As more and more buyers shop for homes on the Web, virtual tours are rapidly becoming a “must have” for the listing in cyberspace. Virtual tours save home buyers, sellers and agents a tremendous amount of time. Not surprisingly, the virtual tour market is changing to meet these demands. Many brokers and agents don’t realize they now have a choice in the type of virtual tour they can provide for their buyers and sellers.

In the past, virtual tours had to be created by an outside service provider such as iPIX®, which was recently purchased by HomeStore.com®. The outside service provider sends a photographer to the home to take the images, processes the images, places them on the Web, and links them to the MLS listing on one of the major real estate portals such as REALTOR.com or HomeAdvisor.com. To view a sample tour created by iPIX, click here.

The service provider tour has a couple of major advantages. First, it’s designed to be very easy on the agent. Creating the tour is as easy as placing a telephone call to order the tour and then scheduling and meeting the photographer at the listing to decide which areas to shoot. There’s no camera, computer, software or anything else other than a telephone required to have a tour created and posted on the Internet. Editor's note: In addition to a service provider tour, IPIX does offer a do-it-yourself package for agents.

Second, iPIX currently has paid for agreements with some of the major portals that exclude other virtual tour providers from automatically linking their customers’ virtual tours to the textual listing information uploaded to the portal from the MLS. Because of these agreements, the iPIX tour can be automatically linked to the listing with no work required by the agent. (Note - while the portals have been paid to restrict automatic linking, agents can still manually link the tours they create themselves in just a few minutes.)

Today another type of virtual tour is now available - the agent created and controlled tour. Instead of contacting an outside service provider, listing agents now use their own digital cameras and their desktop or laptop computers to create their own virtual tours in less than an hour. Wide-angle, scrolling panoramic images are created by stitching multiple overlapping still images. To view an actual tour created by an agent, click here.

Why would agents create their own tours instead of simply picking up the phone and having someone else do it for them? While there are many advantages to agent controlled tours, agents can consider the control, timing and price advantages of doing the tours themselves.

The first major advantage is that agents have complete control of both the quantity and quality of the content of the virtual tours they create. For example, using the VisualTour system a tour can contain up to 50 images (still or panoramic), unlimited text on every image and voice. Since the agents can take a large number of photos, in addition to photos of the listing, they can include neighborhood shots, the park down the street, the clubhouse, or anything else they feel might be of interest. Agents use their sales skills to create a “tour by proxy” and show the potential buyers everything they would show them if they were giving the tour in person. Also, since agents aren’t limited to using only full 360 degree images, they can limit the buyer’s field of view to only the most appealing features of the listing. They can also create neighborhood tours instead of just tours of listings.

The second advantage is timing. Instead of waiting as long as a week or more to meet with a photographer, agents can create their virtual tours the same day they get the listing. In a listing presentation they can promise the seller they can have their virtual tour marketing their home on the Web that very day, even before it is available on the local MLS. In many areas of the country, homes are sold before a service provider’s photographer can take the pictures. Also, there are many areas of the country that the service providers don’t cover.

The third major advantage is the price differential. Instead of paying $100 or more for a service provider’s tour, agents can create their own tours for $25 or less. As more and more large brokers make the commitment to provide virtual tours on every listing, this price difference becomes very substantial. Also, using an agent-controlled tour, buyer’s agents can use the technology as a marketing tool, creating a tour that includes one or more homes. The potential buyer can take the tour, then remove it within three days and there’s no charge whatsoever.

What are the disadvantages of the agent controlled tour?

First, an agent created tour requires more of a commitment from agents in terms of the initial learning curve. After training thousands of agents, our statistics show that the average training time for an agent is one hour or less, however, it’s still much easier for agents who are going to create only 3 or 4 tours a year to have someone else do them.

Second, agents must have their own digital camera and computer, or have access to equipment provided by the office. They must also have Internet access to upload their tours. As over half of all agents now have access to a digital camera, and nearly all agents have a PC with an Internet connection, this disadvantage is quickly disappearing.

Third, agents must take the pictures and create the tours. While this usually takes less time than making a separate trip to meet a photographer, it still requires work on the part of the agent or their assistant.

Fourth, until the exclusive linking agreements with the portals are eliminated, the agents must manually link their tours to the major portals. In some cases this requires a special account with the portal. For example, to manually link a tour to REALTOR.com requires an agent i-LEAD™ account. Manually linking a tour to a listing on a portal is a very easy “cut and paste” operation that normally takes under 3 minutes.

Lastly, there is typically some type of investment of several hundred dollars involved to start creating your own tours.

So which is the right virtual tour for you? Do you prefer the simplicity of the service provider virtual tour, or the control, timing and price advantages of the agent controlled tour? You’ll have to decide what’s best for you. The good news is now you have a choice!

Published: February 19, 2001

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