Do you remember when you first heard people talking about a “virtual world”? You probably thought you’d stepped into a scene from Star Trek or—if you’re a wee bit older—The Jetsons cartoon. The virtual world, a.k.a. “virtual reality,” is defined as “the use of technology to create a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with.” And it is offering powerful, revolutionary benefits to real estate buyers and sellers—especially in their ability to save time and money and enjoy a much more satisfying real estate experience. Let’s look at just a few of these amazing benefits.
Virtual Open Houses
An open house is typically one of the most important strategies for selling your house. But some of a seller’s most likely buyers may not always be able to make it in person at a particular time. That’s where a virtual open house comes in. It allows a wide range of prospective buyers to experience an open house from the convenience of their phone, laptop, or other device. Only in use for a few years, this strategy has proven to be astonishingly effective. In 2020, as the COVID pandemic raged and sellers turned to virtual open houses, fully 63 percent of buyers made offers on homes they had never seen in person.
Virtual Staging
This amazing development catapults the all-important strategy of home-staging into the Digital Age. Want to present any of a wide array of staged looks for rooms in the house you are selling? Perhaps an Ethan Allen classic New England look? Or a modern Italian look? Or some other, fill-in-the-blank look? No worries! Virtual staging technology allows you to present home interiors exactly how you’d like them to look.
Virtual 3D Tours
During the past 10 years, virtual tours of real estate have exploded in popularity. In fact, a survey by Forbes recently revealed that fully 61 percent of home buyers now rank “Experiencing a Virtual Tour of a Property” as THE most helpful strategy in making their buying decision—outpacing more traditional options such as high-quality photos and detailed listing information. Thanks to virtual tours of real estate, buyers often feel comfortable offering at—or even ABOVE—the listing price, because their virtual tour has given them such a great feel for the property.
Drone Photographs & Imagery
Aerial drone photographs of real estate are also hugely popular now. Drones offer a completely new perspective on a piece of real estate, allowing sellers and their agents to really spotlight the beauty and surroundings of a piece of property, in a creative way that can make a listing jump off the page for buyers. IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you or your agent use a drone, be sure to understand the regulations governing their use in Maine, which you will find here.
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