How to Engage in Virtual Open Houses

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Real Estate

Virtual tours and virtual open houses on social media are quickly becoming a popular option for buyers in place of the traditional open house – and offer an incredible opportunity that benefits the consumer.


The real estate industry is always transforming with the development of new technology, and real estate agents have adopted an array of tools that help them provide increasingly sophisticated services to their customers. Virtual tours and virtual open houses on social media are quickly becoming a popular option for buyers in place of the traditional open house – and offer an incredible opportunity that benefits the consumer.

Expand your Opportunity to View More Homes

Virtual open houses let buyers reach more properties, in more places, by way of various platforms that show tours live via websites, YouTube, FaceTime – and Facebook and Instagram Live. It also allows agents to reach potential buyers while saving consumers the time they would normally spend repeating in-person tours.

Helpful Tips on Exploring the Virtual Real Estate World

Get Familiarized with Different Platforms
With the rapidly changing pace of technology, it may seem daunting for a buyer to know which platform may suit them best in their home-buying journey, whether it’s Facebook Live, YouTube, Skype or other platforms. Many of these platforms have How To guides on their websites to help a consumer navigate their way around an agent’s version of a virtual tour.

Ask a Coldwell Banker Agent for a Virtual Property Tour
Life situations can hamper the time needed to travel to a traditional, in-person open house. Many agents utilize some form of a virtual open house to meet the ever-evolving needs of their customers, so ask your local Coldwell Banker agent for a virtual tour.

“We need to embrace any and all means to help buyers and sellers feel confident and secure right now. I have clients that have been renting and need to be out of their current home by the end of April. The family, who have three children, are concerned they won’t be able to find a home quickly enough. We looked at several homes online together recently, and I’ve set-up showings for them via FaceTime as I tour through the home,” said Jane McAuley, affiliated sales associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Atlanta.

Aside from convenience, virtual property tours including drone footage or still shots in a YouTube video can also assist with viewing properties with pools, ponds and lakes, as well as grand acreage. “To enter a gated community of only 22 houses via flyover, filming gives a perspective of the topography of the land, draped in beautiful oaks and palms, leading to a grand finale of a deep-water dock that offers exquisite sunset views of dolphins, birds, and other wildlife that you may not see just walking over the terrain one step at a time,” said Sibita Proctor, an affiliated real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the Carolinas who has utilized YouTube for large property tours.

Be Ready!

MATTHEW LIPANI MAR 23, 2020
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