40% of agents now offer online viewings following Coronavirus crisis

Nearly 40% of all estate agents are now using online viewings to keep their sales pipeline going following the dramatic changes imposed on the housing market during the Covid pandemic, it has been claimed.

Rightmove has told The Negotiator that 6,000 of the estate agency branches listing on its portal have used its recently-launched online viewings label when uploading properties.

Given that there are approximately 16,000 agency branches listing on its portal, this means that at least 38% of agents now offer video or virtual viewings to potential property buyers browsing online.

The need to offer virtual viewings during the recent lockdown has seen a huge increase in the number of agents adopting video and 3D virtual tour technology, and many are keen to begin using in case there is a second wave of the Coronavirus and a subsequent additional lockdown.

Online viewing

Rightmove launched its Automated Online Viewing feature in April after it was deluged with agents want to flag up their online viewings capability to potential buyers.

The system enables house hunters to complete the portal’s online enquiry form to request more details about a property and at the same time flag up their desire to see properties that come with virtual viewings.

This, Rightmove claims, means agent can then reply to these leads and send customers a link to a property’s video or 3D tour, or an invitation to a ‘live’ digital property viewing.

As we reported in April, Rightmove recently added ‘video tour’ buttons to its mobile app but has now gone further, creating separate branded ‘video pages’ on its site and app for each property which can then be emailed to clients.

The initiative is part of Rightmove’s ‘Ten Point Plan’ to get the housing market back on its feet.

Read more about Rightmove’s viewings tech.