Virtual tours offering buyers and renters a way through Covid-19 restrictions

Virtual tours is a useful technology during COVID-19 restrictions. It also offers a convenient and viable future option for real estate sales.

With new tools and technology emerging at a fast pace buyers and real estate agents will have better access to the latest data and analysis information that should help reduce strategic decision-making times.

Virtual tours involve drone footage, pre-recorded 3D tours, marketing videos, Google maps and street view footage, 3D visualisations and real-life video footage from an agent walking through the property using zoom or skype. This enables buyers to learn more about a property in real-time.  It also enables them to more quickly identity if a particular property meets their requirements. This can make the process faster, is a more sustainable option than site visits and helps to improve transparency says jll.com.au.

Founder of Virtual Tours Creator Tom Dorawa says that in Australia the number of real estate agencies using virtual tour services has tripled in the past three months and that the number of virtual tours published by real estate agents using VR software went from 500 in February to 2000 in March and almost 4000 in April.

Views of virtual tours in the Australian market grew from approximately 2,000 per day at the end of February 2020 to about 15,000 to 22,000 per day in the following months. This is a total organic growth of over 1.5 million views since January 2020 continued Dorawa.

So if you are looking to buy a property then consider a virtual tour without experiencing emotions that could be generated if you actually stepped into the property. But you still need to follow up with other research through experts to identify possible environmental and other risks and issues. And ask as many questions of the agent as possible about the state of the house - is it cold, damp, wet, hot, mouldy, stinks, spongy floors - including opening up and zooming into cupboards and drawers and marks to give you a better look. Even looking into the ceiling space will help give you a better idea of its overall condition.

Virtual tours are convenient but it also means you are relying on the trustworthiness of the agent so it pays to read up a little on the agent too!

You will also need a conveyancer to have a really thorough review if the agency contract and check things like occupational certificates, strata plans and sewage diagrams, says James Kirkland, director of sales at Upside Realty.

If you’re only able to view a home virtually then Kirkland strongly recommends that you get a pest and building inspection done as this will show up most major problem areas like mould and damp.