Virtual property viewings are likely to remain popular once lockdown is over as it helps save sellers and prospective buyers time and energy, while offering agents an opportunity to “weed out the time-wasters”, according to the head of Belvoir Bedford.
Zoe Bywater, director of lettings at Belvoir Bedford, believes that the coronavirus pandemic has allowed agents and consumers to see the potential of viewing properties remotely.
Virtual viewings have proved useful for prospective purchasers, especially those who live far away from the property or those who want to get an initial feel of a home before deciding whether it is worth visiting in-person.
Virtual viewings can also help agents identify the more serious buyers and potentially contribute towards speeding up transactions.
Bywater said: “Even after Covid-19 is behind us, I do believe that the virtual side of things will stay. It will weed out the time-wasters, the tyre kickers, and it will make our business more efficient.”
Taking part in an industry panel debate yesterday, hosted by Fixflo, Bywater said her firm has been able to adapt to remote working thanks to the established, cloud-based system it has in place.
She added: “Communication is key and tech has freed us up to talk to our customers and offer reassurance when they needed it the most.”
What is a time waster?
A professional viewer with no intention of every buying a property and enjoys the special treatment of a day out?
Years ago we used to see them, a handful in a decade but the property programmes on the TV allowed them to get their kicks from the warmth of their armchair and cuppa with biscuits, to hand.
Otherwise .. they are all potential buyers and no such thing as a time waster. The use of virtual viewings is a single string to a bow of several hundred strings. Far too much is being put on using it to sell the property, short circuit effort and totally ignoring the negative side of it’s use. Marketing is a carrot and opens all manner of doors to overcome miss-presentation, understanding, negatives, positives and other opportunities.
You can give far too much information too early and not get a look-in.
How often do viewers say ….. “it looked different in the marketing to what I am now seeing at the property” either in the positive or negative. So what do you do … drop them as time wasters or reconcile the situation, find an alternative (if you have one) and build a relationship that one day will convert with them or their family and friends coming to you.
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