Proptech is a concept, or term, used to describe start-ups that offer new business models or innovative new technical products for the real estate markets. Proptech can cover both the commercial and construction sides of the property industry, and it is concerned with the changed mentality of real estate and its consumers. One such innovation of proptech is the rise of the virtual tour.
Both fintech (finance), and contech (relating to the home building industry) have close links with proptech, and its scope is expected to expand in the coming years. As a result, real estate has become a tempting proposition for investors interested in this trend.
What Is a Virtual Tour?
A virtual tour is designed to give the viewer a realistic idea of what a location is like without being there in person. It is created by stitching together a multitude of panoramic images and can be viewed using a laptop, desktop computer, tablet or mobile device. Some virtual tours will also incorporate music, sound effects, and buttons that the viewer can click to capture a still image of a particular point in the tour.
Virtual tours differ from video tours as, rather than only allowing users a single view at any given time, they allow viewers to look at an entire panoramic scene and zoom in on points of interest.
How Virtual Tours Are Used in Real Estate
Virtual tours allow potential home buyers to find out more about a property without initially visiting it in person. Real estate agents often find that this facility equates to significant time savings and avoids the need to take parties on an in-person tour who have no real desire to make an offer.
Property professionals such as Ryan Mahoney of Dubai, UAE, often find that proptech virtual tours also lead to boosted conversion rates, due to the fact that they provide a funnel for pre-qualified leads.
How Should Real Estate Agencies Respond to Proptech?
With the rise of proptech, estate agents are increasingly making the changes needed to thrive in a changing landscape by investing, for example, in new marketing tools and equipment to keep up to date with technology. It’s also important to keep up with industry news and new patterns of consumer behaviour, as well as regularly testing out and innovating new ways of working and boosting client satisfaction.
For more information about how property start-ups are using proptech, take a look at the embedded PDF.