From professional photography and floor plans to video walkthroughs and 3D tours, sellers have plenty of ways to showcase a home online. And virtual tours haven’t disappeared with the return of in-person showings: 41% of buyers who searched online rated virtual tours as “very useful,” according to a 2025 National Association of Realtors (NAR) report. But does paying for a real estate virtual tour actually help sell your house? Virtual tours can help buyers understand a home’s layout and evaluate properties from afar, but sellers shouldn’t assume one will automatically lead to a faster sale or higher price.
A real estate virtual tour lets buyers view a home remotely and get a better sense of how its rooms and spaces connect. There are several types, including interactive 3D or 360-degree tours, prerecorded video walkthroughs, and live virtual showings led by a real estate agent. For example, Amy Rio, a Glastonbury, Connecticut, agent with 39 years of experience, uses Matterport tours that let buyers virtually move through a property. “You can walk through the property, and you can kind of take off the roof and look into it,” she says, referring to the platform’s 3D “dollhouse” view. Virtual tours are different from virtual staging, which digitally adds or changes furnishings and decor in listing images.What is a real estate virtual tour?
