According to the firm, their virtual tours were viewed nearly 80,000 times in January, compared to a little over 8,000 in the same month last year.
London agents, Foxtons, also say that they have embraced virtual tours.
Patrick Franco, Foxton's CEO, says: “At Foxtons, technology has always been at the heart of our service and with COVID-19 challenging the industry to adapt to new ways of working, virtual tours are now key. Last year, our website remotely opened the door to over 300,000 virtual property tours, helping maximise exposure of clients’ properties and also keeping Londoners safe by providing an alternative to in-person viewings.
“We believe exceptional estate agency service involves the right balance of expert people and leading technology, and our partnership with Spec helps cement this proposition,” said Franco.
As well as providing protection during the pandemic, the potential contribution of virtual viewings to reducing carbon emissions is huge. Around 26,800,000 physical property viewings a year in the UK could be replaced with a virtual tour.
This could lead to a combined reduction in driving of 410,000,000 miles, equivalent to taking
51,500 cars off the road each year and reducing greenhouse emissions by 95.3k tonnes. The complete study is available here.
Harry Turner, Director of Marketing and Communications for Spec, added: “Combining high-quality virtual tours and floor plans that are guaranteed for accuracy gives buyers the confidence that they otherwise lack when viewing properties online. This trust and transparency are so important given the current need to limit physical viewings. Longer-term, virtual tours will continue to simplify and improve property searches as well as having enormous environmental benefits.”
