Virtual tours can ‘boost sale prices by more than 5%’
A high-tech company that produces robot cameras for property viewings claims virtual tours drive sales and rental amounts up.
The company behind a camera that can film an entire property in 20 minutes has claimed virtual tours can boost a property sale price by more than 5%.
Giraffe360 said virtual tour properties carry an estimated premium of 5.6% compared to homes marketed using more traditional techniques. With today’s average house price, this is an estimated cash premium of £15,648, it said.
On the rental market, the virtual tour premium is even more impressive, the firm said, at an estimated 8.5%, which equates to an extra £94 per month in rental income.
It’s robot-like camera can both photograph rooms automatically, tell which storey it’s on, measure spaces using its rotating radar-like scanner and create accurate floorplans.
‘Astonishing premiums’
Mikus Opelts, Giraffe360 CEO, (pictured) said: “Before too long, every home in Britain will be marketed with the use of virtual tours. Not only are they hugely convenient and impressive, they also bring astonishing premiums. They have an ability to make viewers fall in love with a home to such an extent that they’re willing to pay a little extra to secure it.
“As it stands, there is still time to get ahead of pack with virtual tours and start offering something that your competitors haven’t caught onto yet. The return for doing so? Roughly £16,000 for every transaction,” he added.
The company said virtual tours really took off during the Covid pandemic, and were here to stay.
Advantages of virtual tours, according to Giraffe360, include:
- Prospective buyers or tenants can view properties without leaving home which means they can view many in just one afternoon, narrowing down a long list to a short list of homes they can then choose to view in person.
- Virtual viewings are safe and accessible for everyone. They mean sellers don’t have to have as many strangers traipsing through their home, and any clients who have a disability don’t have to consider whether or not they’ll be able to view the property easily in its current form.
- Virtual viewings save time and money for everyone involved. Buyers or renters don’t have to view nearly as many places in person as they normally would, and don’t have to pay travel expenses to get there, for example.