Virtual tours in real estate: what helps buyers decide

Do virtual tours help sell homes?

Here is what we could verify. In May 2026, IT Brief reported two figures from REA:

• Listings with a video on realestate.com.au receive 43% more inspection requests than those without.
• Nearly 60% of buyers say video helps them build trust with the agent and the property.

These are REA's own numbers about video, not independent research on 3D tours. We did not find a reliable public study showing that virtual tours lead to higher sale prices or faster sales in Australia. So the honest answer is this. Tours help buyers decide whether to inspect, and they help remote buyers take part. They don't replace a good price strategy or a strong inspection.

The three types of virtual tour

1. 3D and 360 tours

A camera captures the home so buyers can "walk" from room to room and look around. Matterport and iGUIDE are the best-known systems. iGUIDE's cameras combine LiDAR with 360-degree imagery. One capture produces a 3D tour, a floor plan and property measurements.

Best for: larger homes, unusual layouts, off-the-plan display suites and remote buyers.

2. Video walkthroughs

A guided video that moves through the home in a set order. REA announced in May 2026 that walkthrough reels and listing videos would appear in a video hub in the realestate.com.au app from July. Agents can upload them through Ignite, and they can be shot on a smartphone.

Best for: lifestyle, light, flow and the feel of the street. Quick to make.

3. Interactive guided tours

A tour built as a step-by-step journey: rooms in order, with the floor plan, price information, inspection times and documents along the way. Buyers can save rooms and come back. Because it's a page rather than a video file, it can record what each buyer looked at.

Best for: following up enquiries and giving vendors real buyer feedback.

What buyers use tours for

• Shortlisting. REA described its 2025 walkthrough videos as helping buyers judge layout, room size and natural light so they can shortlist faster.
• Checking deal-breakers. Is the second bathroom real? Does the kitchen face the yard?
• Preparing for an inspection. Buyers arrive knowing what to look for.
• Revisiting afterwards. A serious buyer often goes back to the tour after an open, before a second inspection or an offer.
• Sharing. Partners, parents or a builder who couldn't attend.

Note that last point. The person who decides may never come to the open home. A tour gives them a way in.

Interstate and overseas buyers

For buyers who can't attend, the tour is the inspection until they or someone they trust can visit. To serve them well:

1. Send the tour and floor plan first. Then offer a live video inspection at a time that suits their time zone.
2. Use the portal's request tools. Domain's help centre says buyers can use Request online inspection and Request private inspection buttons below the inspection times on Domain listings. The agent then contacts them to arrange a video call.
3. Show what a tour can't. On a video call, show street noise, the view from each window and the condition of fixtures up close.
4. Get documents ready early. Contract, building and pest reports, and in Victoria the Property Price Statement.
5. Suggest an independent inspection. Remote buyers should have the home checked in person by someone acting for them.

Be careful not to overstate what a tour shows. It should match the home as it is today.

How to make a tour buyers actually use

1. Put it where buyers look first. Add the link to the portal listing, your first enquiry reply and your agency website. A tour nobody can find does nothing.
2. Prepare the home as you would for photos. A 3D capture shows every corner, including the ones photos leave out.
3. Include the floor plan. Buyers use it to check room sizes and how spaces connect.
4. Keep it honest and current. If something changes, such as furniture removed or works finished, update or note it.
5. Add the next step. Inspection times and a way to ask a question should be one tap away.
6. In Victoria, keep price information in view. If a tour page shows a price, place the Property Price Statement link right next to it, just as on the main ad.

Send the tour link in your reply to every enquiry. A buyer who has seen the layout is better prepared when they arrive at the open, and easier to follow up afterwards.

What to measure: who viewed what, not just views

A report saying a tour got 900 views tells your vendor very little. It could be 900 serious buyers or 30 people looking 30 times. Measure these instead:

• Who viewed. Link the tour to known enquirers where you can, so a view becomes a person.
• What they looked at. Which rooms, how long, and whether they opened the floor plan.
• Return visits. A buyer who comes back three times is very different from a one-off.
• Price views. Who opened the price guide or Property Price Statement.
• Shares. A share often means a second decision-maker is involved.
• Next steps. Did the viewer book an inspection or enquire?

This is where tour types differ most. Tap Vortex is one option built around this. Each listing becomes an interactive buyer tour that remembers what each buyer looked at, including rooms saved, return visits and price-guide views. Whatever you use, feed the results into your buyer database and your weekly vendor report.

Cost considerations

Prices vary by provider, property size and location, so get quotes. Consider these costs:

• Capture. 3D tours usually need a photographer with the right camera, booked with the photos.
• Hosting. Some platforms charge per tour, and others charge a subscription. Ask how long the tour stays live after the campaign.
• Portal access. Some tour options depend on your portal package (see below).
• Time. A phone-shot walkthrough is cheap, but someone still has to plan, film and edit it.
• Reporting. If you can't see who viewed what, the tour helps buyers but tells you little.

Match the spend to the property. A small apartment with a simple layout may only need good photos, a floor plan and a short video. A large family home, an acreage or a property likely to attract interstate buyers may justify a full 3D capture. Ask yourself one question: will this help a buyer decide to inspect, and will it tell me which buyers are serious?

If the vendor is paying, list the tour separately in the marketing schedule and explain what it adds. Our guide to vendor-paid advertising covers how to present it. Showing a vendor how you'll track buyer interest is also a strong point when you pitch at the appraisal.

What the portals offer

realestate.com.au and iGUIDE

REA Group bought a 61.5% majority stake in Planitar, the Canadian maker of iGUIDE. The deal was announced on 2 October 2025 and completed on 9 October 2025. iGUIDE launched in Australia in March 2026. Its announcement quotes REA's chief product officer saying iGUIDE tours are "fully integrated into realestate.com.au", with room shortcuts that take buyers straight to a space. REA's walkthrough reels sit alongside these tours.

Domain, CoStar and Matterport

CoStar Group completed its roughly US$1.6 billion acquisition of Matterport in early 2025, as reported on 3 March 2025. CoStar then completed its acquisition of Domain in August 2025. Domain's help centre says agents can book a Matterport 3D scan from Domain Skylight, but Matterport tours and assets are exclusive to Platinum Edge agencies.

Adding any tour link

Domain says you can add a virtual tour, 3D or 360 link in Domain Agent Admin, or through your CRM if that's how you list. You can't upload the tour file itself, only a direct link. Domain warns that a link redirecting anywhere other than the tour breaches its terms. Check each portal's rules before adding links to your own tour pages.

Not sure where buyers lose interest in your campaigns? Try the buyer drop-off check, then read our guide to portal enquiry follow-up.