Whether you’re buying a home or selling your house, today it’s easier, faster, and more efficient than it’s ever been. Most of this is owing to cutting-edge, digital technological advancements and innovations. These virtual innovations have made the process of buying/selling a house not only less stressful but almost a new experience altogether. Let’s take a look, then, at some virtual tools to make buying or selling your house easier in Ventura County.
Virtual RealityTours
Virtual reality (VR) tours have been used for some time, but now they’ve reached a new level. Formerly, these tours were limited to two-dimensional photos, slide shows, and videos, but now 3D virtual reality tools are available. With these tools, sellers can show a home, and buyers can tour it all from the comfort of their living rooms. With viewing devices like Google’s Cardboard, viewers can almost experience actually being in the home.
“VR home tours are more than 3D models of homes, they’re immersive visualizations in high-resolution that can feel almost as real as being physically present in the space. Users can virtually look up and down, zoom in and out, spin around, climb stairs or walk from one room to the next. Buyers can even virtually tour a home that’s under construction as if it were completed.”
The big advantage of VR if you’re selling your house in Ventura County is that you don’t have to leave or change your schedule for buyers to view your home. Anyone from anywhere can tour your home at any time with no inconvenience to you.
Your local real estate agent can assist you in creating a VR tour. Call 805-232-8503 to find out more.
AI Virtual Assistant
A new virtual tool that was once just the stuff of science fiction is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) virtual assistant. Although real estate is a little behind in this area, it is catching up.
AI can learn what buyers want and value and then make appropriate suggestions, thus helping them zero in their home search. “AI will match buyers to for-sale homes based on ‘things that really matter’ to buyers, such as their preferences and ideologies. For example, buyers who value environmental protection, the outdoors and energy conservation might be matched with properties that have more mature leafy trees.”
If you’re selling your house, such AI tools can be a huge benefit by helping you reach your exact target market. You won’t waste time and marketing money on buyers who aren’t really all that interested in your house – no more tire kickers.
Augmented Reality for Staging
When selling your house in Ventura County, you really need to stage it. Multiple studies have shown that staged homes sell quicker and at a better price. But now it doesn’t have to all be physical staging. Now, you can use augmented reality (AR) to stage your home for the virtual tour – and buyers can even do their own staging.
Here’s how the industry pros explain it: “While virtual reality shows everything, AR adds to what’s already there. With AR, buyers can add virtual furniture and home accessories to physical spaces before they make a purchase. . . . [B]uyers can swap out images of chairs, sofas, tables, lamps, and more, making as few or as many changes as they want until they love their space.”
Digital Transaction Services
Another virtual tool than can help immensely when you’re selling your house (or if you’re buying, for that matter) is a digital transaction service. It allows both sellers and buyers to complete the steps and stages of the transaction online and remotely.
Some examples of these services are:
- DocuSign
- Notarize.com
- Lenda.com
Drone Photography
And then there are drones (also known as unmanned aerial systems) to help you get bird’s-eye photos and videos of your for-sale home and to help buyers get another view of the home. The National Association of Realtors has dubbed this “an incredible tool for home buyers,” especially for large properties with many outdoor features.
Drone photos and videos can be a benefit for selling your house because they can “enhance the appeal – and potentially the price – of homes that might now show their best side with only traditional exterior or interior photographs.” Just be sure to check with your agent about local regulations governing aerial photos.
The real estate industry has lagged a little behind in adopting some of the technologies and virtual tools, but that is changing. So whether you’re selling your home in Ventura County or looking to buy, don’t neglect to take advantage of the tools currently available – it can make everything easier and more efficient and possibly get you a better deal. Just make sure the agent you hire is well versed in the new technologies. Our experienced agents have the technical skill and expertise you need. To discover more about how our agents can help, contact us today at 805-232-8503.