The open house is no longer the only way to show property. With the invention of real estate virtual tours, potential buyers can see every room of a house or commercial property without ever leaving their computer. Virtual tour software has become one of the hottest marketing tools in the real estate industry, helping sellers design eye-catching and visually appealing tours.

Here are the top benefits of real estate virtual tours:

1. Real estate virtual tours can reach prospective buyers and customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any computer.
2. Real estate virtual tours range from low-cost slide-show tours to highly interactive 360 virtual tours.
3. Virtual tour software can help home sellers and real estate agents create virtual tours of homes on the Internet or CD.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use still photographs to create your own budget real estate virtual tour

For a minimal price, you can take your own digital photographs and find a real estate virtual tour provider to help you create, host and display your images on a website or CD.

I recommend: Beginning at just $39.95, Virtual Tour Productions allows you to upload still digital photos to its eMovieTours.com website. Using your photos, they create a real estate virtual tour with background music, professional narration and links — all delivered within 24 hours.

To sell real estate, 360 virtual tours may be best

If you want to catch a prospective buyer's eye, give them a bird's eye view of your real estate. 360 virtual tours let potential buyers get a 360-degree view of each room rather than a static photo.

I recommend: E360IMAGE produces 360 virtual tours for residential and commercial real estate, hotels, resorts, golf courses, restaurants, nightclubs, health clubs, and more. Alter Ego Visual Design’s 360 virtual tours are designed for residential and commercial property owners and real estate brokers.

Sell your FSBO home more quickly with virtual home tours

Virtual tours of homes are ideal marketing tools if you're selling your home as for sale by owner (FSBO). Find vendors who sell or create virtual tours of homes.

I recommend: BakerB Solutions offers interactive virtual home tours and CDs, submission to your local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and rapid turnaround on residential and commercial real estate virtual tours. Visit 360House.com to view a demo of their 360 virtual tours and virtual home tours.

Post real estate virtual tours on several websites for the most exposure

Many providers of virtual home tours will help you submit your virtual home tours to multiple websites.

I recommend: For a modest monthly fee, VisualTour offers everything you need to create and host unlimited virtual home tours. With over 100,000 customers, they distribute their real estate virtual tours to many websites, including Realtor.com, Yahoo! Real Estate, Google and local MLS sites.

Create company-customized real estate virtual tours

If you're a real estate professional, find a real estate virtual tour company that offers more than just a simple virtual home tour. Look for one that customizes virtual home tours with your brand info.

I recommend: Real Tour Vision helps real estate agents market listed properties through real estate 360 virtual tours using virtual tour software. In addition, it helps promote your brand with custom banners created for each agent along with a 60-second audio biography.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't overdo your real estate virtual tour; keep music and narration to a minimum.
• •  Whether you're selling a property or helping buyers find real estate, 360 virtual tours can show properties from several vantage points.
• •  View samples from several real estate virtual tour vendors before you choose a particular provider or virtual tour style.
• •  Advertise virtual tours of homes on your company website, in brochures and in other marketing materials.
• •  Ask prospective real estate virtual tour providers what is included in the tour packages they offer, such as web hosting, number of photos permitted and length of virtual tour.