Virtual property viewings rocket during the pandemic – saving time and money

Made Snappy, a 360-tour technology company, has revealed a 600 per cent jump in the use of virtual tours, based on its analysis of Rightmove data from November 2019 to June 2021.

The figures show virtual tours are now in use for 7 per cent of properties to let and 14 per cent of homes for sale in the UK – up from 1 and 2 per cent respectively at the start of the data period, pre-coronavirus panedmic.

And it says “hectic” sales and letting markets continue to drive demand.

Mark McCorrie, Made Snappy chief executive officer and founder, said: “We’re seeing a strong, sustained increase in the use of 360 tours, as agents do all they can to respond to the immense pressures related to such a hectic market.”

The data comes as research by virtual property viewings platform U-See Homes found the viewings process costs UK estate agents an estimated £188.4 million a year through time and fuel costs across the 810,400 homes sold in the last year.

Simon Dempsey, U-See Homes head of marketing, said: “There’s no future version of the property market that will see the physical viewing process completely replaced – homebuyers are always going to want to take a fine toothcombeto any home they’re thinking of buying in person.

“However, estate agents spend a considerable amount of time and money conducting initial physical viewings that could easily be replaced by a guided virtual tour. In fact, utilising virtual guided tours could help them showcase three or four homes in the time it would take to conduct one physical viewing.”

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