Why photos and Virtual Tours Can’t Sell Houses

I’ll admit I’m an old-fashioned realtor.  I like meeting buyers at open houses where I can get to know them a little bit and them me.  I like to watch the interaction between couples as they mentally try to fit their lifestyle into a new home and go exploring down a flight of stairs  to “I guess this is where we’d put the flat screen.”

Most buyers must intuitively sense this about me because I’ve never had much luck with buyers I meet over the internet even though I respond the same day to their inquiries and usually within minutes since I am addicted to my email.   Sometimes, I even wait a few minutes so that people don’t know I’m constantly on my email.  But, I have never sold a home as a result of these inquiries so not only am I an old-fashioned realtor, I’m a frustrated one with all this new technology.

Technology has helped today’s buyers become very well-informed before they even contact a realtor.  They can view literally hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of homes for sale on the internet, along with virtual tours.  They can search by district, bedroom count, price point, view, lot size and any other dozen variations.  They can even pull up on their iphone tax assessed values of properties and what the house next door sold for. And Google Earth can provide them an overhead view of the street and surrounding neighborhood.

But, I can’t help but wonder how many buyers reject a home because of all of this ‘information.’  A home has a certain ambience, or lack thereof, that isn’t easily detected by a distorted virtual tour or photographs of toilets.  Depending upon the ability of the camera holder, these photos and tours can enhance or prematurely cause a home to be rejected.  After all, magazine covers are notorious for touch-ups of celebrities.  I doubt that homes for sale are far behind.  And even Google Earth can’t give you the thrill of seeing a bear crossing Eagle River Lane or the sunset over the inlet from the two-story family room windows.

Once, I was the listing licensee on a home to be built for a buyer who had never lived in Alaska and had never even visited Alaska on a house hunting tour.  They purchased the home from a set of plans, a plot plan which showed the house in relationship to the lot and a set of photographs and virtual tour of homes previously built by the builder.  We set up a web cam for them to watch their new home being built.  When the house was finally finished and they arrived just in time for their final walk-thru, I held my breath.  The buyers were delighted with the home and the neighborhood and this transaction had a happy closing.  Obviously, this transaction would never have happened without the buyers find the neighborhood and the builder on the internet.

However, I can’t help but wonder how many missed opportunities there are out there because buyers too prematurely reject certain properties or neighborhoods. A buyer’s search on the internet for a home can provide valuable information on the types and price points of property generally for sale in an area.  Particularly for incoming residents to an area, it can help eliminate some of the sticker shock or disappointment that Alaska doesn’t have, for example, homes made out of brick or stone.

Buyers can also pre-qualify with mortgage lenders over the internet which is less time consuming and provides them a quick buying price point.  However, Anchorage and Eagle River are small communities compared to major metropolitan areas like Seattle, Phoenix, Houston.  Except for rush hour traffic on Tudor Road or 36^th  you can get almost anywhere across town in twenty minutes.    So rather than dismiss a home as a result of its virtual tour or photographs, today’s savvy buyer should get in their car and visit open houses and neighborhoods.  Only then, can a buyer have a true sense of whether or not a home will meet their needs.