Since the outbreak of COVID-19, real estate agents and property managers have felt the impacts of a slowing market.

Applications and requests for showings are down, with one exception: more than ever before, prospects are requesting "FaceTime" tours. 

Amid coronavirus, demand for virtual showings is increasing

As you might know, Showdigs is a scalable service that connects busy property managers with local real estate agents for on-demand showings. We’ve already incorporated virtual tours as part of our suite of offerings. Usually these were used by property managers who wanted help with tours for out-of-area prospects. 

Over the past week, we’ve heard from our Seattle area property managers that prospects are demanding virtual tours amid the coronavirus outbreak. For those showings, the agents don’t go there to meet with the prospect. Instead they show the house on a video call using their mobile device or tablet, and they answer the prospects’ questions live on the video call.

Many property managers that before only used our virtual tours for out-of-area prospects are now offering them to any prospect that requests it.

Prospects may be more likely to pursue a rental opportunity if virtual tours are made available

By offering virtual tours as an option, property managers can help prospects safely explore their housing options. From the comfort of their home, prospects can view the property and get their questions answered. Meanwhile, the agents conducting the showings don’t have to travel far from their home or office, or interact with anyone in person. 

It all comes down to this: there’s no need to breathe the same air or shake hands to see the home. 

And for clients who are concerned about not getting their property rented during this unknown time... Property managers can ease client concerns by assuring them that they’re doing everything they can to reduce time on market.

How it works

1. Property Managers can enable FaceTime/Live Video showings in their Showdigs accounts.

2. Prospects can select a "live video tour" option when scheduling a showing.

3. Our Agent will go to the property, join the live video room with the prospect, and the prospect can have a personalized tour as if they were there in person. Property Managers can even join themselves, if they want to see how the tour is conducted.

Showdigs is there at any time that property managers aren’t available

Since 2018, we’ve worked to assist property managers with showings at any time. We have decades of experience in this industry and we know how demanding it is. That’s why we built our entire service around flexibility.

We offer in-person tours, virtual tours, and in-person inspections to proactively spot any issues mid-tenancy.

There are a few key benefits. Property managers can:

• Offer their clients a reduced time on market, because Showdigs’ network of real estate agents dramatically expands the tour availability to same-day, nights, and weekends. 
• Improve their operational processes by reducing travel time.
• Increase the number of doors that an individual property manager can look after. 
• Easily meet prospect demands for tour appointments that work with their schedule, fast online appointment booking, and now virtual showings
  

Learn more about virtual tours!