Virtual Real Estate Can Be For Everyone Working with Houses

The notion of virtual real estate should consider the context that the Internet plays in the overall process of buying or selling a home.  More than 90% of all first steps that people take towards selling or buying a home begin with browsing the Internet.  That is a huge change from say 10 years ago.  How time have changed.  So what are the “Virtual Real Estate” tools that make our buying or selling experiences interesting and enjoyable creating this surge?

First let’s define “Virtual”.  Existing in the mind, especially as a product of the imagination is a good definition.  So the idea of Virtual Real Estate is to give us the feeling and flavor of a property before we actually physically visit it.  And for these tours we turn to our good friend YouTube.  YouTube virtual tours of properties initially was typically for luxury homes but this idea is catching on for other markets for homes of all price points.  Even rentals are getting in on it.  A picture is worth a 1000 words but how many words is an actual video worth? 

A virtual tour may be dynamic photo presentations that can walk an interested buyer through every room of a house to patio decking and onto the landscaped garden overlooking unspoiled salt marsh or seascape.  It’s all to create a virtual experience to give the feeling you have already been there.  If the experience is good and real, you may actually end up going there.  After all you are looking to buy so stimulation of the emotion is a good way to get one to take the next step.

Some people have not taken it even further with CAD software.  CAD (Computer Aided Design) is used by designers and architects to create a virtual experience to take you to a place they created in their imagination yet feels extremely real.  We can experience the excitement and desire to go there through this virtual experience.  This is a great way to test market new designs before building any prototype or show home.  Cost efficient and effective. 

Virtual Real Estate has also taken the form of blogs, referrals, online CRM systems, online marketing.  All these items can influence a Buyer’s decision on their next step after going ‘shopping’ online for a house.  Nowadays, agents and investors need to be up to speed for a more knowledgeable consumer as a result of all this virtual technology.  The result is Buyers and Sellers have the opportunity to be as prepared as ever to ensure their house purchase or sale truly is what they hope for it to be.  And as Real Estate professionals, it is up to us to ensure we do our part to give them solid information every step of the way.

Virtual Real Estate is here to stay.  Make the most of it!