Editor’s note: All of HomeLight’s coronavirus information for buyers, sellers, and agents is available on our COVID-19 hub.

With social distancing measures in place and some overall wariness about contact with others, selling a home might seem more daunting than usual. But through the use of virtual tours, online consultations, and 3D floor plans during the coronavirus pandemic, real estate agents can provide clients with more resources and convenience than ever — and sell homes successfully.

“What’s my seller comfortable with?” says Suzanne Damon, a top-selling agent in Manchester, New Hampshire, noting that one told her: “I have to sell because I have to move, but Suzanne, I really don’t want to see you.” Her response? “OK. Let’s talk about how to make this happen for you.”

She had the same flexibility with buyers, asking, “‘How comfortable will you be buying something that you haven’t seen, touched, felt and smelled?’ Because we buy on our senses.”

If you’re selling a home but worried about how to reduce or eliminate nonessential human contact, or quarantining has made you more cautious, check out these ways to dip your toes into the technology pool. You might feel more comfortable than you thought about how to sell your house virtually without sacrificing the customer service you’d expect and the pricing you want.

1. Find an agent you trust

Communication becomes incredibly vital when meeting face-to-face is difficult or impossible, says Jeremy Kahler, a top-selling agent in Rapid City, South Dakota who has done a “decent amount” of virtual transactions over the years because of nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base. Although military travel stopped during the pandemic, he says in mid-April that he had sold at least three homes virtually, including one for a New York City doctor and his family who had planned to move out West in July.

“They were going to make a trip out here to look at homes, and then all the COVID-19 hit and obviously that was cancelled,” Kahler says. “So then we decided, OK, we’re gonna do it all remotely.”

Homebuyers typically spend 10 weeks searching for a home and preview an average of 12 properties before deciding on their purchase – with nearly 95% starting that legwork online, according to a report from Properties Online, a Santa Rosa, California, company that since 2001 has provided web-based software to help real estate agents market their listings.

The majority found their real estate agent through referrals of friends, neighbors, or relatives (42%), with 12% using the same agent they’d previously used to sell or buy a home and 9% finding an agent through the internet. The top qualities clients wanted? Honesty and integrity (97%), responsiveness (93%), knowledge of the real estate market (92%), and communication skills (86%).

Whether you find an agent through a resource like HomeLight or another means, Kahler advised interviewing them about their previous experience with virtual transactions.

• What virtual tools and programs do they use?
• What’s their marketing plan?
• How will they keep in contact with potential buyers as well as vendors and you?

Also, what’s your timeline and your comfort level? “I think probably the biggest thing is to make sure that there are means to continue to market the home [regardless of the circumstances], and provide a way for buyers to have a good view of the property, the layout, and to be able to make a decision,” Kahler says.