Does my listing need a 3D tour?

A 3D tour lets a buyer move through a home room by room from their phone or computer, at their own pace, as many times as they like. Not every listing needs one, but for some buyers it is the most useful thing in the listing.

Who uses a 3D tour

• Buyers moving from out of the area, who can't easily come to a showing and want to see the home properly before they travel.
• Buyers short on time, who want to rule a home in or out before booking a showing.
• Buyers who are serious, going back through the home after a showing to check the layout, measure up a room in their head, or show a partner who couldn't come.

What it does for you

A buyer who has already walked the home virtually arrives at the showing knowing the layout. The showings you do get are better informed, and buyers the layout doesn't suit can rule it out without taking up a Saturday. A tour link is also easy to share in a text or an email when a buyer asks for more.

When it's worth adding

• Larger homes and unusual layouts, where photos can't show how the spaces fit together.
• Relocation markets, where a share of buyers are coming from elsewhere.
• Higher-value listings, where buyers expect to be able to see everything.
• Vacant homes, which a tour shows honestly and in full.

For a small, simple home in a fast market, good photos and a floor plan may be all a buyer needs.

Pair it with a floor plan

A 3D tour shows what each room feels like; a 2D floor plan shows how they all fit together, with dimensions. Together they answer nearly every question a buyer has about the layout. The floor plan also works where a tour can't: in a printed flyer, or at a glance in a listing's photos.

Getting the home ready

A tour captures every room, including the ones photos can leave out, so the whole home needs to be ready: lights on, doors open, clutter away. The pre-shoot checklist walks through it.