Seventy-two percent of renters would lease an apartment without seeing the property in person if they could view a 3D virtual tour, according to a recent survey conducted by Zumper, a rental marketplace, and Matterport, a 3D and virtual service company.
Just like home shoppers, renters have turned to online tools to find a home during the pandemic, and property managers increasingly seek out nontraditional ways to allow potential tenants to view spaces from afar.
As with home listings, apartment photos are vital – but a video or virtual tour component gives prospective tenants greater views inside the apartments.
Real estate virtual apartment tour searches have spiked since the pandemic, according to Google Trends.
More than 60% of renters said the coronavirus negatively impacted their apartment search, according to a survey by Abodo, an apartment listing site, conducted in late spring. At the time, 30% of renters preferred photos and floor plans delivered virtually or prerecorded videos of units (27%). Only 21% preferred live, personal unit tours.
The residential market has turned to 3D tours and video walkthroughs during the pandemic to take buyers through properties, and many buyers are skittish about touring properties during the pandemic.
Of property owners offering 3D walkthrough tours, 82% said they were able to rent a property based only on that virtual tour, according to the Zumper and Matterport survey. Renters validated those hunches, expressing greater interest in properties that allowed them to peruse the spaces virtually, the survey found.
“The ability to quickly, easily, and safely explore apartments will be integral in navigating the process of finding a home,” says Robin Daniels, CMO of Matterport. “Not only can renters get the important information and understanding of a space … but property owners can reach more potential tenants by offering them to work around the limitations of in-person showings.”
Source: Matterport.com and “Virtual Apartment Tours: The Industry’s Ultimate Guide for Property Managers,” ABODO (May 6, 2020)
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