The coronavirus pandemic has changed the practice of real estate. At Redfin, we’re working on technology that helps all agents—at all brokerages—serve customers in this challenging environment.
We’re making it easy for all real estate agents to highlight their listings through video tours and 3D virtual walkthroughs on Redfin, the most popular brokerage site in the U.S. We promote homes with virtual tours across our site and mobile apps. We’ll help buyers discover your listing with virtual tour map icons, listing banners and filters.
Agent-Submitted Video Tours: In select markets, any agent can post a guided video tour of their listing on Redfin. Homebuyers love watching guided video tours because they can get a more detailed look at a house from the comfort of their couch. Your sellers will love this option because they can capture buyers’ attention, while limiting unnecessary foot traffic.
The video will be featured prominently in the image carousel.
Be sure to upload videos to the MLS too. If you’ve already uploaded a guided video tour to the MLS, we may already be showing it, depending upon the MLS. We have been working to rapidly expand the number of virtual tours that are displayed on our site and mobile apps.
You can find step-by-step instructions and video tour tips in our guide on filming and uploading your video tour.
This feature is currently available for listings in the greater metro areas of Chicago, Minneapolis–St. Paul and Washington, D.C. (Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia) as well as Southern California (Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange County, Palm Springs, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura County).
Matterport 3D Virtual Walkthroughs: Views of virtual walkthroughs on Redfin.com are up 303% since the pandemic began. Last month, we updated our site to more prominently display 3D virtual walkthroughs in the photo carousel. And, on May 4, Matterport launched an iPhone app that makes it easy to create your own virtual walkthrough with an iPhone 6 or newer. And the first scan is free!
If you’d like to feature a virtual walkthrough on your listing on Redfin, submit the Matterport link to the MLS or contact our customer support team, who can help you get it uploaded to the site. At this time, we can only display virtual walkthroughs that have a my.matterport.com URL. Other virtual walkthrough links continue to be shared in the listing details section.
Agent Dashboard: Keep your seller updated on how many views and favorites their home is getting on Redfin with the new Agent Dashboard. Navigate to the dashboard and claim your listing to view stats and upload a video tour.
The business of real estate has changed, but one thing remains the same: our dedication to working with our industry partners to bring buyers and sellers together and helping our clients achieve their homeownership dreams.
This post first appeared on Redfin.com. To see the original, click here.