As showings and open houses remain taboo through the biggest season in real estate sales, more and more brokerages are finding innovative ways to adapt to this new normal, specifically with virtual tours.
In fact, legacy luxury brokerage Allie Beth Allman and Associates took their hugely popular spring home tour online this year, to stellar results.
Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty now has an entire division on its website dedicated to video and virtual reality tours.
And now, JP & Associates Realtors (JPAR) has announced a new partnership with Matterport, the company that produces 3D virtual tours.
According to a report from Inman, the new partnership gives JPAR agents the ability to schedule a scan service professional to capture a property in 3D. Matterport’s platform can generate a 3D rendering of the property, a video, and images for agents to use in their marketing materials.
“We are always looking for new ways to serve our clients and agents — even more so in times of crisis,” JP Piccinini, founder and CEO of JPAR, said in a statement. “By offering Matterport 3D virtual tours, our agents are armed with the very best solution to increase engagement with listings and help clients sell their homes as quickly as possible.”
Matterport commissioned an independent study that was released in February that showed homes with 3D tours sold 31 percent faster and for prices 9 percent higher than listings without virtual tours.
Surely, considering today’s restrictions on open houses and showings, those returns on investment in virtual tours have got to be higher.
“We’re proud to offer JPAR agents a turnkey solution that turns every listing into a 24/7 open house, especially now during this time of social distancing,” Richard McDonald, senior director of real estate strategy at Matterport, said in a statement. “Matterport is excited to connect JPAR agents with our professional network to create the most immersive 3D property walkthroughs for their clients to explore from anywhere, at any time.”
