Open House or Virtual Tour... Why Not Both?

Technology and new ways of doing things often replace traditional, time tested techniques and then something is lost. Virtual tours may be useful tools in helping one find a new home, but it is only one step in the process.

Virtual tours allow buyers to get a safe, first look at a home without even having to step outside their own front door. They can sit with an agent and look through images of homes from every angle with no risk or inconvenience to themselves or the seller. However, there's a detachment there. Simply seeing a picture of a kitchen or a living room may help you decide which home you have an interest in, but is that enough?

An open house allows a potential buyer to make a real connection as they hear their own footsteps on the floor, see how the light comes through the windows and illuminates the home and get a real feel for the size of the rooms. When walking through a home that is basically a blank slate one can't help but begin to fantasize about how they would decorate and where they would put their furniture.

Although the virtual tour is a convenient and powerful realtor's tool the open house is all about going beyond the idealized version from photographs and getting a simple, human connection.