Will a Virtual Tour Sell DFW Real Estate?

A virtual tour itself will not sell DFW real estate but then why would you want to include a virtual tour in your real estate marketing efforts?   According to prospective home buyers are looking online for both photos and virtual tours.

How Does a Virtual Tour Work?

Without actually visiting the home virtual tours take you inside the home and give you a 360-degree view. Some of them are interactive, meaning you click the mouse and it takes you to the ceiling, the floor, the walls, leaving no inch of the room unviewed. Others virtual tours are flat-screen views put together to give you a moving image that you watch but do not control.   Whether you are selling of any the virtual tours will work and cost about the same.

You can order virtual tours a number of ways:

• Hire professionals to take the photos, upload and create the virtual tour.
• Take your own photographs and hire a professional to simply upload and assemble them for you.
• Buy your own software and do it yourself.

What Does a Virtual Tour Cost?

• Larger numbers of spins are usually reserved for the homes listed at more than a million dollars. Buyers want to see the entire property including the guest house, the libraries, the wine cellars, the indoor pool & spa facilities, media rooms, gyms, studios and garages.  Cost: Fees vary from $250 on the lower end and up to $3,000 for professional Web sites dedicated to the property.
• Every virtual tour should consist of a minimum of two spins. Even a small 1000-square foot home can be shot on a two-spin tour: the living room and the clubhouse / pool area, for example. Cost: Less than $150.
• These are suitable for larger homes of approximately 2,500 sq. ft. or more and priced at less than a million. The number of rooms or areas that you select to feature will depend on the layout, number of stories and curb appeal.  Cost: $250 or less. Interactive virtual tours will cost a little more.

Staging for the Virtual Tour

• Consider the level of the camera. If you raised the camera a foot or so, would it eliminate glare from windows?
• Determine the viewpoints. Take your own digital photo and upload them to your computer and study each room for its appeal and photogenic qualities. Print out the photos you like and show the virtual tour professional the angles that you want.
• Begin the tour focused on the most interesting element in the space and end with that same element. Think about what the viewer will see first to determine your starting point for the tour. You don't want to begin filming a doorway, for example, because most doorways are boring.
• You want the space clean, open, clutter free and to appear much larger than it is.  Move excess furniture out of the room you are shooting
• Choose the best spot in the room to stage the camera. While you might capture a wider range of view from a location closer to a hall or door, think about the entire circle of view and how interested your viewer will be staring at a close up of a nearby wall.

Added Features Available for Virtual Tours

• Use Descriptive Text: Most virtual tours provide plenty of space for the marketing description.
• Scrolling Text:  Describe that moving video with text that rolls across the screen. Don't rely on the viewer to know enough to scroll down the page to your verbiage. Add a line of verbiage directly to the video.
• Add Audio: Some virtual tours give you the option of adding your voice to the tour. Be enthusiastic, speak clearly, and remember to smile, like you were talking to a friend, because a smile resonates in the voice.