A major firm says it is seeing a rise in Facetime viewings of both rental and sales properties.

Lisa Simon, head of residential at Carter Jonas, says that right across the network there has been a rise in requests for Facetime viewings.

She said: “Actual viewings are being preceded increasingly by viewings done over Facetime with prospective purchasers only committing to a physical viewing if they like what they see.”

She said that tenants looking for a new rental home will view via Facetime and then commit without further ado.

She said: “There’s no doubt that the ability to Facetime an agent as they digitally escort would-be tenants around a property has its advantages.

“Facetime really comes into its own amongst corporate relocators moving for work, who might live at the other end of the country, or abroad, and for whom travelling to view a property simply isn’t viable.

“It does of course also enable tenants to get ahead of what is often stiff competition.

“Landlords are also subscribing to the Facetime method – perhaps because they are making a practical rather than an emotional purchasing decision – and will already have calculated their interest and a property’s viability based on location, number of bedrooms, and tenant demand in an area.

“By contrast, for many owner occupiers, the decision to purchase a property is based on atmosphere and intuition – two criteria that are difficult to assess virtually.”