The virtual tour revolution
Whether a simple fad or a real revolution, virtual tours have become an essential step in the course of property applicants. Little used before the health crisis, they experienced a real boost thanks to (or because of) the two confinements.
With a total shutdown for nearly twelve weeks in 2020, real estate agents had to innovate to overcome the difficulties associated with new health standards, including physical visits. "The first confinement made us aware of the value of all the digital tools that were at our disposal," explains Christine Fumagalli, President of the ORPI network. Although part of our panoply for almost four years, the virtual tour was not yet so developed and widespread. Today, it has become a major tool in the way we operate ". Classic virtual tour, with an immersive headset or live, digital home staging to project yourself into a property after work ... The habits of stone professionals are being shaken up by this digital turn. “The real estate advisor can either go there and present the various properties to his clients using videoconferencing or let future buyers have their hands on them by sending them a link to access a 360 virtual visit at home,” continues Christine Fumagalli. New technologies offer extremely precise results. Buyers can move freely inside the property, inspect every nook and cranny or zoom in on a window to discover the view while remaining behind their screen.
Six visits in one hour
"Our customers are very fond of this digitization, which is becoming increasingly part of their career," notes Yannick Signes, president of the GIE ORPI in Toulouse. Future buyers pre-select the properties that interest them in order to avoid increasing unnecessary exits. In an hour, you can make up to six visits, something unthinkable in reality ". The goal is clear: to increase digital visits and reduce actual visits to increase efficiency and improve the conversion rate. "This way of doing things will continue over time, it is a phenomenon that cannot be stopped. The face-to-face meeting with the real estate agent comes much later than before, says Yannick Signes. Our profession is constantly evolving, we have to adapt or we are doomed to failure ".
Unmissable physical visits
This saves time for the real estate agent and potential buyers, which also saves sellers the inconvenience associated with various passages. But the physical visit remains an essential act, especially in the context of a purchase. "Unlike rentals where leases could be signed only through a virtual visit, it is mainly a means of pre-selection at the transaction level," explains the president of the EIG.
An observation shared by Laurent Vimont, France president of the Century21 network. “Containment has shown us that virtual tours could never replace physical tours. While a set of properties benefited from this digitization of visits, hardly any sales were made during this period. The rare sales promises without exception conditioned the purchase on the face-to-face visit, adds Laurent Vimont. In the old-fashioned market, people need to feel, to touch to fall in love, this feeling cannot come from the virtual. We are above all a contact profession where people continue to be a fundamental value ".
Advanced technologies to better project yourself
A virtual tour with three-dimensional effects has much more impact than a simple photo or 2D map. By virtually "moving" around, you can more easily see the layout of the rooms and the available space.
Via this system and thanks to professional software, a real estate agent can present you with various possible arrangements for a property: adding or removing partitions, flooring, wall colors, the position of furniture, etc.
For new homes, virtual tours or virtual reality now include real shots: you can discover the panorama you will have from your balcony on the 4th floor long before the work is completed.
Time saved for buyers
A future buyer of real estate visits on average between 5 and 7 homes before finding the one that suits him. These visits are not always easy to organize because the goods are not necessarily located in the same neighborhoods, and in times of Covid, travel is limited.
If the virtual visit will probably never replace the physical visit of the home, it allows you to give a first impression, very realistic, it allows you to move around a building and explore it. If from the start of the visit you want to rule out the good, you won't feel like you've wasted your time moving around. The virtual tour also allows you to discover properties at the other end of France.
Less restrictive visits for sellers
To maximize the chances of quickly selling your property, professionals always recommend that you tidy up your home. However, it is not always easy to keep your apartment or house like in the photos. Vendors are sometimes forced to leave the accommodation during visits, or even to have their children, dogs or cats looked after.
By choosing the virtual visit, the physical visits are perhaps less numerous but they are more likely to lead to a purchase offer because future buyers will already be attracted by the accommodation. The efforts to be made by the seller are less important.
Virtual reality and virtual tour solutions are constantly developing to provide even more real and immersive results. In a few years, it may be possible to virtually walk around while activating senses other than sight such as sound and touch.
Source : La Dépêche