Half of all house hunters now use virtual tours, new poll reveals

The surge in virtual tours during the pandemic looks set to stay, with 47% of home hunters telling a recent survey that they completed a digital property tour prior to buying or renting it.

Conducted among 1,000 house hunters, the research by software advice consultancy Capterra also reveals, somewhat surprisingly, that 19% of those canvassed had bought or rented a property using just a virtual tour prior to making an offer.

But the research also reveals the huge stranglehold that the big portals have on consumer house hunting.

Three quarters said they used Rightmove, Zoopla or OTM to complete their initial searches, with just 8% using agent websites and 7% popping into a branch.

The study also reveals that social media has some way to go before it becomes a major force in property marketing, despite some agency’s claims to the contrary, with just 4% of house hunters using it to find their next home.

Images are overwhelmingly the most important factor for house hunters followed by GDPR, search filters, ease of contacting an agent, agency office hours, a chat box and property videos.

“We have seen a shift in purchase behaviour during the pandemic as consumers have adapted to post-pandemic lifestyle changes,” says Sukanya Awasthi (pictured), content analyst at Capterra UK.

“We also found that house hunters are now embracing technology such as virtual tours for reasons of convenience.

“68% of respondents said one of the main benefits of virtual tours is that it allows them to view a house at any time.

“As PropTech innovations evolve, we can expect them to continue to play an important role in the home buying and renting processes.”