As Americans are encouraged to stay at home and practice social distancing, the residential real estate industry is in a challenging position since it’s impossible to show homes in person. Now, more than ever, real estate agents are using virtual home tour technology to allow buyers to tour listings from their computer, phone or iPad.

Virtual home tours allow buyers to feel like they are inside the home and give buyers a 360-degree view of all the rooms. Some virtual home tours are interactive, allowing buyers to “walk through” the home by clicking an arrow. Other tours offer flat-screen views — much like a video — with a moving tour of the home where viewer control isn’t needed.

For a list of popular virtual tour software tools, click  here.

Here  are some excellent examples of home virtual tours. If you are thinking about shooting the footage for a virtual tour yourself, here are some tips:

• Move slowly to allow the viewer enough time to view the house without becoming dizzy.


• When showing important features of the house, count to 10 before moving the camera away.


• Consider using a tripod; shaky hands make for seemingly unprofessional tours.

For more information on creating a virtual home tour with a 360-degree camera,  click here.