How Do I Make a Virtual Apartment Tour?
To make a virtual tour, you need to choose software that’s easy to use and produces quality videos. Next, you’ll want to ensure you stage the unit and check that the lighting is good in the unit. Lastly, use a stabilizer or wide-angle lens, so you’re video doesn’t turn out shaky!
Continue reading below to learn more about an apartment virtual tour. If you found this information helpful, subscribe to the Realync newsletter to learn more!
Virtual Apartment Tours
If you’re in the multifamily industry, you’ve likely asked yourself or your colleagues the question, what is a virtual apartment tour? And you’ve likely received a wide array of answers. You may have heard that a virtual apartment tour is a self-guided apartment tour. Or that a virtual apartment tour is a 3D apartment tour. Or that it’s a pre-recorded multifamily video. Or a 360 video tour.
While a virtual apartment tour is all those things, the most basic definition of a virtual apartment tour is an experience that allows a prospective renter to virtually see an apartment unit and/or apartment community without having to physically be there in person. So nix the self-guided apartment tours from the list of options that fit. If a prospective resident has internet, they should be able to experience your virtual apartment tour no matter where they are.
Our physical world has long been adapting to the virtual world since smartphones entered in. At the forefront of putting your multifamily community at the fingertips of prospective residents is Realync. Realync has figured out how to adapt apartment tours into virtual apartment tours in a real, transparent way that converts. Realync virtual apartment tours are do-it-yourself tours allow leasing agents and property management teams to create their own pre-recorded multifamily video tours as well as host live video tours to connect with prospects in real-time. And all of that is done on just a smartphone or tablet. If you’re looking for new virtual apartment tour technology, look no further than Realync video leasing!
Virtual Apartment Tours By Size
Let’s start with the little guys. In today’s world, studio and tiny apartments have come in force and made a strong impression. No longer are studio apartments just the affordable box that people suffer through living in.
These apartment units now are sought after and very well designed to take advantage of every inch of living space. Despite being well designed, studios still have a bit of a negative connotation to them. So it’s very important to do everything in your power to market those the best you can and convey just how well designed and spacious your studio units are and can be.
The best way to convey all of that? Apartment video tours! You can use video or 360 virtual tours which will all best capture the flow of your space and allow your team to add verbal color and context to all of your specific design touches and elements. Have an outdoor space available with your studios? Show it! Have built in hideaway beds? Show them! Video is flexible and nimble enough for you to showcase spaces from all of the angles. Nailing a tour in a small apartment also can depend on your excitement and recommendations for the possibilities of the space. Everyone knows you have to fit multiple areas of interest into a tiny apartment, so make sure you make it interesting by your excitement about the versatility of the areas!
The same can go for your larger 3 bedroom or larger units as well. Many times, the penthouse units can be the hardest ones to lease. They’re typically the most expensive, the audience that can afford them can be very particular, and a lot of times your leads will be moving from out-of-market. So how do you cater to that audience to ensure you hit the nail on the head and capture the interest of every potential lead for those penthouse units? You guessed it. Have multifamily video tours of your penthouses units recorded and readily available to send as a first glimpse preview for prospects. That first look will help better qualify your leads before scheduling time for a live virtual tour with them or in person tour. The level of personalization that you can provide with an apartment video tour will seal the deal. There are other options too such as stock 3D or 360 tour. And with the audience that will be renting a penthouse unit, personalization is key.
Virtual Apartment Tours By Style
Today’s multifamily industry is competitive! New construction is everywhere and the competition is ever increasing. How are people differentiating one multifamily community from the next? Style and design. Style affects everything. Everything from the floor plan of the apartment, to the design style inside the space, to the amenities, lighting, and more.
If your virtual apartment tours don’t allow for your community’s personal style and flare to shine through, then you will be heavily missing the boat on what makes virtual apartment tours successful. The whole reason to offer a virtual apartment tour on your website is to get people interested in your space and wanting to see more. If your 3D tours or stock photos aren’t meeting your demands, consider switching to do-it-yourself real estate video. By DIY, we mean empowering your onsite teams to create the video tours.
Whether your community’s style has elements of minimalism, industrial, bohemian or modern, all of that can be discussed and an actual emotion and feeling conveyed via video. You could even consider Realync’s Real360 offering to get more engaging 360-degree photos. Real360 includes 360 video and 360 click-through tours, which is a part of Realync Studios.
Another key consideration when discussing your apartment’s style with prospective renters? Nationality and place of origin. While there are countless Fair Housing related flags likely raising in your mind, we’re solely talking about understanding the expectations that international residents may bring with them when touring your apartment community. For instance, Indian apartments are typically more minimalist, while Japanese apartments tend to have a very modern influence. European apartment communities typically have galley kitchens and what may seem small to Americans, may be huge and luxurious to others. Picking up on and understanding these things is why connecting with prospective renters via a live video tour for international prospects is one of the best ways to make a connection, showcase your space, and convert your leads.
Luxury Apartment Virtual Tours
If virtual apartment tours already feel like a luxury, then how do we make luxury virtual apartment tours stand out? Luxury apartment tours focus directly on the clientele. When leasing a luxury apartment community, it’s all about the level of service. The quality of your product and community should sell itself when showcased well. So what can you provide on this luxury apartment tour that no other residential community in the area provides? Personalization!
The luxury apartment community clientele wants to receive something no one else can have. By providing personalized video tours for luxury apartment clientele, you are able to call out key features that you know that prospective resident will care about. Does a particular unit have its own personal elevator? Take the time to showcase that in your apartment video tour while calling out the prospect by name. Does the prospect have a car collection and need ample, secure parking on premises? Showcase your private parking garage and onsite car detailing bay.
Another key strategy for leasing luxury apartment communities is to provide options. Even when it comes to your virtual apartment tours, provide options! You may want or need to start with a 3D virtual apartment tour on the website, but also offer the ability to request or schedule a live video tour as well to see their exact unit in real-time. By providing options and empowering your teams to connect with these prospective residents in more ways than just requiring they visit the property in person, shows that you value their time.
New Apartment Tour
Need to tour a new apartment, but you can’t tour because construction isn’t complete yet? If you lease new construction multifamily properties, you have probably been there. Yes, you could just show the prospective renter the new apartment layout and have them envision the finished product, but that wouldn’t be immersive or personal at all. If you’re actively pre-leasing a multifamily community, you likely have prospective renters, apartment finders and brokers, and more all knocking on your door wanting to see the space. Multifamily hard hat tours can sometimes (usually) be more hassle than value. So take your pre-leasing apartment tours virtual!
New Construction Video Tours
One consumer that was provided a Realync video tour of a new construction community replied to the leasing agent stating that the raw video was exactly what they were looking for. They ended the email saying that, “we live in an HGTV world. People understand and want to be a part of the construction process!” How powerful is that? Are you taking advantage of this HGTV culture that we live in and drawing your prospective renters into the construction process along with you and your team?
New construction video tours can do just that. Not only will the right multifamily video technology provide the flexibility to record, publish, and share videos within minutes, but video is the best way to transparently connect with your audience of prospective renters. You could even offer 3D virtual tours to give prospective renters options. If one thing changes during construction, that experience that you had custom built for you is instantly outdated and no longer shows the exact finished product. Opt to produce your own multifamily virtual tours via video and be able to actually show the real property as it stands at that point in time. New apartment tours don’t have to be difficult while constriction is still happening, Realync makes that process simple.
Virtual Reality Apartment Tours
At one point in time, virtual reality was the hot topic and all that anyone could talk about. It was once hailed as the technology that would forever change how people tour multifamily communities. Since that hype though, virtual reality apartment tours or VR tours have not panned out to be what people are actually looking for when they want to tour an apartment.
Why? It’s not real. Instead of VR tours, consider a 360-degree tour to help prospective renters visualize the space before there’s a physical product to show. The thing about those VR tours though is that it always leaves prospective renters wanting to see the real thing still. And virtual reality property tours are very costly and time consuming to create. So why invest in something that may get someone interested, but won’t actually close the deal and, ultimately, will lead to more steps and more work on your team’s part?
Ready to Get Real?
Accelerate Leasing
Speed Up Lease Up
by providing construction updates and showcase your space without having to do hard hat tours.
PRE-LEASE OCCUPIED UNITS
by ‘showing’ them without having to physically tour the space by sending pre-recorded videos.
CONVERT A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF YOUR LEADS INTO LEASES
when you receive notifications when prospects are viewing videos to cater your follow up.
SPEND LESS TIME TO CLOSE EACH LEASE
by removing roadblocks and barriers in the leasing process.
INCREASE SIGHT-UNSEEN LEASING
by making it a breeze for out-of-market leads to choose your community.
Improve Community Engagement
PROMOTE YOUR PROGRAMS BETTER
via pre-recorded videos by linking via social media or internal apps.
DECREASE MAINTENANCE REQUESTS
by creating maintenance videos.
REINFORCE COMMUNITY RULES
by receiving notifications when residents are viewing videos to know who has seen a message and who hasn’t.
REDUCE REPETITIVE QUESTIONS
because consumers retain 10% of a message when reading it via text, but 90% of a message when viewed in a video.
More Than Software
Virtual Training
is available for every property utilizing Realync.
Make your video efforts consistent
with one set, standardized process and platform.
TRACK ENGAGEMENT And Usage
across your entire portfolio.
Partner with the Realync Team
to create a personalized training program to be rolled out across all properties.
Are you Ready to Get Real?
Talk with us today to see how Realync’s platform can 4X your lead-to-lease conversion!
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