The top 8 benefits of using a Interactive Virtual Walkthrough

Interactive Virtual Walkthrough tours are a fantastic way to show a property as the viewer can virtually explore the house at their leisure. We use this innovative technology on our sales and rental properties here at Watson Integrity.

1.) It is an exact representation of the home, allowing buyers to quickly determine if it is the right property for them. This means that people who come to physically visit have pretty much already made up their mind that they want to buy it. Sellers don’t need to be interrupted so much by visits from people who are then not interested. Only the keenest, most suitable buyers will come through.

2.) “Preparing our home for every viewing can be exhausting” – No more! I remember one time my wife and I sold our home when Interactive Virtual Walkthrough technology wasn’t available. My wife and I would spend hours preparing the home ahead of every buyer viewing – it was exhausting! On several occasions, we would do all the work, but the people who attended weren’t interested, due to something we couldn’t control (for example the size of the main bedroom). The next time we sell we will use a Interactive Virtual Walkthrough model. This will ensure that people could look through our home at it’s very tidiest online, so our virtual 24/7 home will need no cleaning at all. That way if they don’t like it online due to there own requirements, we don’t need to spend hours cleaning and tidying.

3.) We want your home to be on the buyers’ short-list. Let’s take a scenario of people moving to Manawatu from Wellington. They look online and try to decide which few homes they can have time to visit on a Sunday. It is CRUCIAL that your home is on their short-list so you can get buyer competition and a great price. Buyers who look at a 3D model will do one of two things. They will either love your home and put it on their short-list or they will decide your home is not for them and not visit. The former of the two (the people who love your home) are key. With ordinary real estate marketing, we cannot guarantee these people would put the same home on their shortlist.

4.) Sell your home with fewer disturbances. Wouldn’t it be awesome if real estate salespeople had a crystal ball so they could immediately filter whether people would love your home and only bring those people to view it? Instead of having scores (potentially) of unsuitable buyers walking through your home and hoping for results, you would have only visitors who have pretty much decided your home is for them. Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs allow this to happen by filtering out the buyers who will not like your home – making for a more relaxed and peaceful selling process.

5.) How Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs allow you to get the best price! Have you ever been in a situation where you have purchased something for a higher price because you love it? A Interactive Virtual Walkthrough on-screen (or in virtual reality) is so realistic that people can know it is the house for them before any physical visit. This is very common in the human psyche. If we form an emotional attachment, we will pay more than we thought we would and feel very happy about it. This phenomenon is well known when selling property. If someone views a home and loves it, they will want to ensure they get it. They will do this by placing a high offer (particularly so in a multi-offer situation) and we can get a great result for you.

6.) The walkthroughs are interactive and highly informative. The Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs can contain diverse information such as videos, pop-up feature and benefit descriptions, user manuals, guarantees, measurements, maps, school zoning’s, property flyers, social sharing links, and 360 degree exterior photography. Real estate salespeople like to remove any ‘barriers’ in the minds of buyers. Our Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs allow this, where standard real estate marketing may not.

7.) Buyers can share the Interactive Virtual Walkthrough with mortgage brokers, decorators, accountants, lawyers, builders, family, and friends! – Before you buy! It is possible to get the opinions of those who really value just by sharing the model with them. Do you want to borrow a bit more to renovate the kitchen? Why not share the model with builders for estimates, the mortgage broker for confident lending, interior designer for input, and your family and friends to join the excitement.

8.) Houses sell faster with a Interactive Virtual Walkthrough, and faster usually means fewer hassles and a higher price. This is just my opinion as figures for this are tricky to gather. I work with rental properties and rent them out using Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs. Some properties have models, and some do not. We’ve been using Interactive Virtual Walkthroughs on our rental properties for quite some time now. The last 80 properties we have rented using an Interactive Virtual Walkthrough have achieved on average 6% above market rental estimate; sometimes up to 10% extra. They have rented out with around one-quarter of physical visits to the house. There is no reason why the sales market wouldn’t also follow this model – yet we are still gathering data.

Watch Greg’s video on how to use an Interactive Virtual Walkthrough: