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Virtual reality is being touted as a way to make video games and movies more immersive, but its value as a sales tool shouldn't be overlooked either. The world of real estate is quickly embracing this new technology to allow buyers to tour dozens of homes without having to move an inch. Before you spend the money on virtual reality displays and scanning for every home you're listing, make sure you're optimizing your VR efforts with these five tips.

Make the Equipment Mobile

Most real estate agents already using virtual reality home tours largely host these tours from their offices and ask buyers to drop in for a meeting to view the scans. However, you can take your service to the next level by investing in virtual reality equipment that is small enough to easily carry around with you. Let your buyers browse homes from the comfort of their current abode instead of asking them to fight traffic and spend hours in your office. Since the VR marketing method is best used on luxury homes due to the costs of scanning, it's only natural that you should take your service to the next level for these kinds of buyers.

Invest in the Highest Quality

Speaking of quality service, you can't expect to sell a home with a VR tour of it if the quality of the scan is too low. Scanning services can vary greatly in price, and it's tempting to find the best deal since you likely have multiple homes you want to capture for VR profiles. But skimping on the scanning process will show clearly to your buyers. While buyers aren't necessarily expecting a picture perfect representation of the home, they do want to actually see the details. Have one home scanned and view the results yourself before committing to a package deal to verify the quality is high enough for your needs.

Edit Material with Care

One big benefit to VR home tours that draws real estate agents to the technology is the ability to edit the photos used to create the immersive display. With some patience and hard work, a VR technician can remove that forgotten pair of shoes left behind by the homeowner or straighten up a messy coffee table. However, be sure not to edit any important details related to the structure itself. Different wall colors are one thing, but editing an entire wall out to show what the house could look like after renovations is taking it a step too far. You don't want to wander into fraudulent marketing territory by making too many changes to a virtual representation of a real home.

Change the Scenery

Scanning an empty home and digitally adding furnishings and decorations is a completely different story from editing what's already present. Feel free to experiment with software that allows homeowners to decorate the VR display on the fly. These powerful tools really helps a buyer envision themselves in a home in a way that's almost impossible to do outside of virtual reality.

Upload Your Tours

Finally, make sure you upload at least compressed forms of your VR tours to the various listing websites that allow for this kind of display. These tours are invaluable to buyers who are browsing online and trying to share materials with a spouse or family members who may not be in the same place at the time. The entire family, and even the extended family, can digitally tour the home together thanks to your efforts to upload the VR material. You'd be surprised at how many more interested queries you'll get after making your VR materials viewable by the public instead of just on your personal viewer.