COVID-19 pandemic conditions and social distancing recommendations make real estate showings challenging. How are you supposed to show a property to a would-be renter or buyer without physically meeting them? Moreover, if you’re looking for a new home, how can you expect to shop around without interacting with multiple property managers or real estate agents?
The answers to these questions can be found in the way smart home technology is reshaping the future of real estate showings. Below, we’ll look at some of the most exciting ways that smart home technology is making real estate showings more convenient and safer by reducing and/or eliminating the need for person-to-person contact.
Virtual Property Tours and VR Property Tours
Property tours are risky for all parties involved. The real estate agent or property manager needs to take time out of their day to physically meet renters and buyers. This is risky for two reasons. First, in pandemic conditions, everyone is putting themselves at risk of contracting a virus. Second, there’s no guarantee that the parties will sign a deal, and chances are, they will walk away from the meeting empty handed.
Fortunately, a number of virtual property tour service providers are helping to eliminate these risks and inconveniences through virtual property tours and virtual reality (VR) property tours. While some of this technology is as simple as interactive videos and 360-degree photos on the internet, some of the technology uses advanced VR technology that simulates the feeling of being inside the property.
Regardless of the type of technology implemented, property owners can use virtual and VR property tours to skip the need to physically meet people in person. This eliminates driving time, bypasses the risk of a missed or canceled appointment, and allows more meetings within a shorter amount of time. Best of all, no one risks spreading a virus during pandemic situations.
Best of all, virtual tour and VR tour technology isn’t just a technological pipedream. According to the investment firm Goldman Sachs, VR property tours are projected to generate $2.6 billion in revenue by 2025.
Self-Guided Real Estate Tours With Remote Access Control Technology
VR tour technology is certainly exciting, but it’s expensive to set up and logistically complicated. A simpler way to manage real estate showings is to simply send renters or buyers to a property on their own. Remote access control technology gives property agents the freedom to open and lock the doors to their properties from a distance. This means that an actual agent does not need to be physically present to show a property. Renters and buyers can simply conduct their own self-guided, unattended showings.
Here’s how remote access control technology and smart locks make agentless, self-guided real estate showings possible:
- Instead of meeting home shoppers in person, agents can ask renters and buyers if they would like them to grant temporary showing access, so they can visit the property on their own schedule and time.
- Agents provide prospective renters and buyers with a one-time entrance passcode that gives them access to the property within a limited time period. The system keeps track of when the passcode is used to track who is coming and going from the property.
- Keyless entry and remote access systems eliminate lockboxes which can be a security concern because it advertises that a home or rental unit is empty.
Offer Self-Guided Real Estate Tours With PointCentral Smart Property Technology
At PointCentral, we develop and install custom smart home and smart property management systems that offer remote access control. Our smart property management systems allow you to grant temporary access to would-be renters and buyers so that you can easily conduct agentless, self-guided property tours.
Whether you’re a busy property manager with thousands of properties or rental units in your portfolio – or a single-family homeowner who looking to make his or her life more convenient – PointCentral can help you achieve your smart home and smart property automation goals.
