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I have a real estate investor client who wants virtual tours to help sell his properties in the U.S. What is the best way to get virtual tours online to show along with the seller’s listing photos? Some years ago I signed on with Picture Path which gave me a pipeline to Realtor.com listings, but it appears that pipeline is no longer functioning.
In know there are various real estate virtual tour companies out there that provide a pipeline for subscriber/members but I hope to find a simple solution to show virtual tours for my client’s listings with minimum or no fee to 3rd party providers. Is there a way to do this?
i dont think any of the major RE listing sites currently support direct 360 Pano uploads, but this may change soon as 360 VR is becoming more mainstream
zillow seems to have 360 tour plans, but phone panos only (low quality)
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/05/zillow-adding-3d-tours-real-estate-listings/matterport also has some presence in RE market, and matterport image quality has improved since a few years ago, but still not comparable to shooting with a real camera and having the ability to correct and improve the images in photoshop etc, or choose which hero images to feature vs navigating a maze to find the one view that makes the sale etc
https://matterport.com/sample-real-estate-listing/otherwise, some realtors are buying their own inexpensive all in one 360 camera and shooting 360vr tours themselves, so presumable some of the RE listing sites are now looking at supporting 360 too
http://realtormag.realtor.org/product-guide/cameras-and-video/article/2016/02/360-degree-cameras-for-age-virtual-listingsyou could also host your panos on 360 pano hosting sites like roundme (free or paid pro account) or similar services, and link to that from RE listing
https://ivrpa.org/about-ivrpa/360-vr-photography-360-video-resources/#Free_360_Panorama_Virtual_Tour_Hosting_Websitesor upload interiors and exteriors to google street view (formerly google trusted photographer business view etc)
https://www.google.com/streetview/publish/however, if your client is an investor or developer vs an RE agent, they may appreciate a custom made tour perhaps on their own micro site with custom domain etc, this makes for better presentation both online and in person vs a typical messy RE site listings with competing properties etc ;)
Sam Rohn :: New York City
360° Panoramic Photography :: www.samrohn.com
Location Scout :: www.nylocations.comThank you for your reply Sam. More than I had hoped for. I’ve signed on to Roundme and also shoot Google StreetView for businesses. I thought Google StreetView prohibited real estate for sale on maps listing but this may have changed. Thanks again. Tony
Tony, Have a look at MLS-Delivery.com. It’s specifically designed for real estate and when added to the MLS listing syndication via the virtual tour link in the MLS. The Tours are unbranded and support 360° Video and Stills, with Map and Easy Share menu.
Jennie, The Happiness Wrangler
MLS-Delivery.comTony, check out the OmniVirt VR Player.
If you take 360° shots of your properties and then upload to OmniVirt, you can get the embed code to place directly on your client’s site.
Hey! Check out Kuula.
Kuula is a FAST and EASY way to build virtual tours. You will be able to link your 360 photos, add hotspots with text, images or videos, and all that within minutes!
Read the Tutorial, see a Virtual Tour Embed Example and let us know at contact@kuula.co if you have any questions.
Thank you Jennie, Ara and Kuula. It looks like there are more tools out there than I knew about. I appreciate your response to my post.
Tony
Tony, Just keep looking and you will find one that is a perfect match for your particular needs. During your search consider the following:
MLS Syndication Some MLS systems require the tour provider be an approved vendor with a predefined URL path. This prevents you from using Google or Youtube.
3rd Party Branding This is a particularly sticky point for most Real Estate Agents with far-reaching impact for photographers. You are proving marketing material for their brand but must comply with MLS Syndication Branding guidelines. Furthermore, the brokerage and local MLS may have specific requirements for web and social media branding.
For example, here in North Texas, an agent can be heavily fined for a branding violation as simple as leaving a sign in the yard with the name and brokerage visible in a photograph!
On the other had most brokerages require any images or social media post contain agent and brokerage branding leading back to them. Always a click away from the source.
Ease of use Make sure the product is designed for people with fabulous people skills and embedded Social media posting features. It needs to be really easy to use and understand. Your client is a salesperson with a finely honed skill set that enables them to manage large transactions and homeowners in stressful situations – not engineers and not photographers.
Jennie, The Happiness Wrangler
MLS-Delivery.comHi Jennie, Thanks again for your detailed response. It looks like the jungle has grown thicker since I was certified with PicturePath some years ago. I recall a mass of fine print I had to sign on to for access to the Realtor.com pipeline. Perhaps I should check with the local MLS board and see what they have to say.
I appreciate your advice!
Tony
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IVRPA - The International Virtual Reality Professionals Association is an international association of photographers who create and produce 360° Panoramas and other Virtual Reality Content including 360° Video, 360° Virtual Tours, Gigapixel Panoramas, and more.
This website showcases both our members and VR Photography community enthusiasts, and serves as a central place for news and communication for the 360° VR industry.
Professional and amateur and 360° VR photographers are encouraged to