Most homebuyers today expect to be able to explore a property online before ever stepping inside, and for buyers relocating from across the country, a virtual tour isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s often the deciding factor between putting in an offer and scrolling past.
Whether you’re selling a condo in Chicago, IL or a family home in Charlotte, NC, out-of-town buyers are actively looking at your listing from hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles away. Giving them a way to truly experience your home before booking a flight isn’t just convenient; it’s a competitive advantage that can translate into faster sales and stronger offers.
Why out-of-town buyers are a market you can’t ignore
Remote work, lifestyle changes, and rising home prices in major metros have pushed more buyers to search in cities and states they’ve never lived in. According to a Redfin and Matterport survey, 63% of buyers made an offer on a home they hadn’t seen in person, and sellers with a well-produced virtual tour are best positioned to capture that audience.
That’s a massive audience of motivated, serious buyers, and most of them are building their short list entirely online, long before they ever schedule a showing or book a plane ticket.
Brooklyn Jenkins Cooper, founder and CEO of RE-MEDIA, sees this dynamic play out regularly in her market. “Military families are often buying from the other side of the country, or the other side of the world, without ever stepping inside a home,” she says. “For them, a virtual tour can truly mean the difference between an offer and a pass. Sellers benefit just as much; it puts your home in front of buyers far beyond the local market, which means more attention and more serious offers.”
>> Read: How Does Buying a House Out of State Work?
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Find an agentWhat virtual home tours do that photos simply can’t
Great listing photos are a staple for an attractive listing, but photos can’t answer the question every buyer is really asking: How does this home actually feel to move through?
Grant Smith, co-owner of Sold Visual, puts it plainly: “Photos sell rooms well enough, but they never quite answer the layout question, and layout is what people are really trying to work out when they’re scrolling at eleven at night.” He adds that a virtual tour gets a home onto an out-of-town buyer’s short list in a way that photos alone rarely accomplish.
Alan Duggins of Advantage Austin Properties and owner of V Tour Studios Austin agrees. “Great photos are a good start, but a walkthrough really gives a buyer a feel for the layout of a home. For out-of-town buyers or buyers that don’t want to physically go to many houses, they are crucial.”
The difference comes down to spatial understanding. A buyer scrolling through a photo gallery might love the kitchen and the backyard, but still feel uncertain about how the home flows. A 3D walkthrough lets them move from the entryway to the living room to the primary suite and back again, as many times as they want, until the layout clicks.
The business case for sellers: more reach, better showings
Virtual home tours don’t just expand your buyer pool, they make every in-person showing count more. When buyers have already ‘walked’ the home digitally, they arrive at showings with far more context and far fewer basic questions.
Kyle Breeden, market leader at V6D, a real estate media provider in the Denver, Northern Colorado, and Phoenix areas, has watched this dynamic play out firsthand. “Listings with immersive 3D tours hold buyer attention dramatically longer than photo-only listings, and that extra time on the page translates directly into more inquiries and stronger showing requests,” he says. “Virtual tours eliminate a major barrier for remote and busy buyers by allowing 24/7 remote walkthroughs, expanding the seller’s market without additional showings.”
Breeden also makes a key point about how sellers should be thinking about their tour strategy. “The sellers who benefit most treat the tour as the front door of their marketing, not an add-on. It’s the first full experience of the home most buyers will ever have.”
Smith echoes this, noting that his team has observed a clear shift in showing quality once a tour is live. “Buyers turn up having already walked the house once, so they’re asking about the roof and the HOA instead of hunting for the third bedroom.”
Who benefits most from virtual tours?
Not every listing gets the same lift from a virtual tour, but certain situations make them especially powerful:
- Relocating or military buyers who are purchasing sight-unseen from another state or country
- Busy professionals who can’t take time off to attend multiple showings
- Luxury or higher-priced listings where buyers want thorough confidence before visiting
- Unique or unconventional layouts that are hard to convey through photos alone
- Vacant homes where there’s nothing to hide and everything to show
Dennis Wyrick, owner of Real Estate Photography Now, frames the broader value well. “Virtual tours give buyers the freedom to explore a home on their own time, which is especially valuable for out-of-town buyers or anyone juggling a busy schedule. They build stronger interest before an in-person showing, helping sellers reach a wider pool of serious buyers and often leading to faster, more confident offers.”
Tips for making the most of your virtual tour
Producing a tour is only half the equation, how you deploy it matters just as much. Here’s how to maximize its impact:
- Lead with it. Feature the tour prominently at the top of your listing, not buried beneath 40 photos.
- Pair it with a floor plan. Homebuyers find floor plans helpful to view during their property search.
- Keep it current. If you’ve staged the home or made updates, make sure the tour reflects its best version.
- Share it across channels. Don’t limit it to your listing page; share the tour link in social media posts, email outreach, and any paid promotion.
- Use it to pre-qualify interest. Buyers who request a showing after taking a virtual tour are typically far more serious than cold inquiries.
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In a market where out-of-town buyers are actively competing for homes, a compelling virtual home tour is one of the most effective tools a seller can have. It expands your reach, sharpens buyer interest, and makes every in-person showing more productive.
If you’re thinking about listing your home, find a Redfin agent in your area to learn how to market your property to the widest possible pool of buyers, including the ones who haven’t visited your city yet.
