3D Tours on the Rise in SFR Marketplace

PlanOmatic, a provider of photos, floor plans, and 3D imagery to the single-family rental (SFR), has announced it increased its number of 3D virtual tours for SFR properties across the country by 243% between the period of January 1-August 11, 2021 and January 1-August 11, 2022, and increased the number of SFR homes it photographed by 124% during that same time frame.

“The use of 3D tours to market SFR properties is exploding, because owners and investors recognize that in a crowded marketplace, a 3D tour can help a home standout to consumers,” said Kori Covrigaru, Co-Founder and CEO of PlanOmatic. “We recently conducted a study for one of our SFR clients to determine if there is a return-on-investment when using 3D tours rather than still photography only on property listings. Our study results revealed a 39% reduction in a property’s time on the market when a 3D tour was added to a listing. The study also found that 3D tours led to more pre-qualified leads and an increase in unique website visitors.”

The study found that 3D tours performed well for SFR rentals for several reasons, as they provide extra visibility, listing sites can provide special icons indicating that the listing includes a 3D tour, and because potential renters can see the entire home by virtually walking through it, they are less likely to pull an application or back out of a lease.

PlanOmatic employs a network of hundreds of contractors across the country equipped with Ricoh Theta Z1 cameras, to ensure SFR investors, owners, and operators receive all orders within two-and-a-half days.

As the SFR market continues to thrive and become even more competitive, as property owners, investors and management firms are taking advantage of 3D virtual tours and professional photography to attract and capture the interest of consumers online, resulting in faster leasing activity.

Zillow, Trulia, and the other major players highlight 3D tours in their listings and map views, making 3D tours stand out among standard visual tours.

According to PlanOmatic, regionally, 3D tours of homes in the Orlando, Florida market experienced a 17,100% year-over-year increase in orders from July 2021-July 2022, while photographic tours reported a 122% increase in orders from July 2021-July 2022.

Another hot SFR market that saw a spike in the number of 3D tours was the Phoenix, Arizona region, which reported a 4,900% increase in orders from July 2021-July 2022, while photographic tours saw a 128% increase in orders from July 2021-July 2022.

Yet another SFR market that reported a slight rise in 3D tours was the Atlanta, Georgia metro, which saw a 10% increase in orders from July 2021 to July 2022, and reported a 37% increase in orders from July 2021 to July 2022 via traditional photography.