social media videos makes it essential for your virtual tour to have captions – your viewers should understand the essence of your tour even without the audio. This simple addition has a two-fold benefit. First, it ensures that your message reaches even those viewers who cannot turn on the audio, maybe because they are in a public place or a quiet environment. Second, and perhaps most importantly, it makes your content more inclusive. There are some 48 million Americans who have disabling hearing loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By adding captions, you instantly make your tours accessible to this significant demographic, thereby broadening your reach. You also create videos compliant with state and federal regulations by providing comprehensive captioning. Research also shows that captioning videos improves audience comprehension. A national study conducted with Oregon State University found that 98.6 percent of students said captions were helpful overall, and 52 percent said they were helping specifically by improving comprehension. Moreover, captions offer a way to highlight a property's unique selling points. The spacious living room, the Italian marble in the bathroom, the view from the bedroom – all these details can be emphasized through well-written captions, making your property more appealing. 2. Provide Neighborhood Context Buying a house is not just about the building itself; it's about the entire community and the amenities that come with it. Prospective buyers want to understand the new environment they might be moving into. Video that can put a property in perspective can give the listing a better context. One of the most effective ways to do this is by using drone footage in your virtual tour to showcase the neighborhood. This can be one of the most effective strategies for making virtual tours more comprehensive and engaging. From the house's proximity to local parks, schools, libraries, and shopping centers, to its location concerning major roads and transportation hubs – all these can be showcased spectacularly via drone footage. Nearly every professional real estate photographer offers drone video and image capture as an add-on at a reasonable fee. Imagine your viewers looking at the property from above, realizing how close their potential new home is to a community dog park or a top-rated school. It could be the deal sealer, adding an extra dimension to your property's appeal that still photographs simply cannot capture. 3. Tell a Story Every home has a story, a history that makes it unique. Traditional property listings with just photos and descriptions often fail to convey this story effectively. However, with a virtual tour, you have a unique opportunity to tell the story of the home and make your listing more engaging and memorable. Perhaps the house was built by a prominent local builder, the neighborhood was established by a group of artists in the 1960s, or maybe the home was the first in the area to have a certain architectural feature. Including such details in your virtual tour adds a narrative element that helps your listing stand apart. Even better, by using storytelling, you create an emotional connection between the viewers and the property. Potential buyers start imagining themselves as a part of the home's story, picturing their lives unfolding in those spaces. And that can be a powerful motivator for potential buyers. Make your tours unique Each of these three strategies to help make your virtual tours stand out can work independently – or combined. The goal is to make your virtual tours more engaging, comprehensive, and memorable. By adding captions, you make your content more accessible and ensure that your key selling points are not missed. Using drone footage, you provide a broader context of the property, showcasing its connection with the local community. And by telling a home's unique story, you engage viewers emotionally, making your listing more appealing and memorable. Making your virtual tours unique can be one of the best ways to engage more sellers and your listings faster. Remember, if you need help with any of the tools or software you are using to create virtual tours and have any technical challenges, Tech Helpline can help. Analysts are available by chat on their app (Apple or Google) or just an email or phone call away. Other related stories about digital tech tools: 4 things kids can teach us about engaging video content 9 technology productivity tips: Do this, not that 3 stand-out video hacks: making videos that get clicks! 5 common tech mistakes real estate agents should avoid To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.

The Ideal Closing Gift for Your Buyer
How many thank you gift baskets and flower arrangements have you presented to congratulate buyers on their new homes? Sure, it's the thought that counts, but isn't it time to give your buyers something more valuable to keep you on their minds for months and years to come? A suite of photographs, floor plans, and 3D tours, like those offered by iGUIDE, is a unique closing gift that provides great long term value. iGUIDE offers multiple benefits for your clients and is also a continuous reminder of your brand. Identify with the space Great real estate photography, 3D tours and floor plans are more than eye-catching marketing material. These tools help buyers identify with spaces by creating a connection that ultimately leads to purchasing a home. But when the keys are handed over on closing day, buyers unfortunately no longer have access to all that valuable information about their newly purchased property. Here is where iGUIDE and agents can fill the void. Instead of just gifting the new homeowner with a glorious array of tropical flowers, give them a way to appreciate their new residence with a complete understanding of every square foot. An iGUIDE offers multiple ways for a buyer to get comfortable in their home. Floor plan measurements and virtual tours can be shared with movers, making the change of residence a smooth transition. Accurate measurements for furniture placement eliminate the need to rearrange things multiple times. Also, 3D tours let friends and family members participate in the excitement of a new home no matter where they are located. Help with design and renovations Every homeowner likes to add personal touches to their home. Whether it is design modifications or major renovations, they still need to figure out a cost. An iGUIDE closing gift gives your buyer the perfect tool to help calculate the price of supplies by using advanced measurement tools. Measurements can be captured from multiple points in 2D or 3D space. Changing flooring, cabinetry or doorways are major projects and your buyer will appreciate the ability to budget accurately for all the construction costs they'll require before initiating any demolition. Design isn't always about physical changes to the property; it also includes interior design. With an iGUIDE, floor plan measuring for new furniture and window treatments is easy. Buying furniture that doesn't fit will be a thing of the past, as your clients will now be able to use the measurement tools to determine how much space is required. Working with permits and contractors The house closing date is often the beginning of a long list of changes for the new owner. Not everyone is a do-it-yourself kind of person. When a home renovation project is more than just a couple of cans of paint, permits and outside help can be a must. Home buyers can help speed up the process by supplying their newly gifted iGUIDE to their contractors. The accurately measured floor plans can help get approval for potential development permits as municipalities often require drawings "to scale" for renovation projects. iGUIDE uniquely contains all the measurements, floorplans, photos and 3D virtual tours allowing everyone involved in the construction process access to accurate information. Insurance claims and replacement costs How does your buyer's insurance company calculate replacement costs when there is a claim? Most insurance adjusters visit the home "after" there has been an incident. What if your buyer could provide proof of quality before any potential disaster? Documented quality of finishing, personal items and measurements are crucial when settling a claim with an insurance adjuster. Not only does iGUIDE give the homeowner the advantage of providing proof, but it will also make any future claims process quicker and more transparent for everyone involved. They will appreciate your thoughtful closing gift when determining what needs to be replaced. The complete iGUIDE package also provides a visual keepsake of irreplaceable items. iGUIDE keeps you in the loop The house closing date is not the end for real estate agents. Home buyers often become a seller at some point or know someone who wants to list their property. What better way to keep your name coming to mind than to give them a way to share the closing gift repeatedly? The iGUIDE contains your branding, and when your buyer is ready to sell, your name and contact information are already at their fingertips. Satisfied buyers willingly share their real estate adventures with friends and family, providing you with priceless referrals. Real estate agent closing gifts are an appreciation for choosing you above the other agents in your area. Gift cards, flower arrangements and a basket of fruit give instant gratification, but if you want to give something with lasting value that doesn't end up forgotten after a couple of weeks, choose iGUIDE. Help your buyer stay connected long after you've handed over the keys. To learn more about all that iGUIDE offers, visit goiguide.com/showcase.

How Real Estate Agents Can Use Virtual Reality to Scale their Business
Virtual reality (VR) is revolutionizing the way we interact with the world around us, and the real estate industry is no exception. As the world becomes increasingly digital, it's crucial for real estate agents to adapt and incorporate VR into their business strategies to stay competitive. In this post, we'll explore how real estate agents can use virtual reality to scale their real estate business and provide an immersive experience for their clients. Providing immersive experiences One of the most significant advantages of using VR in real estate is the ability to provide an immersive experience for potential buyers. Clients can tour properties virtually using VR technology, which enables them to do so whenever and from any location in the world. This is especially useful for buyers from other countries or states who are unable to attend live showings. A real estate brokerage company like Redfin, for instance, recently introduced a virtual home-buying program that enables customers to explore homes in 3D, virtually tour the property, and even measure the dimensions of individual rooms. Redfin has been able to close deals with clients who are unable to attend in-person showings thanks to technology, which has also helped them differentiate themselves from competing real estate firms. More interactive approach By enabling real estate agents to showcase properties in a more interactive and interesting way, VR can also aid them in growing their business. VR technology allows real estate agents to create immersive experiences that give clients a better sense of the property's layout, features, and overall vibe rather than just showing them photos and videos of the properties. For instance, the company Matterport, which produces 3D virtual tours of properties, has assisted real estate agents in creating more interesting property listings. Customers can explore the property in a 3D model, view each room from various perspectives, and get a better idea of how the property flows overall. This promotes quicker sales by assisting clients in making better-informed decisions about which properties to pursue. Save time and money VR technology can also help real estate agents save time and money. In conventional real estate, agents may invest countless hours preparing for showings, driving clients to properties, and responding to inquiries about properties. Real estate agents can now conduct virtual showings and give clients all the information they require without ever leaving the office thanks to VR technology. For instance, real estate agents have been able to save time and money by using virtual tours of properties created by VRX Studios, a business that develops virtual reality experiences for the hospitality and real estate industries. These virtual tours give customers a thorough overview of the property, enabling them to decide whether or not to pursue the property with greater knowledge. Less time will be wasted traveling to properties that might not be a good fit for the client. Improve operations In addition to the benefits for clients, VR technology can also help real estate agents improve their internal operations. Real estate agents, for instance, can create more precise floor plans with the aid of VR technology, which will help them market properties more successfully. Additionally, it may enable agents to work with other team members more effectively, facilitating information sharing and project collaboration. For example, the 3D floor plan and virtual tour company Planitar has assisted real estate agents in streamlining their internal procedures. Real estate agents can produce more effective marketing materials that highlight the special features of a property if they are given precise 3D floor plans. Other team members, such as photographers and marketers, can also access the 3D floor plans, facilitating better collaboration. In conclusion, virtual reality technology has the potential to revolutionize the real estate industry. By providing clients with an immersive experience, helping real estate agents showcase properties more effectively, saving time and money, and improving internal operations, VR technology can help real estate agents scale their business and stand out from the competition. As the world becomes increasingly digital, real estate agents who incorporate VR technology into their business strategies will have a competitive advantage in the marketplace. To view the original article, visit the Transactly blog.

How to Sell in 2023: Decreases in Prices Mean Increases in Marketing
Forty-one percent of Americans are in fear of a housing recession, according to a recent article from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Real estate in 2023 is triggering uncertainty for many homeowners. Is selling in a down market the right move? What about waiting for mortgage interest rates to decrease? Are there enough buyers interested in purchasing homes this year? Home selling jitters can make your job as a real estate agent difficult. But when you approach the subject with confidence and armed with a solid marketing plan, you can win more listings. Records are meant to be broken Real estate sales in 2023 will continue, although record sales and prices set in 2021 and 2022 will be a thing of the past. Consumers always have a reason to move, whether for a change in employment, retirement goals or an economic decision, demand in the housing market never stops. Sellers need buyers, and buyers need sellers. It sounds simple enough, but your task is to bring them together to form a harmonious outcome. Forget about the headlines Plummeting sales, the housing crisis, rising interest rates and other headlines grab everyone's attention. You already know that real estate in 2023 will be challenging. Economists are forecasting housing prices to stabilize or decline. CoreLogic's chief economist, Selma Hepp, states that "price deceleration will likely persist into the spring of 2023." Increase your listing's exposure by hosting online 3D tours and virtual open houses. Use the technology the consumer has become accustomed to. Regardless of price, interest rates, or inventory, buyers are interested in the fit and flow of a floor plan. Interacting with a property creates an intimate connection. The ability to virtually walk through hallways and get up close and personal with every space can lead to a potential sale. Top approaches to marketing Selling in a down market means ramping up your real estate marketing plan. Professionalism and real estate go hand in hand. Consumers trust that you are presenting accurate depictions of every listing. NAR's 2022 report ranks virtual tours and floor plans in the top five "very useful" website features for homebuyers. Not only do virtual tours with interactive floor plans grab the attention of the consumer, but they eliminate a lot of stress for the seller as well. Selling in a down market means you need to focus your marketing efforts on the eyes of the consumer. However, selling in a down market doesn't mean skimping on the information. It means providing useful data for every listing. Start with an accurate calculation of square footage. Price per square foot is one of the best ways to compare value. For your seller, it helps them understand the comparative market value of their home with recent sales. For the buyer, floor plans drive engagement whether they are calculating the costs of renovations or deciding where their furniture fits. The business of branding You are your brand. Building consumer confidence requires a carefully planned approach to marketing. Real estate in 2023 is all about transparency. What better way to have your listings seen than to offer sellers and buyers what they are looking for? Technology provides everyone with the ability to compare value. Assessing properties is easy with accurate square footage, high-definition photos, and 3D tours. You are selling more than a room with a view. You are marketing the entire view of every house. NAR's recent report on technology notes that 47% of real estate agents state that virtual tours have a positive impact on business. Showcase your brand across multiple social channels when selling in a down market. Virtual tours are useful in Facebook ads, Instagram posts, and embedded into your website. While a housing market crash is unlikely for real estate in 2023, it certainly is headed in a different direction. There is no point holding your breath and waiting for the next boom—it could take another major event to trigger it. There are ways to increase your real estate leads and improve your sales. Give sellers a reason to choose you. Start with an iGUIDE and finish with a quick sale.

New in Cloud CMA: Live buyer tours
It's not news to any of us that in the last few years, real estate has changed—and with spring selling season around the corner, the pace of the market will likely pick up. Agents will be hitting the road, taking clients to view homes before they disappear off the market. With this in mind and with so many components of a real estate deal happening in the digital world, the best way to get ahead and prepare for another season is with software improvements. And on that note, Lone Wolf introduces the newest improvement in Cloud CMA: Live buyer tours. What are live buyer tours? If you use Cloud CMA, then you're likely already familiar with buyer tours, the reports that build on MLS data to give your buyer clients a better sense of what they're looking at. In fact, buyer tours have become one of the most popular types of reports in Cloud CMA overall! Live buyer tours build on the existing functionality to turn static reports into dynamic ones—with real-time data that you and your buyers can easily read on any device. So you get a new way to show off properties, and your clients get live access to the most relevant information about their favorite listings. What can your clients see with live buyer tours? Their list of showings, organized by time Details like drive time and directions Feedback fields that share directly with their agent And more! Why the change? As we mentioned earlier, real estate has seen a lot of change lately. Home shopping and touring habits aren't what they were when we first introduced buyer tours. Now, people have pocket computers with them constantly, so they can browse listings, request showings, get directions, whatever they need to do—all from the palm of their hands. With live buyer tours, Lone Wolf is taking the paper reports you already provide and bringing them to the technology your clients have on hand. It's a subtle contributor to their overall experience; they'll appreciate the convenience and thoroughness of the information you provide. How does it work? We're glad you asked! Here's a quick tour of the new feature: Head to your Cloud CMA to start using this new feature—or learn more about creating your account here. To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.

Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 1: Staging Your Listing with Virtual Tools
Last year, we shared a three-step system for optimizing your online listing. Over the next several weeks, we'll be publishing a series of articles that breaks down each step one by one. Here's Step One: Your real estate marketing materials should grab the attention of prospective buyers. From 3D virtual tours and photos to detailed floor plans and accurate measurements, you can make your listings come to life. The aim is to encourage consumer interaction to help form an emotional attachment to the space. Advancements in technology allow you to present a property through virtual staging to optimize the listing's effectiveness. Not only does staging provide a way to give a vacant property a visual rendering of a lived-in space, but it gives the consumer a way to picture their personal belongings in a residence. Staging, precisely measured floor plans and 3D virtual tours are the initial steps in the new guide for every real estate agent. The first stage Virtual staging for your online real estate listings is a quick and easy way to improve the marketability of a property. If you are new to the technology, your first staging experience will give you plenty of reasons to use these types of real estate marketing materials for every listing. According to NAR, over 82% of buyer's agents report that staging assisted in helping the buyer visualize a property as their future residence. 3D virtual tours paired with staging and floor plans also helped reduce the amount of time the listing spent on the market. As reported in a recent survey from the Real Estate Staging Association, 73% of staged homes sold for over the listed price. That's great news for your seller. And every real estate agent knows that a happy seller means referrals for future business. The play stage Give the homebuyer a reason to stay and play with your online listings. Using digital tools like Floorplanner allows the consumer to play with every room they want to envision as their own. The top four areas that buyers say staging is most important for are the living room, kitchen, master bedroom and dining room. Including floor plans with advanced measurements provides a realistic perspective of the amount of space each room has to offer. Placement of virtual furniture or planning for renovations is substantially easier when the home can be visualized via the staging process. Along with virtual staging, 3D tours continue to rank high with agents as one of the top real estate marketing assets. The accessory stage Think of your virtual staging as adding accessories to your listings. Like other real estate marketing tools, staging is a way to reach out to the consumer to grab their attention and give them valuable information about a property. Homebuyers and sellers alike benefit from staging. While the buyer enjoys gathering pertinent information like advanced measurements from carefully drafted floor plans, the seller recognizes that you are giving them an added service. Engagement begins when the consumer can navigate a 3D virtual tour, see the property's potential as a home, and imagine their furniture within it. Staged homes on average increase the dollar value offered by between five and 20 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors' Profile of Home Staging. That's good news for your seller. NAR reports that the most recent median price of a home is sitting at just under $400,000, which means $20,000 to $80,000 more for the average staged home. The elimination stage The possibility of a home being eliminated from a buyer's top choices can be avoided with the use of additional real estate marketing tools. A successful online residential listing is one that gets plenty of traffic from potential buyers. A great way to increase volume of visits is by providing details in an easy-to-use format. Consumers want to see homes virtually before they commit to visiting them in person. What can you do to avoid your listing being eliminated by buyers? Think about adding virtual staging to accompanying floor plans so the buyer can gain a full understanding of where windows and doors are to accommodate the placement of their household items. Advanced measurements allow for planning and managing space for any changes or renovations that may be in the future. Analyze the results of your staging to show the seller your real estate marketing materials and staging are working. Daily, weekly and monthly analytics keep you in the know and help determine where your leads are coming from. Details about the number of views for every listing can be shared with your seller to validate your marketing efforts. Important data like the duration of each visitor's time spent looking at your online listing give valuable insight into the level of interest in the property. Virtual staging is closely followed by sharing as the next step to successfully marketing a residential property. That's why you need to be actively posting, messaging and staying social with every listing. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog. Other articles in this series Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 2: Sharing Your Listing to Get Attention Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 3: Show Results to Your Clients

Real Estate Media Trends You Should Follow in 2023
As a real estate pro, staying ahead of the curve and being up-to-date on the latest industry trends are essential. This not only allows you to serve your clients better but also allows you to stay ahead of the competition. The media landscape is constantly changing, and it can take time to keep up with the latest trends. However, following the industry trends is vital to stay on top of your game. Here are the top six real estate media trends for 2023: Virtual Reality Is More Favored One of the significant technologies changing the real estate landscape today is Virtual Reality (VR). VR allows potential buyers to virtual tour a property and its location without physically visiting the space. It also allows real estate developers to present complex projects in an immersive and realistic view. It is an excellent tool for real estate marketing. Realtors can create virtual tours of properties, making it convenient for potential buyers to view and ask questions about the property. So remember to keep up with VR and its continuous helpful effect on the industry to continue to provide your clients with the best possible service. Drone Footage Is Needed Another hot trend in real estate media is drone footage. Drones offer a unique perspective that allows viewers to see properties in a whole new way. 3D mapping is becoming popular as time goes on. It uses images taken from a drone to create highly accurate 3D models of buildings, landscapes, or objects that are not visible from ground level due to their height. Drones are an effective tool for real estate marketers. Given the demand for exceptional real estate photography and detailed property listings, this trend will be around for a while. Social Media Will Remain a Powerful Tool Social media is a powerful marketing tool in the real estate industry. Real estate professionals use social media to increase awareness, educate potential buyers, and generate leads. It is also a great way to connect with people in your community. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be used to share information about events, news articles, or pictures of your listings. Get on TikTok TikTok is one of the practical marketing tools that can assist agents and brokers in reaching a larger audience and increasing their conversion rate. It enables you to present your listings and services to instantly catch homebuyers' attention. The app has become a popular app for real estate. TikTok's true power stems from its relative simplicity. You can create lead-generating material that indicates your authority on the subject and help position you as the go-to real estate professional in your community with a few clicks using the information you already have. Harnessing the Power of Email Email marketing is becoming a necessity in this day and age. More than an online presence is needed; you also need a sound customer relationship management system. This means that you need to send out newsletters regularly. Real estate pros need to send out more marketing emails to reach your business goals and connect with your target audience. You're busy seeking new homeowners for your properties; automated email marketing campaigns deliver the appropriate message directly to them. Real estate email marketing used correctly, can help you reach more clients and close more deals. Prioritize SEO SEO is a crucial part of marketing strategy for the growth of a real estate business. Building a solid online presence can help differentiate your company from the competition and grow your business. Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This process includes on-page factors such as page load speed, content relevance, title tags, and keyword density. There are many things to consider regarding SEO and real estate. The keywords that you use on your website, the content you post, your design, and how often you update your pages all impact how well your website ranks in search engines. The most important thing to remember about SEO is that it's not something you do once and forget about later. It's a process that requires constant attention and care if you want to see results. To Wrap Things Up Real estate media trends are changing rapidly, and agents need to keep up with these changes. With the emergence of new media technology, agents and brokers can reach a wider audience and increase their lead generation. In recent years, online platforms such as social media, blogs, and websites have provided agents with the necessary solutions for marketing their businesses. Following these trends will improve your real estate business, whether you try them yourself or get in touch with experts to help you stay on track. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

5 Simple Ways to Increase the Screen Value of Your Online Real Estate Listings
Are your listings getting enough screen time? To grab attention and keep it, you need to encourage homebuyers to stay a little longer, checking out more than the primary photo. Are you currently using 3D tours and floor plans as part of your real estate marketing plan? If not, here are a few good ways to drive engagement and increase your screen value. Use a professional real estate photographer Market your real estate listing with professional real estate photos. A good first photo is a perfect way to entice potential buyers to want more. Think of your real estate photos like a storefront window. If the display is good, you want to go inside. It's no different with real estate. Attractive photographs increase the amount of time the consumer spends clicking through the images. You want to encourage a connection during the buyer's journey. They stay a little longer and get to the consideration stage faster when they like what they see. Speak with a local real estate photographer who offers services from leading-edge companies like iGUIDE. Unconventional camera systems capture outstanding photos and accurate measurements simultaneously, so turnaround time is quick. Video tours and drone shots Consumers love drone footage. This eye in the sky captures amazing aerial shots to offer a different point of view. Extensive landscaping, outdoor entertaining areas, and sprawling properties benefit well from the use of drone shots. Not every property is a good fit for drone photos, however. You may list a stunning condo or a multi-unit residential property, but a drone shot just won't do it justice. However, video tours highlight the essence of unique spaces, and are an excellent tool for your real estate listing marketing. Video is popular because it allows for narration and lets you point out multiple features within a property. Virtual staging to spark joy Increase the consumers' screen time for your listing by using virtual staging. Virtual staging can help your real estate marketing by presenting a space that makes it look and feel more like home. Whether it's a vacant property or a home that just doesn't have the best furniture placement, virtual staging can spruce it up. Using proptech tools like Floorplanner encourages homebuyers to try before they buy. With multiple furniture choices, accents, the ability to change door and window placements, virtual staging makes decision making easier. 3D tours are a must By now you are using 3D tours, right? If you want to keep the attention of potential buyers, the implementation of 3D tours is the ideal way to market your real estate listing. The goal is to drive engagement, and what better way to do that than using the consumer's favorite way to interact? According to 3Kit, there are 87% more views on listings that incorporate virtual tours. That means you increase the consumers' screen time from just a quick look at the main photo to connecting and interacting with a 3D tour. You know how it works. It's the same reason that reels and video stories are so popular on social media. These attention grabbers drive engagement, leading to the awareness stage on the buyer's journey. Use interactive floor plans to make a connection Understanding a space requires not only beautifully captured photos, but the ability to virtually walk through and make a personal connection. Buyers want to know all their stuff will fit into each space within the home. Accurately measured floor plans give them the ability to compare their existing living quarters to new ones. As Inman notes, buyers have come to expect floor plans as part of the way you market your real estate listing. Measurements give meaning and value to a space and help increase the amount of time the consumer spends looking at a property. As a bonus, floor plans include important dimensions for future renovations. With the help of advanced measurements from an iGUIDE, the buyer can remotely plan and design each space. Increasing screen value and screen time for online real estate listings provides benefits for the seller and the buyer. When you use tech tools like virtual tours and floor plans, your sellers experience fewer interruptions in their daily life. The property gets shown to more qualified buyers, thus saving time for both the seller and you. Buyers will start to form an emotional connection as they are drawn in by captivating professional real estate photos and multiple ways to interact online. Help your real estate listings make their best impression online by using all the services available to you from a professional real estate photographer. For more information regarding iGUIDE, click here. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

How Virtual Reality Is Changing the Way We Market Real Estate
Virtual reality (VR) has changed the game in the real estate world. It's expected to grow exponentially within the next five years, becoming the primary way we market real estate. The traditional form of home buying and rental shopping consists of figuring out finances, physically touring countless houses, making an offer, applying for mortgages, inspecting the house, getting an appraisal, asking for repairs, and a final walkthrough. On average it takes five to six months to find a house and many people don't have the time or energy for that. You can shorten the financial side and ease stress by encouraging your clients to get a mortgage pre-approval, but outside of finances, the most time-consuming aspect is viewing the homes. Seventy-two percent of recent homebuyers report feeling frustrated with their home purchase. In most cases, this is because of frustration with their real estate agent and the lengthy process. No one has found a way to make touring potential homes more efficient, until VR. Benefits VR Offers There are several benefits that VR offers, one of them being fewer costs allocated to the home buying process. Viewing properties is time-consuming and taxing, especially when you're constantly taking off work to travel to look at homes. It's recommended that buyers look at homes they're interested in two or three times to make sure it's a good fit. People often don't pay attention to details the first time they view a home, so it's important to give it a second look to find the things you may have missed. Having to schedule times with the agent and homebuyer to view the home can be just as frustrating. VR allows your client to interact with the property without physically having to be there. The self-guided tour is beneficial since you can visit the property at your own frequency and time. It also helps narrow down the search since you'll be able to cross off homes that don't appeal to you online. A VR home search can allow you to see houses back-to-back for easy comparison, and gives you the ability to show friends and family for added input. Immersive Experience Brands are already leveraging VR for a better customer experience. This will hopefully decrease frustration for home buyers while also accelerating the home search experience for all parties. VR allows you to virtually walk through an accurate depiction of the home since pictures can be deceptive and descriptions can be hard to go by. The virtual tour program will be able to measure out dimensions of the room, window placements, and a better overall layout. Virtual tours can also be used when your client is building a property. It gives a more accurate portrayal of what you'll get and will provide the ability to make necessary adjustments before the process begins. This allows your team to get a head start with interior design. It's a great tool to use when mapping out each room and determining how it will fit into your vision. Unlimited Customizations Companies like Amazon already use augmented reality to show how their furniture would look in your home. Staging furniture can influence the appeal of a home viewing. Many home buyers are drawn to homes that are set up nicely and cater to the style of the consumer. Using VR in this instance can help better visualize the home the way the consumer wants and improve the overall appearance and marketing of the property. One of the main components consumers look for when shopping around for a home is size. VR programs are able to showcase size and dimensions easily. The general walkthrough of the rooms will help the buyer decide if it's enough space for them. As stated prior, this would help narrow down the search instead of wasting precious time scheduling and viewing a tour in person. With VR becoming the new reality in real estate, it's time to consider your options and implement this new program into your practice. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

How Real Estate Agents Can Decrease Interruptions in the Home Selling Process
There is a buyer for every house, sometimes even more than one buyer depending on the market, the age and style of the home and, of course, the price. The point is that homes sell over and over. What can agents do to facilitate this recycling of homes to limit the lulls and time consuming steps in the sales process? Preparation is the key to decreasing interruptions in the journey. Time management, pre-qualification for financing, a few helpful checklists, and sharing your knowledge and experience will guide home buyers and sellers through every step along the way. Start with a Clean Sweep! Selling a home is a huge undertaking. There are several steps to take to ensure the process has limited interruptions. The first step is to prepare your clients for the big tidy up. Before they think about selling their house, they'll need to ensure that it is presentable and appealing to prospective buyers. High quality photos, floor plans and measurements will need to be taken and 3D tour data will need to be shot, all in preparation for showing the property. Provide your clients with a checklist to help them sift through each room, including the bathrooms and storage spaces. The goal is to remove as many items as possible from the potential buyers' line of vision. Ensuring that each space looks uncluttered and roomy is essential when presenting the home. Making the home appealing to a possible new owner means they need to be able to visualize their personal items in the space. By clearing away your home sellers' collectibles, personal photos, and large furniture pieces, the space is visually more welcoming to the camera and ultimately the buyer. Keeping the space clean will be a lot easier with fewer obstacles to maneuver around when preparing for the 3D tour shoot. Don't forget to tidy up the front and back yards because first impressions are often the driving factor that leads interested home buyers to have a look inside. Cleaning up ahead of the photo shoot and scan to determine dimensions for measurements will ensure that photographer isn't delayed in their photo shoot and that the visuals are clutter-free, engaging, and show the property off in its best light. Those dynamic visuals will go one step further in preventing unnecessary delays in the selling process by allowing online home shoppers to visually inspect the property and use the room dimensions and square footage calculations to determine if they are a good match. They are pre-qualifying themselves for the sale and not wasting the homeowners' time with unfruitful, in-person visits to satisfy their curiosity or to discover that there is hardwood when they prefer carpet! Securing Financing and Home Inspections Once the home has been prepared placed on the market, your home sellers' job is complete. It's now up to you, the Realtor, to effectively market the home to the public. Drawing on your experience, you need to explain to your clients how you will pre-qualify potential buyers for their home. The buyer must meet the required criteria from their lender in order to obtain funding for a purchase. Once this is confirmed, then the transition from viewing a home to a written purchase contract will run smoothly. Though a financing condition is almost always placed in a contract, with mortgage pre-qualification, the process is less likely to run into interruptions. With the financial needs being met, buyer's agent can then facilitate a home inspection for the property to help the buyer better understand any potential issues regarding structure, electrical, plumbing, environmental, and mechanical areas. It is essential to have a property inspection for the buyer's peace of mind, but it is just as important for insurance purposes for their new home. Insurance companies need to know that the property has been maintained which limits liability issues. A major concern in recent years is the use of asbestos, which can be hazardous to your health, and poly-B plumbing fittings that have caused sudden leaks resulting in water damage to the property. Having a clean bill of health for the property will speed up the next steps in preparing for the change of ownership. Make a List and Check It Twice For a smooth transition from the purchase contract, to a home inspection, to possession day, it is a good idea to create a final checklist of "Things to Do." Before you complete the sale, you will need to share the property report that indicates the home is compliant with municipal bylaws. You should know about any possible penalties with regard to moving, discharging, or changing the home sellers' current financing. Financial institutions often charge large interest penalties when changing the parameters of existing mortgages. It is better to know ahead of time rather than be shocked when they have to come up with thousands of extra dollars to discharge their mortgage. Whether your clients are the seller or the buyer, as a Realtor, you'll need to make sure to clean up the loose ends to make it a seamless and stress-free transaction. Items that need attention by the home sellers are: notifying all the utility services of a new owner, redirecting their mail, cancelling or requesting home insurance, setting up security systems, scheduling a mover, checking schools, transportation routes, and residential parking permits. You'll also need to remind them to engage with a lawyer or paralegal to help with the preparation of legal documents and registration of the property at the Land Titles Registry. Preparation is key to decreasing interruptions in the sales process. Buying or selling a property doesn't have to be scary or confusing. Be sure to keep the lines of communication open, provide timely advice and helpful checklists, and the transition to or from a home will be as easy for your clients as turning the key. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

How to Show Off Your Listings Remotely
The goal of remote home showings is to provide the most in-person experience we possibly can without actually being there in person. Transparency is key. Buyers need access to as much information as possible. They want their virtual viewing experience to feel as emotionally compelling as an actual showing. This might require some agents to try out technology and tools they haven't used in the past. Let's break down some of the options available to Realtors, and the best ways to use them to help your buyers shop for their new home, from home. Virtual 3D Tours Nearly everyone is using the term "virtual tours" right now. Essentially, this means that a buyer can take a visual walk through the home. Years ago, this term was used for still photos that were stitched together to make a video. But times have changed, and true virtual tours are no longer just photos set to elevator music. A professional virtual tour now allows you to stand in the home and look around in 360-degree turns, taking in the entire space. Buyers love the ability to see every room, just as they would in person. When paired with a floor plan, virtual tours give a sense of space, flow and light. Speaking of floor plans, a professional floor plan is a huge bonus for virtual shoppers. Floor plans provide an understanding of how a space will work. They show room dimensions, which way doors swing, and storage space. Buyers gain an appreciation of where windows are and how their furniture might fit in the space. A 3D tour without a floor plan can be confusing, leaving buyers to guess how rooms are connected to one another. Many real estate portals and online search sites are now accommodating virtual tours and 3D tours, allowing buyers to view them before booking a showing. This is perfect if you want to show off real estate listings remotely. Looking for a photographer or videographer that creates 3D virtual tours and floor plans in your area? Search here. Video Tours Many agents are also using the power of video to showcase their listings, creating both live and on-demand videos to take the place of open houses or showings. Most portals and real estate search sites already allow for on-demand video links, but live video has never been easier to produce. Agents are using Facebook Live to show off their listings and pre-screen for potential buyers. Instagram video and IGTV are also great places to host short video walkthroughs. Both Realtor.com® and Zillow offer the option for buyers to choose "video tour" when booking showings. Having a video created and available to send to buyer leads is all the more important when showing remotely. Virtual Staging For vacant homes, give your buyers the ability to picture themselves living there by utilizing virtual staging. This can also be used to freshen up and declutter your furnished listings as well! This is a great way to get those virtual and online shoppers to emotionally fall in love, before ever setting foot in the home. Marketing your listings remotely means getting creative and taking advantage of the tools available. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

Why Use 3D Tours to Engage Buyers?
Impact. If you want to have an impact on your real estate marketing, think of 3D tours. Photos are useful to present a two-dimensional picture of a property, but with 3D tours, you not only paint the picture but you make the picture come to life. Videos can help the consumer comprehend a space quickly and can deepen the emotional attachment. Here are the top ways to engage buyers using 3D tours. The stage Preparation for your new listing begins with staging. Work with the seller and provide them with candid ways to get their home ready for shooting professional 3D tours, photos, and videos. Identify areas within the home that require cleaning, decluttering, and adjustment of furniture placement. Engaging with buyers Have your 3D tours ready to share on a variety of different platforms. Naturally, the first choice is to make sure you link the 3D tour to your MLS listing information. From there you can connect and share with existing leads, fellow agents, and prospective clients. Realtor.com is the largest most popular platform for showcasing your listings and with every virtual tour you are reaching hundreds or thousands of potential buyers. Social sharing According to Social Media Week, 82% of all online traffic will be in the form of video in 2022. Currently, 78% of people watch online videos weekly. Considering these numbers, engaging potential buyers with a 3D tour through Facebook ads, your Instagram profile, and other social media is an excellent way to grab attention. Consumers love watching videos and NAR's 2021 generational report states that 58% of buyers reported videos as important on their journey to purchase a new home. Teaser post Before your listing goes live share a teaser post on your website before posting the entire 3D tour. Some of the best rooms for small snippets of information are the kitchen and master bedroom. Offering a short video post is like a movie trailer—it's a way to sieze attention and create a desire for the entire virtual tour. Retention Did you know that engaging buyers with 3D tours can lead to more sales and longer periods of interaction as a result of watching the video? Video helps buyers to retain information about your listings and according to Quick Sprout, consumers are 64% more likely to buy a product after viewing an online video. Write your own script Use your 3D tours for virtual showings and virtual open houses. Take a few minutes to create a script to align with the virtual tour of the home highlighting the floor plan and features. Once you have it perfected, you can go ahead and share it directly with the consumer through a text message. You stay in control of the virtual showing and can interact with potential buyers at every turn. Video walk-through Post a video walk-through on your website to increase your buyer leads. According to recent HubSpot data, 84% of marketers say video improves your lead generation. Engaging with buyers by using 3D virtual tours not only provides awareness of your brand and each listing but can help you make the sale faster with better leads. 3D tours impact your sales and marketing in positive ways. From better-qualified buyers to happy sellers, iGUIDE improves the way you do business.

A Successful Virtual Open House and 3D Tours for Your Clients
Ah, the open house. You either love it or are indifferent to it. But either way, an open house is an essential tool in your real estate marketing plan. Traditional open houses require you to set up a multitude of signs leading traffic in the direction of your listing. Your Saturday or Sunday are the ideal days of the week for such activities. As a real estate agent, there are no days off if you want to be successful. However, though the pandemic may have forced you to rethink and rework your marketing plan, now technology has given you the ability to host a virtual open house. What is a virtual open house? Similar to the 3D tours you offer as part of your listing services, a virtual open house is viewed completely on any device with a screen that can connect to the internet. There are a couple of options in terms of presentation. Livestreaming of your tour is where you are physically at the property with a handheld device, such as your smartphone, walking through the property and giving a live presentation. A live tour can come with problems such as poor streaming, malfunction of your equipment, or a crass viewer trying to ruin your tour. The other option is looking more polished by using pre-recorded 3D tours where you are in control of every aspect. The benefits of having a professional virtual tour from companies like iGUIDE are numerous. You will save time by preparing in advance, offer outstanding video quality with a professional shoot, and have the ability to upload your virtual open house on your chosen platform for anyone to view it regardless of the time zone they are in. Satisfy the demand of the consumer Social distancing and fear of contagions have driven the consumer to demand more options for visiting a prospective property. With 3D tours, you can satisfy the needs of both the seller and the buyer. Naturally, the seller is content with you limiting disruptions in their daily lives by hosting showings and open houses virtually. And the buyers can view your virtual open house in the comfort of their own home. Not only does this give the buyer a convenient way to form an emotional connection with the home, but they can also check out the floor plan, professional photos, and get all the highlights of the property through your carefully scripted virtual open house tour. Preparation What is a virtual open house preparation? Getting your presentation ready to showcase your listing to other real estate agents or the public requires a little practice. Writing a script to talk about the accurate square footage and floor plan is a good place to start. Of course, you will want to include a multitude of intimate details about the home and the general neighborhood. Make a point of following up by giving out the link to the virtual tour so interested parties can revisit the home at their leisure. Familiarize yourself with the various platforms you may want to use to host the open house like Zoom, Google Meet, or another of your choosing. Virtual open houses streamed live will require setting up the property to look great during the tour, making sure the lights are all on, and the home is clear of clutter. Getting the word out Advertising your virtual open house can be done through a variety of media. A good place to start is to add the details to your MLS information and Realtor.com. In addition, you can use social media to schedule a Facebook Live event, use teaser videos on your Instagram profile, and send out a few interesting Twitter messages. Be sure to include the date and time you will be hosting your virtual open house. Check with other real estate agents who may have listings in the area to help get the word out. Think about pairing up with one or more of them to increase your reach. Don’t forget about using your existing for sale sign by adding, "Check out when the next virtual open house is" and your website address. Effective or not What is a virtual open house good for anyway? While a virtual open house may seem like just another gimmick, it is a great way to communicate value to your seller along with the 3D tours, drone videos, and real estate marketing tools from cutting-edge pioneers like iGUIDE®. It is all about providing value to your seller and using technology to market a property. Sure, there will always be the traditionalists who prefer up close and personal tours of a home, but with more than 97% of all buyers starting their home search online, you can bet a good portion of them will jump on that virtual open house. The driving force behind any great real estate marketing plan is technology. By incorporating virtual open houses, virtual tours and one-on-one virtual showings, you are making it easier to bring information to potential buyers and making it a whole lot easier for your seller to see the value of a great real estate agent.

How @Realty Agents Benefit from Using Virtual Tours and Interactive Floor Plans
See for yourself how @Realty agents benefit from using virtual tours and interactive floor plans to sell properties in 2021! Watch the video below: Rent or sell sight unseen, win more listings, and stand out of your competition with Virtual Tours Creator. Present your offers in most effective and easiest, affordable way. Use online software to create unique virtual tours in under 15 minutes for less than $3! Learn more here.

Make Your Next Marketing Strategy Local
What does it mean to be a local real estate agent? By focusing on a targeted area, you become an expert in a specific geographic area. You regularly attend events and have your eyes and ears tuned into the pulse of the community. The relationship you have with a specific area is second nature and you know about all the new developments, where the best schools are located, the Walk Scores, and crime rates. To put it into perspective, you are the consumer's go-to when they need to find out who's who and the buzz in your area. When questions arise about planning, zoning, and environmental concerns or the selling price of the property down the street with a similar floor plan, you have the answers on the tip of your tongue. Honing in on a local area will make your brand stand out and get you recognized as the local expert. What are some secrets to becoming a local expert? Use virtual tours in your new real estate marketing plan It's no secret that consumers are using technology at a faster rate than ever before. Homebuyers are especially enamoured with searching online. According to NAR, 97% of them use the web in their quest for a new home. Sure, traditional and old-school marketing can add some nostalgia to your advertising, but it is time to embrace the digital age and focus on having an online presence. By incorporating real estate marketing tools like immersive 3D tours and interactive floor plans, you not only highlight the fit and flow of each property, but you highlight the fact that you are current with real estate technology. Be the agent the locals recognize as the tech-friendly marketing expert for all their real estate requirements. Following the leads and leading with followers You can lead by following. Follow the social channels of local businesses, including professional services, retail, recreational facilities, and builders and developers in the area. Take the lead by asking your followers questions on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to initiate conversation. Listen to the voices of the residents and use your time to engage with the community by sharing stories on your social channels, including virtual open houses, 3D tours, and market updates. Did you know you can guide a buyer through a property by sharing a link during a virtual showing? Social connections can drive leads from your apps directly to a potential sale. The importance of standing out in a highly competitive field There are plenty of intelligent real estate agents who know the rules and abide by the fundamentals of the industry standards. But you need to be more than the "standard" Realtor. Marketing tools from companies like iGUIDE® can make you stand out. How you present a property listing should inspire, entice, and engage the consumer. How can you accomplish this? Use real estate marketing tools to reel in the consumer and make a connection. Buyers and sellers want information including accurate measurements, property-specific details, and community amenities. By offering floor plans and easily navigated virtual tours in your digital marketing, you can tie it all together with your expert knowledge of the geographic region. Create your brand identity with niche marketing One of the best marketing tools for real estate agents is building your brand through consistent messaging. Leading real estate coach Tom Ferry suggests you master a specific niche as one of the marketing ideas to elevate your brand. Every listing is an opportunity for you to reach out to the public and show them the value of choosing an agent who can offer good advice, accurate information and present it all in a timely manner. Doing this builds trust and recognition in your brand. When focusing in a specific neighborhood, it is imperative to help the community identify you as the "expert" in the area. You will get recognized as an agent specializing in a specific geographic area when offering things like virtual tours and precise floor plans in your listings. With the proper branding and dedication to your targeted area, your name becomes synonymous with the "go-to" agent for both buyers and sellers in your niche market. Details matter Focus on a single demographic region to uncover and learn the intimate details about schools, parks, Walk Scores, and community happenings. Little details about a neighborhood matter to buyers, as much as the fit and flow of a property. When you guide a potential buyer through a virtual showing, you can have a conversation with them about what it would be like to live in the home. Highlighting property details makes it easier for a consumer to imagine how they will fit into their new home. Working in a niche market doesn't mean you can stray away from the environs periodically. After all, plenty of opportunities will arise while networking within your chosen locale. The key to your success is to use the best marketing tools for real estate agents to distinguish yourself from everyone else out there.

How to Improve Google Positioning by Promoting Yourself Locally with Virtual Tours
This post is an example and proof of how to use virtual tours to position yourself on Google, draw traffic to your website and get leads from your local audience. Check out the aerial 360° virtual tour of the most famous Australian beach, Bondi Beach. This aerial tour will allow you to see the Bondi Beach Coastal walk from Bondi to Bronte Beach. It also covers the beautiful Tamarama beach on your way down south. Visit the Icebergs pools and see some local attractions: Remember, if you already have a Virtual Tours Creator account, you can create professional virtual tours of any space and it won't cost you more than what you already pay. Just find a local attraction: RSL Surf club Golf course School or kindergarten (VTC offers free virtual tours hosting for our plan holders of any educational institution) Museum Gallery Coffee place Park Beach Monument... ...and make a vr tour of it! Later embed it on your website's blog and you will see that with time, your real estate website will start popping up in Google search. And when anyone watches the tour, your logo is there, right at the bottom of every panorama. They will know straight up that you are an agent fully fluent in the digital real estate world. They will understand that you can reach more people faster than any other agent and that their property will be in good hands. This is how you get your name out there in the digital era. Below you can find our older virtual tour of Melbourne's Graffiti Laneways that we use just like the Bondi Beach aerial 360° virtual tour . This tour brought more than 1300 people to our website and the average time spent on viewing it was over six minutes! Imagine getting a potential 1300 homeowners or landlords spending six minutes on your website! You can also create a tour of a local school or kindergarten, and your logo and your name will be visible to every parent that wants their kids to go to a school or Kindy in your local area. Virtual Tours Creator (VTC) gives you free hosting of such tours. Learn more about VTC here. To view the original article, visit the Virtual Tours Creator blog.

14 Benefits of Virtual 360 Tours for Real Estate Sales and Marketing, Part 1
Did you know that, according to Zillow.com, listings with 360 virtual tours sold 10% faster and were 22% more likely to sell within 30 days than listings without. Unless you have been living under a rock, you saw the whole industry change because of the global pandemic. Here are the key benefits of virtual tours in sales and marketing according to some of the best agents in the industry. 1. Put your online presence on steroids Ninety percent of buyers are looking for properties online first and virtual tours definitely help you improve your visual appeal and Google positioning. If you think your letter drops are doing the work and getting you leads, that's fine—but in the post-COVID era, being digitally present and having some sort of Google search position is now more important than ever before. Sellers and buyers both take advice from the internet. If your face or your brand is not there on top of the search, you may soon be hurting for business. 2. Online showings 24/7 Buyers simply don't have time to do open houses every weekend, so give them a chance to inspect a property from the comfort of their own home and from any device. Virtual tours are a win-win situation for agents, sellers and buyers according to Lora Bladow, REMAX Excel agency owner from Schofield, Wisconsin. For agents, they save time on driving multiple times to open the door to a property. On the other hand, buyers don't have the time or even the opportunity to visit 35 homes in one weekend. A virtual 360° tour allows all to have a showing whenever they want to. And last but not least are the sellers that will not have to leave their house every weekend for a few hours to vacate the property for potential buyers. Virtual reality is a tool that allows you to have an outstanding marketing package. 3. Stand out from the crowd All listings look the same—they have photos, videos or even drone videos. But that's not exactly what your customers want. According to research, more than 70% of buyers would love to see a virtual tour of the house they found online before making a decision to go to the open house. 4. Reduce time of property on the market Agents using virtual 360° tours can reduce the time a property spends on the market because they can efficiently present the property to a much wider audience of not only local but interstate and international buyers. In rural areas, our customers managed to get DOM down from 160 days to two to three weeks. According to Lora Bladow, REMAX Excel, her listings not only sold faster but also at higher prices as there was more competition amongst buyers. 5. Win more listings Win listings by blowing sellers' minds away. Only 3-5% of agents worldwide are able to make their own virtual tours, so if you want to stand out from the crowd, follow the advice of Edgar Natolo, Nat Group owner, Gold Coast, Australia and beat your competition hands-down by offering virtual 360° tours in your marketing package. Some sellers are desperately waiting for you to come in and save them from other agents who can't present their property in the most efficient way. 6. Create your own brand Create your own unique, personal brand that stands out from the crowd and makes people take notice. If you improve your marketing and services with the latest and greatest solutions that are available on the market, like virtual 360 tours, you will undoubtedly be noticed and talked about in your local area. Using such technology can easily get you access to the local news and will definitely build up your image in the local community. And this, my friends, is GOLD ! 7. Never lose a listing again Win sellers by impressing them with your immersive technology and impressive marketing mix. Agents using DIY 360° technology say that many times they have been able to secure listings as they did the virtual 360° tour on the spot during the listing presentation. It's not what you normally do, as you should have the house prepared and staged for the photos. But if the owner wants to test you, you can take out your camera or your iPhone and do a demo virtual tour for them on the spot on your mobile device. This will knock them off their feet, make you the best person for selling their house, and win you their trust. Read more in Part 2... To view the original article, visit the Virtual Tours Creator blog.

7 Tips for Best Real Estate Listing Presentation Using 360 Tours
In 2021, professional listing presentations are more important than ever. Only the most impressive presentations will win over clients. How an you impress your potential clients? How will you exceed your competition? To find out, we sat down with David Crombie, the CEO of Professionals Group Australia, to discuss a few incredible options for a visual presentation, including virtual tours. He shares why virtual tours may be the one thing that sets you apart from your competition during a listing presentation. Listen to David and help yourself to digitalize your offer and improve your listing presentation: Here are the seven advantages that virtual tours deliver: They are much more engaging and immersive than videos, and they put the viewer in the driver's seat They allow you to become a digitally fluent real estate agent who can successfully promote the listing If you use VR goggles, you allow viewers to virtually transport themselves to the property as if they were there Having a 360° virtual tour on a mobile phone allows buyers to have their family and friends included in the decision making process VR tours make for amazing and outstanding social media content, adding value to your marketing package Virtual walkthroughs can be used as a reporting tool for showing landlords how their property looks like while you manage it You can tell sellers that VR tours will increase engagement with your listing, and that the time spent on listings with virtual tours is four times higher than on listings with photos only Learn how you can create unique virtual tours in under 15 minutes for less than $3! Book your free information call now. To view the original article, visit the Virtual Tours Creator blog.

The Value of Virtual Tour Technology for Real Estate Agents in 2021
Value. What makes something valuable? Something has value if it is useful, desirable, and implies quality. If you are a real estate agent, you know virtual tours are valuable. Though many of you will be happy to leave much of the past several months behind, something you should keep from 2020/2021 is the technology that rose to prominence, including virtual tours. You have given the consumer an easier more efficient way to view a property, and there is no going back. Virtual tours are essential for marketing and capturing leads. Remember when you said you would never use social media? Yeah, sort of like that. Your followers engage with you when you provide accurate, relevant information. The outcome is happy home sellers and better referrals. Hot or not Real estate marketing is not just about fast deals and multiple offers. It is about building your brand for the long run. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you have to think in terms of technology for real estate agents. Technology has given us the ability to launch non-astronauts into the stratosphere and also given us the ability to get a home sold quickly using virtual tours. With everyone talking about space, it reminds you that one of the most important qualities in a listing is accurately measured square footage. How much space – not just virtual space, but room dimensions on the floor plan that you include with every listing. Floor plans combined with 3D tours are the extras you provide to attract qualified buyers to a property. The attraction opens the door to a successful real estate marketing campaign, helps get you more leads, provides value and puts your listings on the hotlist. Eye Candy Virtual tours for real estate agents are the perfect way to entice prospective buyers to the bargaining table. But how do you keep them interested? Eye candy in the form of 3D tours with captivating easy to use navigation are perfect, a sort of dessert before the main course. Follow up with an accurate floor plan that encompasses the "fine print" of any property and you will be sure to satisfy the buyer's curiosity. Sure, 3D videos and lovely staging draws your buyer in, but what they really want is to know if all their "stuff" is going to fit into the residence they have just fallen in love with. How are they going to know? Numbers. Numbers don't lie. Accurate measurements on a precise floor plan provide the value of knowing the home's size without having to pick up a measuring tape. Give More Every great Realtor is using virtual tours to enhance the user experience. If you are not using this technology, you might be falling behind. But it's never too late to catch up with the top performers in the industry. In fact, you can not only catch up, but stand out from your competition by giving the consumer that little something extra. Provide the consumer floor plans that are precisely measured. It's not just about accurate square footage of a property, it's about getting all the measurements your clients need. First, you help them find the house they are looking for, then wow them with the little extras. Homebuyers use prop-tech tools to get a tailor-made fit for all their things. Floor plans are that extra value that sets you above and beyond your competition. Make it Personal There is no shortage of videos. Everywhere you turn, there's a video of someone or something. Why are videos so popular? Because they are a way for anyone to get a glimpse into a different world without leaving their own. With the evolution of social media, video has become a must-have if you want to draw attention to your brand. That's why using 3D video and virtual tours continue to capture attention when you use them in your real estate marketing plan. Virtual tours are one of the best ways to grow your brand. Add in a floor plan with your brand identity, brokerage name and credentials and you have the ideal way to promote your services while offering a proven method of getting a listing sold quickly. Virtual tours from vendors like iGUIDE sell homes faster and for a higher dollar amount. With the embed tool, you can incorporate floor plans, virtual tours, and 3D videos for all your listings directly on your own personal or professional website. Know the Distance Whether you are "Selling Sunset" or selling until the sun sets, it's all about the image. Your brand is what keeps reminding consumers of who you are. Regularly used virtual tours show the public you mean business. You have the seller's best interests in mind, showcasing their property in the best way possible by using virtual tours to share and promote all the features of their home. Not only does this benefit the seller in getting their home sold quickly, but the buyer reaps the rewards of knowing the precise measurements of a property. Immersing your clients in technology allows them to understand the comparative value of competing property listings and offers a way to enhance the experience. iGUIDE's 3D measurement capability can measure lineal distances and 3D spaces, providing the buyer made-to-measure proficiency. Help them know the distance to reduce the chances of human error when measuring for appliances, furniture, or future renovations. Don't just think of a shift in the paradigm with virtual tours for real estate. Think of shifting gears to increase the speed at which your brand and your referrals can grow.

Win More Listings and Sell More Real Estate with DIY 360 Virtual Tours
Competition in the real estate industry is so big that it is very difficult to be different or better than the guy next door while keeping your expenses low. Have you been looking for ways to exceed competition, improve your marketing and at the same time lower your cost? Well, DIY 360° virtual tours are your answer to everything. How is this possible? Let us break it down for you in a few points below. But don't just take our word for it, listen to one of the very successful agency owners from Australia, Edgar Natolo, who is killing the competition using 360° virtual tours for real estate sales and rentals. 1. You don't need photographers How many times could you have won the listing if you could get the photography done in the same week after your sales pitch to impress the sellers? That was impossible, as you had to get your photographer booked in first and they are usually very busy and can't come to the property when you need them, right? Nowadays, you can create your own professional VR tours of properties without any photography experience or without having to ask a photographer to do it for you. All you need is a 360° camera and a virtual tours creator software to make them on your mobile phone in as fast as 15 minutes per three-bedroom house. You can do it on the spot in front of the sellers (if the property has been prepared/staged) without having to wait for anyone. 2. Lower your marketing costs You can exceed your competition by lowering your marketing costs. How? Well, virtual tours from Virtual Tours Creator will cost you as little as $3 per property. You would have to pay a photographer between $150 to $600, depending on the size of the house. When doing it yourself, you only pay for your own time and a small fee for the tour, and you can take as many photos as you wish. 3. Sell the lifestyle While using your own virtual tours, you can include 360° photos of places surrounding the property that will help you to sell the lifestyle, not just the apartment/house itself. You can take your 360° set wherever you like. Go and shoot the nearby park, a trendy coffee place, local shops, school, train station, bus stop or the beach and have it in your 360° VR tour. Moreover, because you own your photos, you can reuse them on all the properties that you sell in your area. How great is that? 4. Find properties that haven't sold for a while Find properties in your area that have been on the market for quite a while and reach out to the sellers. Offer them your marketing packages, including virtual tours that will allow you to reach out of state or international buyers. In many cases, buyers can't or won't have time to travel to see the properties, so by offering VR tours of properties you increase your reach and get the sellers to choose you. 5. Sell sight unseen Agents using virtual tours for real estate sales are selling properties sight unseen. This saves the time to you and buyers on unnecessary or forbidden travel. The days of the open house are gone since COVID kicked in, and the way you do business has changed forever. Whether you like it or not, your tenants or buyers know that this technology is here and they expect to see it from the best. Do you consider yourself a good agent? If yes, you should probably start thinking on delivering maximum customer satisfaction. 6. Improve your social media content and SEO You probably know by now that having a great social media presence can get you leads and customers. Ninety percent of both buyers and sellers start their search for agents online. Google and Facebook are the first two things that they will search. You might be even paying for Facebook advertising, but without outstanding content, nobody is going to look at your ads. Just photos or even videos are boring and already outdated. Making fun of yourself might be the way to go—but having a 360° virtual tour makes everyone click on your post! You can offer free virtual tours worth up to $600 if viewers sell with you! How awesome is that ? Same with Google. You need great SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to be found on top of Google search. You can embed virtual tours on your website, and when people explore it, they will spend more time on your website. Google will reward you for that and push you up the search results, thus making it easier for sellers to find the best agents in their area. 7. Sell more, sell faster! If your marketing offer will include 360° house tours, you can be sure you will reach potential buyers in the furthest places of the world. Therefore, you can promise the buyers to sell their property faster than your competition. VTC customers cut down the time on market by at least two to three weeks, if not a month. 8. Digitize your business Use virtual tours when pitching to potential sellers and you will surely not only look more professional, but digitally ready for whatever danger might be ahead of your offer. Absolutely no physical obstacles can put your listing in jeopardy. The sellers can have peace of mind that their home is in the hands of an absolute champion that delivers the latest and greatest in marketing techniques. 9. Allow sellers to relax Lastly, think how much more convenient will it be for sellers if they don't have to leave their home every weekend for a few hours so that you can do the showings until you find the right buyers. This can sometimes take weeks or months. If you create a virtual twin of their home, they will only have to prepare or stage it once. No next door neighbors will come around to check out their place to entertain themselves on the weekend. You, on the other hand, will only talk to qualified buyers after they have seen the virtual version of the property. Virtual Tours Creator has made creating 360° virtual tours easy, fast and affordable. To learn more, visit virtualtourscreator.com.au. To view the original article, visit the Virtual Tours Creator blog.

Real Estate 3D Virtual Tours vs. Videos: Which One Should You Use?
Through the highs and lows of the housing market, one thing stays the same: Buyers and sellers want real estate agents to secure the best deal possible. Even in a competitive market, people like working with a good real estate agent who can open new doors, and bring a fresh start into view. It's tempting to skip listing details like virtual tours or real estate videos when the market is hot, but this is actually the ideal opportunity to convert buyer and seller leads with impressive real estate tech. Not convinced? Consider this: In 2020, two-thirds of homebuyers in 32 major markets bid on a property without seeing it in person. Now that we've all learned to cope with a global pandemic, it's clear that things like virtual showings, bids, and closings aren't just a fleeting trend. In fact, a third of those polled by Zillow said they would rather take a virtual home tour—even after the coronavirus pandemic is considered "over." In the eyes of buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals, your approach to virtual showings can set you apart. How do you decide which option is best for you? In this blog post, we'll go over why people love 3D virtual tours and real estate videos, and some tips on how to make the most of them. Virtual Home Tours Are Not Created Equally A "virtual home tour" describes various ways of visiting a home without physically being there. 3D walkthroughs and real estate videos both have a place in real estate marketing, and there are different advantages to each type. HomeJab produces both 3D virtual tours and videos for real estate agents. To help you choose right type of virtual home preview, it's important to know what distinguishes 3D virtual tours from videos, and how either can be a pivotal part of the home buying experience. That means you'll need to learn about a few technical distinctions, analyze market statistics, and make an informed decision about how to best motivate buyers in your market. In other words, what challenges do your ideal clients face, and how could you address them upfront? What is the most effective way to help your clients picture themselves in their new home? Accessibility, time conflicts, decision fatigue, and market competition are among issues that prospective purchasers face. Sellers face similar constraints that can affect the perceived value of the property for sale. This is when your matchmaking skills and industry expertise really come into play. How Real Estate 3D Virtual Tours Inform Buyers A true 3D real estate tour invites and demands active participation from invitees. When you understand the experience of a virtual tour, you'll see why it's well-liked by buyers. Hands-on Exploration Clicking through a 3D real estate tour gives prospective buyers the freedom to pinch, scroll, zoom, and tap to explore what a property is really like. The novelty of this technology is only part of why it's so successful in real estate. More than half of people surveyed said virtual tours were the most helpful resource in a real estate website. The most important thing for a hands-on 3D home tour is that users are in full control. This means each person viewing the home can navigate it how they like, or follow the premade tour created with the software. Giving buyers the autonomy to check out areas of the home, based on what piques their interest builds excitement. When you're looking for the perfect home, it's hard to forget the first time you "walked" through it. Multiple Realistic Viewpoints 3D real estate tours use real footage of the home with clear lighting, good image resolution, and other high standards for quality. In a true 3D tour, you should be able to turn around completely to see every room with a real-life perspective of the rest of the property. People can distinguish a "good" 3D tour from a lackluster one based on how well they can see the details of a home. To make the 3D tour as realistic as possible, a well-made tour includes photos from multiple viewpoints, which are stitched together based on the real-life floor plan. Listings with floor plans included are a crowd-pleasing favorite in virtual real estate. A bird's eye view builds buyer confidence in a listing, sparking ideas for how a space functions before setting foot inside. The more true-to-life a home viewing experience is, the easier it becomes to see how the property could be a perfect fit. Tour Properties on Demand 3D tours are an effective tool in many ways, but the importance of flexibility cannot be understated. There is no set time for a 3D tour: It can be accessed at any hour of the day, for as long and as often as prospective homeowners need. Naturally, homes with virtual tours can accommodate showings for significantly more people. Real estate agents know how important it is to be flexible for potential showings, but nothing beats the convenience of a perpetually live link to the house tour. It can be shared with others for a unique, real-time experience. After a formal "showing," viewers can backtrack, explore the rooms at any pace, and linger as they need. This allows buyers to share with others and gain insight from trusted sources, while agents can focus on other tasks at hand. Realtors can take advantage of this by referencing virtual tour points when marketing the home, and sharing the virtual tour with even more prospective buyers. Overall, 3D real estate tours offer perspective that's impossible to get using standard 2D mediums like photos and videos. Today's 3D tours should provide an intuitive, realistic, and versatile experience. Of course, one of the best advantages of 3D virtual tours is that homes sell and close sooner than listings without them. So, why might you consider using real estate videos in your next listing? Real Estate Videos Compel Buyers When you ask users to watch a real estate video for a property listing, you are asking for passive engagement, so that you predict and control the way a listing is perceived. Real estate videos do this by using a more thematic presentation that relies on cinematography, highlights of the property, in a conveniently timed package. Cinematic Perspective Real estate video can be surprisingly creative, with sky-high drone shots that overlook the neighborhood, panoramic shots of staged rooms, and close-up details that might not come across in a virtual tour. Real estate videos show a home in the most ideal light—literally and figuratively. Done right, a property listing video adds a warm and welcoming mood, getting buyers move-in ready. Real estate video is especially appealing to the buyers who have a set idea about what their future home looks like, so this technique can be a perfect match for properties with defining characteristics in the landscape and architecture. Highlights Best Features A real estate video covers the main selling points of a home, rather than revealing every detail. In this way, real estate video is more like an invitation to an in-home viewing experience. You can determine the most shareable features of the house ahead of time and plan the video sequence to match your priorities. This is helpful for properties with expansive acreage, awesome neighborhoods with nearby amenities, and scenic viewpoints. Real estate videos are not usually a room-by-room tour of a property, but is a perfect complement to an attractive listing. This can motivate buyers who might compromise lesser preferences if the property has some impressive features that cannot be overlooked. The highlights you show in a real estate video can be the reason a property listing makes a buyer's shortlist. Convenient in More Than One Way Convenience one major reason people choose to work with real estate agents. For prospective buyers who need an agent to meet them where they are, a pre-recorded video package is the right choice. Most buyers are familiar with how to play videos online, so there's almost no learning curve to use it. Video can make a real estate listing stand out on social media, where it can be shared and shared again. As an extra benefit for real estate agents, it makes for great marketing collateral where you can express your values and goals for your business. Comparing Real Estate 3D Virtual Tours and Videos 3D walkthroughs and real estate videos both add tremendous value to a real estate listing, but there's no one-size-fits-all choice for creating a virtual tour of a property. For most real estate agents and their clients, "virtual" is now the norm. Open houses, once a standard of the real estate market, are now done remotely using a variety of tools and techniques. 3D virtual tours and videos are some of the go-to choices for real estate agents. Still need help navigating the world of virtual real estate? Contact HomeJab for help. To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Time is of the Essence for First-Time Home Buyers and Fresh Listings
Working with first-time buyers is rewarding and often very challenging, but as a real estate professional, you know how to guide them through every step of the process. First-time homebuyers want it all. Like seasoned buyers, they want to have a home suited to their lifestyle and needs, in the ideal location, and for the best price. But the question is, what are new homebuyers looking for when it comes to taking the plunge into today's real estate market? The vast majority of first-time homebuyers want a variety of features in their new home. High on the list of wants are garages, finished basements, yard, the ideal size of the home, and an open floor plan. It is your job to help the buyer navigate their maiden voyage and arrive at their "home sweet home" destination in the least amount of time. The shortlist Ideal floor plan Location Price and affordability Size – accurate square footage Who are first-time buyers? According to NAR, 31% of all buyers in 2020 were first-time buyers. More than 80% of buyers between the ages of 22-30 purchased a home for the first time. This demographic is followed closely by older millennials between the ages of 31-40, making up 48% of their age group. Twenty-two percent of buyers between 40-54 years of age were also buying their first residence. So how do you attract first-time homebuyers? Why buy a home? The reasons for purchasing a home range from the need for larger or smaller square footage to the desire to accommodate multi-generational family members under the same roof. Moving from a rental or moving out of the family home are also motivating factors. But the biggest reason first-time homebuyers are getting into the real estate market is the desire to own their home. Forty-two percent of those buyers want to live in their new home for at least five years subject to any unforeseen changes to their employment, family or geographic variations. What are new homebuyers looking for? Provide information. You will find that the majority of first-time homebuyers are familiar with scouring Realtor websites and MLS listings on the web. User-friendly sites with virtual tours are like eye magnets to the curious buyer. Your online listings fulfill the need for instant gratification when a buyer wants to know how the property fits and flows. A simple click here and there on the virtual tour provides a satisfying user experience as they engage and interact with a property. The buyer builds a strong connection while examining the details of a home. Reinforcing the buyer's memory after an in-person viewing is just one of the benefits of 3D tours and interactive floorplans. It is difficult for anyone to retain every bit of information about a property from a 15-30 minute showing. When there is no time to physically see the property, buying a home based on 3D tours is not a scary proposition for the first-time buyer. Their comfort level is heightened by the opportunity to examine a home's features multiple times through virtual tours then write an offer sight unseen. Buy them time – here today, gone tomorrow With record home sales still hitting year over year highs, the decision to buy a property has to be made quickly. Buyers have very little time to view, process, and make a decision before signing the purchase contract for one of the biggest acquisitions of their life. Often a new listing is sold within days and sometimes within hours of it hitting the market. How can you help? You can attract first-time homebuyers and buy them more time by providing floor plans and virtual tours with your listing information. The buyer can check off all their requirements and review the home multiple times online so when they arrive at an in-person showing, they'll be ready to have you write up the purchase contract on the spot. Regrets, they've had a few Buying a home for the first time can come with a few regrets. One of the main things that trigger buyer's remorse is the size of the home. Living with a house too small or too big for the desired lifestyle can really throw a curve into the buyer's journey. You can help minimize the anguish by providing floor plans and accurate measurements so your buyer can easily map out the property before the FOMO (fear of missing out) sets in and they buy the wrong home. Sure, they may have to compromise on a few things they want like solar panels or updated bathrooms and kitchen, but the size is something that needs to be taken seriously. Size matters and the best way to judge it is with a virtual tour and accurate square footage from a floor plan. As an added value, a floor plan will certainly come in handy when that compromised kitchen renovation becomes affordable. Any time someone does something new or outside of their comfort zone, they look to someone with experience who can offer advice and give insight. The same is true when buying a home. First-time homebuyers in 2021 are certainly more tech-savvy and computer literate than their home buying predecessors, but they still need the tools and guidance you can provide them like virtual tours and 3D tours. Remembering the entire layout of a potential new home is difficult, but saving time and reinforcing memory is the key to attraction. What are new homebuyers looking for? They want accurate, easy-to-follow information available day or night at the click of their mouse.

3 Problems and Solutions Trending in the New Housing Market
Are you worried about lead generation in the new housing market? Real estate agents can prepare for the new normal by understanding the preferences of potential buyers and their perspectives amid the pandemic. At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, the turn to remote-first work and stay-at-home orders made some homeowners, buyers, and real estate professionals apprehensive about the future of the housing market. However, according to CoreLogic, recent data shows that not only are home prices steadily increasing, home ownership is on the rise for opportunistic buyers. Use the following list of problems and solutions we are seeing in the current housing market to learn how you can get more real estate leads now and into the foreseeable future. Problem #1: You are renting intellectual property. When you can help potential buyers visualize a new home, you are doing a lot more than providing a straightforward look at a property. Buyers want a look at their potential future from an individualized point of view. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is with virtual tours and professional real estate photography to highlight the unique features of each property you want to sell. With this in mind, real estate photography reveals itself as more of an art form than a bare necessity. Unfortunately, when you work with real estate software companies like Matterport, you pay the artisanal real estate photography price, without most of the benefits. Real estate agents accrue hosting fees without ownership of media content. Companies like Matterport keep a tight grip on virtual tour hosting, with restrictive and limited copyright. Solution #1: Take ownership of your content by working with media producers with flexible contracts. You'll save money and stay in charge of your listings. Do not hand over your listing to Silicon Valley. Files from HomeJab's 360 cameras are common JPEG files that you can download and control, unlike with those of Matterport. Most people who enlisted the help of a real estate agent—87% of sellers in 2019— used a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website for listing their homes. It's true that MLS photo rules were changed to mitigate "frivolous and expensive copyright infringement lawsuits," but the team at HomeJab would like to ease the burden further by transferring all content rights to you with a flexible contract. Our team can help you make real estate 3D virtual tours with 360° cameras and open source code for virtual tour and floor plan creation that is just as persuasive as Matterport. Here's a look at how content ownership benefits you: You can host photos on your own terms. You will save money, while retaining and maximizing the value of your listing. You can tailor individual listings that speak to potential buyers in a way that limited restriction listings cannot. Problem #2: You are going nowhere fast with only using virtual tours. Virtual tours are an important component of the online real estate industry, but the effectiveness of virtual tours depends on a good multimedia presentation strategy. Your content should be optimized for mobile and tablet devices too—not just computers—73 percent of all buyers seek information about properties from a mobile or tablet search, according to the National Association of Realtors. Solution: Turn lackluster virtual tours into inclusive, virtual experiences. Consider multimedia formats for your listings, like real estate listing videos and real estate drone video technology with HomeJab. When you work with HomeJab to create video content, we can increase the wow-factor of your virtual tours. Here's what we know video can accomplish that still photos cannot do alone: Communicate depth perception and space: A new report from Time says that homeowners are looking to depart from condensed city living, in favor of more open-space residencies. They want to see and feel the impact of space around their new lives. Leave a lasting impression: 35% of all buyers in 2019 relied on a real estate agent's online videos to learn more about a home, according to the National Association of Realtors. Beyond the pandemic, we are facing a permanent culture shift towards remote work and lifestyles. Consumers are shifting to virtual resources first, and it will stay this way—even after the vaccine. To capture the attention of virtual audiences, you will need to provide content that brings mindless scrolling to a screeching halt. Problem #3: You don't offer extra value. For buyers, navigating massive real estate listings on websites like Zillow, Trulia, and RE/MAX can be overwhelming. If any of these websites have the same content as a broker's website, the corporate website will often outrank the local agent in real estate search engines. Solution: Add value to your listings by adapting to future-forward real estate technology. Extra value for buyers and sellers comes in two forms: technical and personal. Use this knowledge as your leg-up in the impending battle between big real estate corporations and independent agents. On a technical level, if you send photos to Zillow but maintain ownership of the virtual tour and/or video, then consumers seek out your media first. This maximizes the chances of lead generation and conversion. On a personal level, qualified content generates leads that are a good match for your home listing and your business model. Buyers and sellers want to work with a real estate agent who puts their needs first, while keeping track of the latest technology and trends. You can use HomeJab property pages at no extra cost: We offer free leads to listing agents. We don't sell leads, and we don't sell advertising. Hosting your files on HomeJab is completely free for the listing agent and the consumer. If buyers are interested in your listing, leads get automatically forwarded to your inbox. Our goal is to work with you to produce the content at the highest quality, while turning over all ownership and revenue to you. Make Your Real Estate Marketing Recession-Proof Your business can be more resilient when you act on the likely uncertainty that lies ahead. The pandemic situation continues to unfold, and changes in the economy seem unpredictable. Secure your place in the future economy by anticipating the ups and downs yet to come. Understanding how to get real estate leads in an uncertain market simply requires a bit of flexibility. Like all good real estate professionals, you must prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Help Your Seller Enhance the Value of Their Home Before It Hits the MLS
Not every house is magazine-worthy, but every house has hidden potential that a seasoned real estate professional can unlock. How can you improve your seller's chances of getting their property seen once it reaches the MLS system? Some great ideas for enhancing the value of a home are second nature to you, but you need to communicate them to your seller. Help a buyer see more than just the price of a home—show them the value of location, floor plans, accurate square footage calculations, and the advantages of choosing a Realtor. What Your Seller Should Do Before Listing Their Home Your seller has decided to have you list their home and is anxious about getting it sold quickly. While you may consider signing the listing and organizing the real estate photography and 3D tours right away, give your seller some pointers about how to maximize value prior to the property hitting the MLS. Before you begin your real estate marketing plan, make a plan with your seller to tidy up and spruce up their home. Pay special attention to the list of little things, like having them do minor paint touch-ups, replace burnt-out lightbulbs, deep clean interior spaces, and give the exterior that professionally landscaped look. Discuss Staging Staging is a great way for a seller to prepare their home for sale. Options range from the seller staging their own rooms, to hiring a professional stager, or using the current property tech trend of virtual staging. All of these choices can assist the seller in getting their home ready for 360° tours so you can focus on your real estate marketing plan from there. No Surprises The documents required on completion of a sale are sometimes overlooked, especially in a busy real estate market. Make sure your seller is prepared with things like a current real property report (i.e., survey certificate), building permits and warranty information. Locating these documents can save time and hassle at a later date. Updates to the real property report and outstanding permits should be addressed as soon as possible. You want to avoid any surprises that may delay a sales transaction due to an encroachment issue or lack of development permit for a recently added deck.How do you discuss value with your seller and how do you arrive at the listing price? Value and Pricing: Are they the same thing? Value is somewhat subjective. A buyer may place more value on a property depending on several influencing factors. Value is often personal – some may like a sprawling country estate whereas others may value old-world craftsmanship over real estate square footage. To increase the emotional connection to a property, you can focus on room dimensions with an interactive floor plan to show the spaciousness of a home or highlight the architecture through interactive virtual tours. What Affects the Price of a Home? Sellers want you to tell them how much their house should be listed for. This is where a real estate agent's value comes into play. You don't just pull a number out of your head because the house next door just sold for a certain amount. As a professional, you determine the list price of a home based on data. How quickly a home sells is affected by a great real estate marketing plan, pricing a home relative to square footage calculations, and the ratio of buyers to available homes. The main reason a seller enlists you as their agent is to get the most money for their house, with the least amount of hassle, in the quickest and most convenient way possible. How do you get the best price for your seller? Make their property jump off the proverbial (web) page with options to trigger the buyer's emotional connection and satisfy their needs. Prepare the listing with professional real estate photography and 3D virtual tours so your virtual showings and open houses communicate value to potential buyers. The Effect of Supply and Demand Market value can get a little tricky. Value based on activity in the current market can cause prices to fluctuate. Things like how many homes are for sale, how many days they are on the market, how many properties are available, and what they offer in comparison to other similar properties. You must gather market data because it is often the driving factor behind the list price. Preparation is essential to make the seller's home stand out. Before hitting the "enter" button on the MLS data input page, show the seller your value as a real estate agent.

The Importance of Property Information When the Market Is Frantic
If the market is feeling a little nutty to you, you are not alone. We hate to use the word unprecedented yet again, but in many markets, the conditions are exactly that. According to the National Association of REALTORS, despite all the challenges, 2020 was a record year for US housing activity. Existing-home sales rose in December, with home sales in 2020 reaching their highest level since 2006. Existing-home sales totaled 5.64 million in 2020, up 5.6% from 2019 and the most since before the Great Recession. The median existing home sales price was $309,800, up 12.9% from one year previously, and housing inventory sank to 1.07 million and a 1.9-month supply – both historic lows. (source) As we are dealing with record low inventory, record low interest rates, rising COVID cases, and a looming spring market, it's clear there are no shortage of challenges for Realtors right now. On top of that, U.S. Realtors are seeing astronomical numbers of offers being placed sight unseen — over 60% buyers in 2020 say they made a bid on a home without seeing it in person first, according to Redfin. And December showing activity jumped 63.5% nationwide, year-over-year, the eighth consecutive month to see an increase over 2019, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index. It's clear that buyers are more likely now than ever before to do their research online prior to viewing a property. This means that virtual showing options are no longer a perk — they are a necessity. It also means that in times like this, accurate and complete property information becomes more important than ever. People are living differently Across the country, we are seeing people's habits change. Work from home and remote work is a trend that may shape our lives for years to come. As buyers consider new living spaces, they are taking this into account. Space planning has become not just about "Where will I put my furniture?" but also about how to incorporate living, working, and schooling spaces into a home. (We've even heard of buyers looking for "Zoom rooms" where they can take calls and conduct virtual meetings!) Accurate and interactive floor plans are becoming a critical marketing tool for forward-thinking Realtors. Accuracy matters It's simply not good enough anymore for a Realtor to list a home without accurate measurements and square footage. Gone are the days when an agent could simply note "to be verified by buyer" in the comments of a listing. Buyers are becoming savvy enough to demand virtual 3D tours, virtual showings, and accurate measurements in advance of a showing. These technology amenities can now mean the difference between a showing or a pass, even when inventory is low. One-stop shopping Google Analytics tell us that if someone doesn't find what they need on a website, they are unlikely to return to that site. The same is true on our listings. If a buyer is searching for a home and doesn't see great photos, a video or virtual tour, or an interactive experience, they are unlikely to ever click on that listing again. Having all of these marketing features built into a single platform on your listings ensures that buyers are going to spend more time there, and they are going to come back. Your reputation is on the line When a market is frantic, inventory is low, and buyers are plenty, some Realtors assume they can skip steps when it comes to property information. After all, the house will likely sell anyway, right? But great agents know that accuracy and marketing matters even in a seller's market. Creating an emotional pull for buyers always puts your sellers in a better position, and usually ends up in a better sale price. Not to mention that fact that you want those sellers to become a referral source for years to come. And let's face it – people talk. Your extra efforts will not go unnoticed. One thing is for sure – this is our new normal. Forecast reports from NAR suggest real estate activity will remain healthy through 2021, with prices either continuing to climb or remaining steady. There is no doubt that agents who pay attention to these trends and maximize their marketing will continue to see success.

Realtor.com Adds More Immersive 3D Home Tour Experiences
To address increased consumer demand, realtor.com today announced that it is adding two new technology providers, Asteroom and CloudPano, to provide additional 3D tour options for home shoppers. In addition to Matterport tours, real estate agents can now upload tours from Asteroom and CloudPano directly to listings on realtor.com. "Concerns around the pandemic certainly heightened the demand for 3D tours, as many home shoppers wanted to explore the home but didn't feel comfortable visiting in person. However, they are more than just a COVID solution, they are now an important option for consumers during their home buying journey," said Rachel Morley, Chief Product Officer, realtor.com®. "Realtor.com® is adding two new technology providers, Asteroom and CloudPano, to help empower agents and brokerages to add more 3D tours to their listings, which we know leads to more views and better engagement." 3D tours have become a crucial part of the home buying journey, and enable home shoppers to understand what it feels like to be in a home without having to step foot inside. By clicking on the 3D tour button on a realtor.com® listing, the viewer can explore an interactive 360-degree view of the home, just as if they were walking the property in person. Asteroom, CloudPano and Matterport have offerings that leverage smartphone cameras which enable quick scanning and cost less than solutions that require specialized equipment. By providing agents with low-cost, easy-to-use options, realtor.com® will increase the accessibility and availability of 3D tours on its listings. A realtor.com® consumer survey conducted in the spring found that 65% of home buyers believed that virtual tours would continue to be a great resource in their home shopping process even after the pandemic. And while the pandemic accelerated virtual tour adoption—at the peak of the lockdowns, listings with virtual tours received 17% more views per property—that momentum has continued. In December, listings with 3D tours on realtor.com® were up 227% since the pandemic began in March. Learn more here.

Is Sight Unseen the Future of Selling Homes?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most industries have been unable to escape the urgent need to adapt services for an increasingly online world, and real estate, which has traditionally conducted business in-person and on-site, has certainly not been left untouched by this. The industry has seen the majority of renting and selling processes either put on hold, moved online or proceed with added safety measures. But despite lockdowns and restrictions, many people still need to sell homes. The industry has seen an incredible increase of virtual viewings that has led to growth in buying or renting without viewing the property or 'sight unseen.'

Lost in Translation: A Realtor's Guide to Working with Remote Clients
To understand and communicate within the world's web of multicultural societies requires skill. Language barriers, cultural differences, and terminology can cause confusion when building consumer relationships around the globe. How do you, as a Realtor, keep everyone from getting lost in translation when working with clients outside your current city of business? Remote clients can come from as close as your own backyard or as distant as halfway around the world. Either way, working with clients whom you have never seen face to face has some challenges and rewards.

Nearly 8 in 10 Home Buyers are Taking More 3D Home Tours During the Pandemic, Citing Safety Concerns
For residential real estate, touring homes virtually has become increasingly important since the coronavirus outbreak. Over the last seven months, home sellers, buyers and real estate professionals have had to work around restrictions preventing in-person property showings and grapple with safety concerns over potential exposure to COVID-19. Last January, Matterport conducted a survey to learn about buyer and seller preferences for home listings. We found that static photos are no longer enough and that both sellers and buyers overwhelmingly preferred a more immersive experience with 3D tours. In September, we partnered with Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage, to poll 1,000 U.S. home buyers and 1,000 U.S. home sellers to see how these preferences have shifted since the onset of the pandemic.

How to Easily Share Matterport Videos on TikTok
It's no secret that TikTok usage has exploded, especially as people have been sheltered at home and looking for ways to connect with each other across the world in entertaining and human ways. But TikTok is more than just a place to connect, it's also a place to share and show your creative side, with hilarious commentary, effects, music, and sounds. One of the most popular categories on TikTok are the #VirtualTour spaces that are being shared, where people show off their room, apartment, house, or office—and even RVs. The creativity is super fun to experience!

Women in Real Estate: From Tours to Detours to 3D Tours
Women have been in the real estate game since the late 1800s. This long line of strong working women has seen it all, or at least a good part of the all when it comes to pay gaps, glass ceilings, "the good ol' boys club," and more. Women have succeeded in making the real estate industry one of the best professions to build a life from, but it has not been without trials and tribulations along the way. There are still a few obstacles that require close attention, diligent planning, and more than a second thought. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly, and "what to do about it now" situations that every female Realtor needs to pay attention to. How Safe Is It to Be a Woman Realtor? Back in the day, a cold call was exactly that—pick up the telephone and try to persuade the person on the other end to meet up to discuss the possibility of listing their property for sale. Showing up to tour an unfamiliar home was the only way to get a listing. Every lesson about not talking to or meeting up with strangers was tossed out the window at this point. The way to sign the deal was to arrange a time and arrive at the alien residence ready to measure up the place. Listing signed, good job, next order of business, an open house or two, and schedule showings with some anonymous callers. But what about safety? Technology, like 3D tours, virtual tours, and accurate floor plan tools, did not exist when many women began their real estate careers. It was and still can be a scary, often life-changing experience to encounter stranger after stranger just to earn a living. Fortunately, today there are better ways to pre-qualify a buyer and limit risks. So how do women real estate professionals protect themselves from the possibility of assaults while performing their duties? Start with a facelift. Only use professional headshots on business-related accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other online media. You don't want to attract unnecessary attention, which does not drive business. Use the online platform for what it is designed for – real estate marketing and virtual tours. Share the Focus with a Real Estate Photographer Hiring someone to do your real estate photography can help prevent some risky situations. Square footage calculations, floor plans, and 360° tours can all be done during the photoshoot for your listing. Consumers get online access to all the specifications about a particular property without ever having to set foot in the home. Virtual open houses are a perfect way to showcase a home without having to sit in an empty space by yourself for the better part of the afternoon. Statistics show that sitting in an open house alone can be unsafe and often dangerous. Always consider safety in your working environment whenever possible. Work in teams, notify someone of your whereabouts, make sure your communication devices are sending/receiving correctly, and speak up if you feel uncomfortable in any situation. Given the challenging circumstances, you may ask yourself why women outnumber men when choosing real estate as a profession? The Glass Ceiling Is a Moonroof. If You Choose to Open It, The Sky's the Limit. According to NAR, women make up 67% of all Realtors, and the typical age is 54. That means there are about 1,300,000 women Realtors as of 2020. Why do women find the profession of Realtor so attractive? Perhaps the flexible schedule, high potential earnings, and the challenges of the industry are a big draw for them. Real estate careers offer opportunities to work alongside peers, both male and female, without having to struggle with the pay gap that many industries face today. Because the income is based on commissions, and commissions are determined by dedication to the profession, the only real competition is against yourself. The sky's the limit because, in real estate, the glass ceiling is actually an opening moonroof. When real estate courses were developed many years ago, everyone was taught how to create floor plans, add room dimensions, and use square footage calculations correctly. With current property tech tools like virtual tours, 3D tours, and some excellent real estate photography, it is much easier today. Armed with the most accurate measurement tools of the trade, being your own boss and sharing your experiences with other women leads to a fulfilling career individually, as well as collectively. Women have come a long way since 1910 when the first woman officially was permitted to join the National Association of Realtors. Today, there are some great organizations like the Women's Council of Realtors that champion women in the real estate profession. Female Realtors certainly have traversed some steep boundaries to get where they are today and have an equal playing field in real estate. Whether working in left field, right field, or center field, it's the collaboration, inspiration, and dedication that make all the difference. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

Tips for Launching a Virtual Open House
With social distancing guidelines and regulations set in place by local governments, one thing that has taken a hit in the real estate industry is showings. Showings allow potential buyers to view a home that they are interested in. While agents are unable to show homes in person, they do have another opportunity to show listings virtually. To better understand how to conduct a virtual open house and what tools you need, we recently had Sue Pinky Benson and Barbara Betts on our Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar program. Benson and Betts, both notable Realtors in the industry, came together on a live panel to share ideas on how to conduct the best virtual tour.

Your Guide to Hosting Virtual Open Houses
Real estate agents have successfully been throwing open houses for decades, but virtual open houses are a different ball game. The freedom of the internet allows you to be more flexible and creative with your showing, which can lead to amazing results without inconveniencing your clients. It can be hard to know where exactly to start, though. So we have prepared some easy guidelines for you to follow. Who knows? With some practice, virtual open houses could become your new favorite marketing tactic.

3 Ways to Make Open Houses One of Your Most Valuable Marketing Tools
Open houses have always been a powerful marketing tool, but they are evolving in new and exciting ways to help you succeed. Aaron Kardell, CEO of Homespotter, joined me on a Coffee Chat to share some simple, but powerful, insights about the best ways to take open houses to the next level. Here are three key takeaways: 1. Open House by Appointment Instead of pushing for a ton of people to attend your open house, focus on quality, not quantity. You can do this by setting specific 15 to 30 minute appointments for potential buyers after pre-qualifying them and understanding the seriousness of their interest in the property. Setting appointments allows you to spend quality time with each of the prospects, explaining all of the most positive features of the home and giving them the personal attention they need to answer their questions thoroughly. Spending time with each visitor also allows you to provide specific feedback to the seller to help improve curb appeal, remove clutter, gain pricing feedback, etc. 2. Capture Info on Virtual Open Houses by Replacing the "sign-in" sheet When scheduling a virtual open house, make sure the system you're using requires every visitor to register so you can capture them for follow-up afterwards. While Facebook Live is a nice format, for example, it is much more anonymous. Tools like GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts and others are better at capturing information for those that register and those that attend live. Tools like Spacio, for example, allow you to capture visitor information and then automatically load the information into CRM tools like Contactually and Follow-Up Boss so you can begin a dialogue with consumers you met at live or virtual open houses. 3. Promote Virtual Open Houses on Social Media Today, there are tools that make it easy for you to automatically post new listings online. These tools, like Boost from Homespotter, have expanded to allow you to promote live virtual open houses as well. You can promote virtual open houses on Facebook, Instagram and even Waze now. Just think how many people you can attract to a listing if you can use the power of social media to accomplish it! Also, virtual open houses will encourage consumers to look at more houses virtually and then narrow their requests for live showings only to those homes that are most interesting to them! It's a great way to save time and money for agents and their clients. Don't Miss These Upcoming Coffee Chats! Friday, June 5 What Are the Likely Effects of COVID-19 on the Rental Market? with Cameron Paine of Apartments.com If you would like us to sign you up for all upcoming coffee chats, email [email protected] and she will get you signed up. If you would like to get notifications every time a Coffee Chat recording is published, subscribe to our YouTube channel, RETechnologyInc. Then hit the bell next to the Subscribe button and receive notifications every time we publish new educational videos. Get Recordings of All Coffee Chats If you would like to binge watch all of the Coffee Chat recordings, click here. If you would like a FREE 3-month trial of RE Technology, go to retechnology.com, click Create Account and then use one of these coupon codes: COVID-19A COVID-19B COVID-19M

Selling a Property Online? Everything You Need to Know About Virtual Tours
3D tour, virtual tour, 3D virtual tour, virtual walkthrough. We constantly see photographers and real estate agents juggling these terms and applying them to different solutions and technologies. The real estate industry is embracing technology and now is the best time to try and clearly define these terms to avoid confusion. "The difference between virtual tour, virtual walkthrough, 3D tour, 24/7 open house virtual tour, digital twin, true 3D, 360 tour is clear as mud!" says Dan Smigrod, the founder of We Get Around Network, a popular portal connecting the 3D/360º community worldwide. "One of the challenges in our 'space' – yet another name for a 3D tour – is that even those in the industry cannot agree on what to call the various iterations. Ask 10 people to describe 'it' and you are likely to get 15 different descriptions," says Dan. However, technology companies like iGUIDE, Matterport, or Asteroom and their users typically draw a clear line between a slideshow or a video call and a real 3D tour. So, what is the difference between all these terms? Let's try to "clear the mud." What Is a Virtual Tour? Over the years, the term "virtual tour" has been gradually evolving and changing its meaning. Before the emergence of the aforementioned innovative solutions, a slideshow or a series of panoramic images was legitimately called a "virtual tour." However, nowadays, the meaning of this term is rapidly shifting towards something much more sophisticated and advanced. Interestingly enough, the same thing happened to the term "virtual reality," which used to be widely applied to the same 360° photographs. "Even before there was virtual reality, the International Virtual Reality Photography Association (IVRPA) used the term 'virtual reality' to describe 360º photos," says Dan Smigrod. Simply put, you cannot use panoramic images and call them "virtual reality" anymore if you want to be properly understood because the meaning has changed drastically. We are witnessing the same process for the words "virtual tour" and "virtual walkthrough." So let's take a look at the most up-to-date meaning of these terms. Virtual tour is a general term used for a variety of tools and solutions ranging from slideshows, photos, and websites to 3D tours and virtual reality experiences. We can see that this is rather an umbrella term that might have multiple meanings due to the meaning of the words "virtual" and "tour," which basically may encompass any representation of the property done with some sort of computer device. At the same time, 3D tour (or 3D virtual tour) is a series of 360° images, also called photospheres, panoramas, or panos, where a user can navigate from one 360° image to another. This is a more specific term used for platforms like iGUIDE, Matterport, or Asteroom. More can be read about this definition in the white paper, prepared by Alexander Likholyot, CEO of Planitar Inc., the maker of iGUIDE. Slideshows and Live Video Tours We all know somebody who takes still pictures, delivers them in the form of a slideshow and calls it a "virtual tour." We see a growing number of people, lately, using FaceTime or other video call apps to show a house to homebuyers live and call this process a "virtual walkthrough." So after discussing the most up-to-date sense of what "virtual tour" actually is, let's define some other solutions which might be labeled in this way. A slideshow is "a presentation of photographic slides projected on a surface or displayed on a screen one after another." This definition is taken from Merriam-Webster Dictionary and seems to be quite accurate. It can be added that, sometimes, these slides are shown one after another automatically. An example of a slideshow platform is Smilebox. Another solution that is widely used today is a live video stream (or live video tours) which means "to stream digital data (such as audio or video material) that is delivered continuously and is usually intended for immediate processing or playback," another W-M definition. Thus, whenever agents are using their smartphone apps like FaceTime, Skype, Whatsapp, etc. and are walking through the property showing the homebuyers the house and answering questions, they are doing a live video streaming or live video tour. The words and their meanings are in constant flux, especially if they are technology-related. 3D tours, slideshows, live video tours, and regular video are different solutions all of which can be rightfully called a "virtual tour." Even if the industry itself cannot agree on what each term means, using specific and consistent terminology when marketing to your own clients is a better approach for avoiding confusion, boosting efficiency and promoting your personal brand. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

Jump into Digital Marketing Right Now to Fill that Buyer Funnel
As agents prepare to safely get back to business, BOOST from Property Panorama may be the best option to maximize efficiency, quality, conversion, and price When you think of Property Panorama, you think of virtual tours. This company has created more virtual tours for real estate properties than any other company for more than a decade. Their secret sauce is the relationship with multiple listing services, whereby every new or updated listing is automatically (or automagically) converted into a virtual tour and emailed to the agent. Agents pay small fees if they want fancier tours, but otherwise there is no fee to the agent.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Homesnap Stories for Virtual Tours
Social distancing is still very much part of daily life. Yet, the need to keep your business running remains ever-present. Here's how Homesnap Stories can help you stay relevant with buyers and sellers. Homesnap Stories are an effective way to replicate the traditional, in-person open house experience. Using Homesnap Stories, agents can add a video tour of themselves walking throughout a property directly to their listing page on Homesnap, highlighting key amenities and allowing prospective buyers to see a property in a way that makes them feel at ease. With Homesnap Stories, you can add unique, engaging marketing content right to your active listings through the Homesnap Pro app. Add text, emojis, and even use augmented reality to create one-of-a-kind marketing content that you can also share on Facebook and Instagram. Homesnap Stories are ideal for getting across selling points about a property that are difficult to convey from photos alone. And because Homesnap Stories sit on your listing page until the property is off the market, accessible to anyone, there's no need to coordinate and record live stories from scratch anytime you have an interested client. Here's how you can add one to your listing: Find the "Add Story" button near the top of any of your active listings. Upload photos from your phone, or take new photos/video in real time, if you are able to. Add text to make your photo or video pop. Make sure to highlight the most important features. As buyers are unlikely to visit the property in person, it's imperative to be comprehensive in your approach. Overdoing it isn't much of a concern as of right now. Err on the side of showing more. Add emojis or real estate stickers to draw attention to important selling points. We have a custom set of real estate-themed stickers — in addition to traditional emojis — so you can easily call out big selling points. New roof? Walk-in closet? Make sure to highlight. Add 3D effects with augmented reality mode. Get creative and stand out by adding personalized 3D effects — like a for-sale or price drop — that become virtual objects in your Story. Add a voice-over or music Voice-over is an excellent tool to explain specific features, showcase your personality, or demonstrate your professionalism and expertise on camera. Music makes for a more inviting listing. Post your Story. When your Story is complete, hit the button to post and it'll appear right on your listing. If you want to share it on your own Facebook or Instagram Stories page, you can easily do that as well. After your Story is published, you can also see when your branded clients and connected agents have viewed your Story. It's a great way to follow up with clients who might be interested in your listing. We know times are difficult right now. We hope Homesnap Stories can make things just a little bit easier. To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.

Real Estate: The Virtual Way
Say goodbye to "in-person" for a while, and hello to "through-the-screen." The times are unprecedented. We've never experienced anything like it before. None of us quite knows what to do or how to handle it. And these are precisely the types of situations that fuel innovation. Sure, webinars, video calls and virtual home tours are not new. What is new, however, is the seemingly overnight widespread industry use of these and many more online tools. The real estate sector has undertaken a profound shift. Perhaps for good.

BoxBrownie Now Offering 360° Virtual Reality Tour Platform
BoxBrownie has been offering virtual staging and image enhancing services to the real estate industry for many years. Their services have become a mainstay in real estate marketing by properly enhancing the appeal of properties for sale. As 360° virtual reality tours like Matterport and the now defunct GeoCV emerged, BoxBrownie applied their services to enhancing those tours with their virtual staging and image enhancement. Now BoxBrownie plans to compile and host those tours too. BoxBrownie is now offering an assembly and hosting service that will take scans from 360° cameras like the Ricoh Theta V and Ricoh Z1 and turn them into beautiful 360° virtual reality tours. Here is a nice example of an empty house. If you or your owner/tenant has a late model smartphone, you can download an app called Google Street View (free). It creates a 360° panorama without requiring a 360° camera. That panorama can be loaded into the BoxBrownie 360° Virtual Tour Platform to create a tour. Here is a link to an iPhone 11 example. Another key component to these 360° tours is the floor plan, which can be ordered as an additional feature of the tour. We like the floor plans a lot because they act as a map that orientates you to navigating the home. I may be mistaken, but my takeaway from past discussion with BoxBrownie is that these floorplans are remarkably accurate to scale. At What Cost? For most homes, you can probably get away with their basic package. You upload 15 photos to BoxBrownie (think 15 rooms) and the price is $16 for them to develop the tour. Larger homes may need up to 25 scans or images, which they price at $24. Over 25, and you pay a few cents extra to have your tour built. Remember, the price for image enhancement—like balancing the color or whatever—is $4 per image. Virtual Staging to remove the ugly furniture and insert beautiful stuff is $64 per image. If you are creating virtual tours that you want to have hosted for years, like your office, they charge $12 for hosting that the first year, then it goes down to $8 per year thereafter. Some agents create goodwill in their business by creating tours for local businesses, art galleries, or other community and lifestyle features. #smartmarketing In this time of virtual everything, real estate agents are creatively finding ways to deliver the best possible digital presentation experience to market properties. BoxBrownie may have an offer worth looking into, especially for do-it-yourself agents who are not using professional photographers. BoxBrownie may be able to make your photography look like that of a pro.

How Proptech Is Helping to Keep Businesses Going During the Coronavirus Outbreak
Whether we're commuting locally or traveling to a distant city, we collaborate on a global scale, primarily face-to-face. The Coronavirus, or COVID 19, has upended our connected world. Our common way of doing business has been fractured, and businesses are scrambling to find ways to protect its workers, continue to serve customers, and stay profitable.

Growing Your Business with Advanced Virtual Tours
The following is an excerpt from RE Technology's latest Success Guide: Today's advanced virtual tour solutions can drive engagement and word of mouth excitement that will make you, your buyers, and your sellers very happy. Here's how you can use them to your advantage. Branded and Unbranded Tours One of the greatest benefits of participating in multiple listing services is the distribution of your listing to every broker and MLS website in your market through the Internet Data Exchange, or IDX, program. Be sure to insert the unbranded tour link of all your listings into the correct field in your MLS. Regardless of the quality of the website, your beautiful virtual tour will make the best possible impression on homebuyers as they click through listing after listing. They are sure to stop and be as amazed by your marketing as they are by the house. Build Tours of Your Office and Affiliate Offices Your office is your lion's den. It is not only a place where you meet with customers, but also a place where you congregate with your team. Building a virtual tour of your offices will not only make your office webpages stand out, provide comfort to consumers, make your office social media and Google business pages look outstanding, but will make a great impression on other agents in the area who may be considering switching firms. A number of brokers and agents have told us that affiliates in mortgage, title, and insurance also love to build these tours for the same reason. Capture Community Tours Want to really impress the owner of a popular restaurant or store? They typically struggle with marketing as much as anyone. Take a look at their website or their Yelp page. You will be astounded by how much real estate marketing has evolved beyond the way that most companies market themselves. Consider offering a virtual tour to local businesses. They will not only remember you when they are planning a move, but they will offer referrals. Most of all, they will remember your branding and your strong call to action. Stage the Same Home in Different Styles Sometimes, even the most beautifully decorated home doesn't match the taste of the home buyer. My wife hates modern (chrome) and country (oak), but loves classical (mahogany and cherry). With today's virtual staging, you can get creative by developing the scans to suit a variety of palates. Another great idea is to convert a room into a nursery or convert a room that is currently a nursery into an office or a bedroom to show the flexibility of the space. Create a Look Book Take pride in the homes that you list and sell. Add a page to your website where you store the archive of all of the homes you have virtually staged. It becomes a great look book that you can use as a reference on listing presentations or for any other reason. It can be especially helpful when you want a catalog of designs to show. If you survey the marketplace you compete in, I expect that you will find that few, if any, brokerages, agents, or teams have deployed these advanced marketing ideas. A little effort on your behalf can have a dramatic impact on creating the differentiation that you need to attract customers. Best of all, your listings will sell faster. Download Success Guide: Advanced Virtual Tours to learn more about virtual tour trends, how to evaluate a virtual tour, and more.

4 Things to Consider When Evaluating Advanced Virtual Tours
The following is an excerpt from RE Technology's latest Success Guide: Whenever you buy anything, the focus should be on value and not price. And when it comes to software for your real estate business, the best tool is the one that you love to use and the customer service that you get. These truths ring loudly when it comes to advanced virtual tours. Here are four things you should look for when considering a virtual tour provider.

Tips for Taking Full Advantage of Matterport's Digital Twin Toolbox
Like never before, technology is evolving to offer a more transparent look inside what a business has to offer and to give those businesses greater insight into the audiences they aim to reach. There are a number of technologies and platforms designed to enhance this new age of client connections, so how do you best take advantage of all the technology that's available? In what's the most immersive customer experience, information from all these elements can be brought together in the form of 3D reality capture. But how does it work? What tools will allow this completely immersive, information experience? Aside from creating the 'digital twin' of your listing with Matterport, there are a number of tools available to take the virtual customer experience to the next level. Below are steps and insights into how to put the tools of this technology to use for the benefit of any business.

Sell That Listing Using Virtual Reality
It seems that there are always new ways to sell your client's home. It started with listing books, and then taking great photos of the home. Soon after, effective agents produced video tours of their listings. And now there is a new way to showcase your clients' listings: virtual reality. There are plenty of ways that using virtual reality can help you sell your client's home. Hopefully, after reading some of the helpful tips we have for you, you'll feel ready to use virtual reality in your real estate business.

Efficiency in the Closing Process with 3D Tours
Taking a property listing from posting to closing can be a complicated process. Creating efficiencies in each step can be simple and is essential to completing it with consistent success Whether you're an agent or client, the process of listing a home and searching for one is a multi-stage effort. This is something we realize at The Kite Team as a part of the larger Keller Williams Infinity Group, and in our first post of this series we covered maximizing the client and agent connection where they meet in the first stage of closing a deal.

Kendall Jenner's House in 3D: How virtual walkthroughs give A-list celebrities anonymity
How do celebrities move home so secretly? Let's face it, they don't sit up all night trawling home listing websites or hurriedly tidy their house ahead of a full day of viewings. So how do they go about moving house?

The Ways Virtual Tours Improve SEO Strategy
Your website is your showcase, it represents what you sell, it represents your agency, and ultimately it represents you. As a result, it's essential to have a well-positioned website to generate more traffic from search engines like Google and increase your chances of drawing in new customers. What is SEO? Search engine optimization is about improving your position in a search engine results page (SERP). Google is the dominant search engine, accounting for over 90% of searches processed globally. There are some regional exceptions; in China, Baidu holds 66% of the market, Google represents only 10%. Bing, Yahoo and Yandex are other minority share search engines, but when we talk about SEO, we usually refer to Google search results. Why is SEO important? To increase the number of visitors and therefore gain greater brand awareness, prospects and sales, you have to look at the ranking of your website in terms of relevant keywords. Your ranking is very important because the first three positions on Google receive more than 60% of clicks. If you are not the first page, then you will receive very little traffic to your site. Keywords Optimization First you need to identify the strategic keywords that you want to rank for in Google's SERP. How do you identify them? By choosing from those that are regularly typed by internet users (search volume). You can use search tools such as Google Keyword Planner for that insight. You need a Google Ads account, but signing up is free. Once you have found the search terms that your potential customers use, you can include them in the structure and content strategy of your website. How virtual tours can help you Adding these keywords analysis to your navigable Matterport space, for instance, will help Google understand that the content of your pages where it's displayed should be shown in searches for those terms. You can add the keywords in the title, add links in the template and add the address of that analysis, all of which can be tracked in Google. Content (on the site) is king Google loves "content", especially new content that visitors to your website will spend time interacting with and sharing. Google's algorithms take into account parameters such as bounce rate, time spent on the page and shares. The more content your website has, the better Google will rank your pages. Backlinks Backlinks are external websites that want to reference your site by linking to it in their own content, directing visitors to your page. The more backlinks you get from high quality or "authority" websites, the better. Google considers these backlinks another key element of its algorithm in ensuring it displays relevant pages from authoritative websites. Google uses your backlinks profile to create an authority score for your website, a measure that allows you to determine which websites have a high value and should be included in the search results. If many high-authority websites direct their visitors to your website (via backlinks), it is a vote of confidence in your content. MOZ has created the domain authority score that is now widely used by SEOs. You can find out more about this here and see your DA score for free using this tool. Wrapping Up SEO is much more than what we've discussed here, but this article should provide a quick overview of how virtual tours can help you in your SEO strategy. Improving ranking in Google is a long-term process but the quality of your website content will always be fundamental to attracting more visitors to your website and converting them to customers as they find you an interesting and valuable resource. To view the original article, visit the Matterport blog.