In recent years, with a rapid development of mobile devices—and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic—virtual property tours have shifted from novelty to necessity. Many prospective buyers and renters now expect to explore a home online in detail, before ever setting foot inside. As travel and in-person constraints intermittently resurface, real estate professionals are increasingly turning to virtual showings and tours as a core component of their marketing and sales strategy.
In this article, we examine two broad categories: live virtual showings (guided, real-time walkthroughs) and pre-recorded virtual tours (interactive, 360° tours, or video-based walkthroughs). We’ll define what these are, explain why they matter, offer best practices and technical tips, and show how a secure, GDPR-compliant platform like Digital Samba can serve as a robust base for live virtual property tours.
Table of contents
A virtual showing is a live, guided video walkthrough of a property, where the agent or host leads the prospective buyer through rooms in real time, often via video call. The viewer can ask questions, request zooms, or ask for a revisit of a particular area. It’s essentially a remote, interactive home viewing mediated by technology.
In contrast, pre-recorded virtual tours are asynchronous: they may take the form of a stitched 360° panoramic tour, a recorded video walkthrough, or even a 3D model you can navigate independently. These let prospects explore properties under their own terms and at their own pace. Some hybrid approaches combine both: start with a recorded immersive walkthrough, and then followed by a live question session or virtual open house that makes the experience more interactive.
Thus, when someone asks “what is a virtual showing?”, the answer is simple: it is a live, interactive remote walkthrough of a property, enabling dialogue and guided exploration in real time.
Virtual viewings break down geographical constraints and can reach people globally. Buyers in a different city, region or country can tour from afar. Even local prospects benefit: those with mobility limitations or strict schedules can explore properties remotely and when they want.
Compared to static photographs, virtual property show formats produce a more immersive home viewing experience. Prospects can see flow, spatial relationships, and finer details as though they were walking through in person, which enables them to get a feeling for the space.
Data supports the impact of virtual tours for real estate. Listings with virtual tours often receive significantly more views—a report by PhotoUp shows an 87% increase in views over listings without them. Properties with 3D virtual tours also tend to sell faster—some markets report 31% faster closings and up to 9% higher sale prices. According to LLCBuddy, 54% of buyers won’t even consider a property if it lacks visual tours.
However, not all research is universally effusive. A Harvard Business School study of 75,000 home sales found that once factors like photo quality and listing description are controlled, virtual tours do not always produce a statistically significant impact on price and may, in some cases, prolong time on market. This suggests that tours should be part of a holistic, high-quality listing strategy—not a standalone silver bullet.
Still, for many agents and sellers, the virtual home showing benefits include time savings, better-qualified leads, and broader reach.
Here’s a breakdown of the main formats you might employ:
Here’s what virtual showings and virtual open house events can unlock:
Agents can deliver immersive home viewing experiences to national and international buyers without travel time or logistical constraints and with a low budget. This expanded accessibility opens new markets—enabling cross-border investors and relocating professionals to engage with listings they otherwise might never have seen and considered.
Live physical showings require scheduling, travel, and coordination. Virtual showings eliminate or reduce these overheads, the same as digital staging reduces physical staging cost. Agents spend less time on low-quality leads and get in touch with really interested potential buyers. By streamlining the process, agencies can reallocate saved time and budget towards higher-value marketing efforts, client follow-ups, or additional listings.
Prospects who request live showings after exploring a virtual tour tend to be more serious, saving time for both sellers and agents. This means fewer wasted appointments and a clearer focus on converting well-informed, motivated buyers who have already shown strong intent.
By using a platform like Digital Samba, agents have full control of their video conferencing experience. They can customise branding, control access, integrate recordings, and maintain GDPR compliance—all without relying on generic video calls.
This level of professional presentation enhances trust and reinforces the agency’s brand identity during every client interaction.
In competitive markets, real estate professionals offering video chat virtual tour capabilities distinguish themselves as forward-thinking and client-centric. Offering immersive tools can help you win listings and close sales at a higher rate. It signals innovation and adaptability—qualities that today’s tech-savvy clients increasingly associate with reliability and premium service.
To run a polished, effective virtual showing, follow these guidelines:
Always confirm that the seller (or property owner) consents to virtual tours or recordings before you start filming. Respect privacy—avoid filming personal items unintentionally. It’s also best practice to inform participants if the session is being recorded and clarify how the footage will be used. Transparent communication fosters trust and ensures compliance with GDPR and local privacy laws.
Clean, declutter and stage (physically or virtually) in preparation for filming. Make sure lighting is even; open blinds; turn on lights in darker corners. A well-prepared property appears larger and more inviting on camera, which can significantly influence buyer perception and decision-making. Small decorative touches, such as fresh flowers or neatly arranged furniture, can enhance the sense of warmth and professionalism.
Decide your path through the property ahead of time to avoid awkward backtracking or omissions of rooms. Create a logical flow—start with the exterior or entrance and move towards key selling points like kitchens, living spaces, and outdoor areas. A structured route helps viewers stay oriented and reduces confusion during the live session.
Emphasise what sets the property apart and makes it special—charming views, special finishes, spatial flow, pleasant light, spacious outdoor space, and other unique elements. Use pauses to let viewers absorb important details and adjust camera angles to capture features from the best perspective. When possible, link features to lifestyle benefits and living conditions—such as how an open-plan layout supports entertaining or family interaction.
Encourage questions mid-tour or whenever your client seems not to be engaged. Pause to zoom into details or revisit sections per request. Direct engagement makes clients feel more connected to the space and to you as the agent. Remember to keep your tone conversational and friendly to mirror the rapport of an in-person viewing and to enable an immersive experience.
Let clients revisit via recording or 360° model, or schedule a live revisit to clarify questions.
Follow-up materials demonstrate attentiveness and help buyers share the property with decision-makers who couldn’t attend. This can help keep your listing top-of-mind and move prospects further along the sales funnel more quickly.
We recommend using HD video, ensuring strong upload bandwidth, stabilisers or gimbals, and testing beforehand. Perform a rehearsal to check for lag, poor lighting, or distracting background noise before you go live. Reliable technology ensures a professional impression and prevents technical disruptions that could derail the showing.
Always try to be transparent about limitations: certain details (e.g. noises, smells, exact texture) that can only be perceived by a touch and feel experience may still require in-person viewings. Setting clear expectations builds credibility and helps clients interpret virtual experiences realistically. Frame the virtual showing as a powerful first step, with the physical visit as the natural next stage in the sales process.
It is always advisable to use platforms that allow you to restrict access, use unique links, watermark videos, and control recording permissions. Such measures prevent unauthorised sharing or leaks of sensitive property visuals. Choosing a GDPR-compliant provider such as Digital Samba gives you full oversight of data handling and participant access.
When possible, record the session (with permission) and capture metrics: viewer drop-off, hotspots of interest, and frequently asked questions. Analysing these insights will help you refine your presentation style and identify which features resonate most with buyers. Over time, this data can guide improvements to future virtual viewings, marketing campaigns and sales processes.
While standard video call tools such as Zoom, Meet or Teams work for casual conversations, they often lack the polish, control and legal safeguards that real estate professionals require when presenting properties. In real estate, first impressions are everything—an unstable connection, a generic interface, or an unsecure link can make an otherwise premium listing look unprofessional. This is where a dedicated, privacy-first platform like Digital Samba stands apart.
Unlike many mainstream conferencing tools owned by U.S. companies, Digital Samba is fully EU-hosted and built for European data protection standards. All data remains within the European Economic Area, ensuring compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and protecting clients from the risks of extraterritorial laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act. For agents and property managers handling sensitive client information, this means complete peace of mind that video, recordings, and chat data are processed lawfully and securely.
Every showing is an opportunity to strengthen your brand. With Digital Samba, you can customise the interface to match your agency’s branding and identity—from logo placement and colours to branded waiting rooms and backgrounds. This creates a consistent, professional image that differentiates you from competitors using off-the-shelf tools. Clients will rather remember agencies that deliver cohesive, polished experiences.
Real estate professionals often host multiple viewings per day, sometimes across time zones and client tiers. Digital Samba allows you to generate unique access links, set session expiry times, and limit the number of participants by creating roles, thus ensuring that only authorised viewers attend each virtual property show. You can even segment sessions by client groups via the role feature (e.g., investors, tenants, or buyers) and manage everything from a central dashboard.
Agents can choose whether to record sessions and store them securely for later playback. This feature is invaluable for virtual open house events where prospects may join at different times or need a replay link for decision-makers who couldn’t attend live. Recordings can also serve as marketing material—snippets can be reused for social media, website embeds, or email campaigns to maximise listing exposure. Again, make sure to have everyone's consent before starting to record.
Property footage and client communications are confidential. Digital Samba uses end-to-end encryption, TLS protection and strict participant authentication to ensure that every stream is secure. Agents retain full control over who can record, share, or download content, safeguarding both seller privacy and commercial data. This is especially crucial when showing high-value properties or handling sensitive discussions and details about pricing and offers.
Whether you’re an independent agent or a large real estate network, Digital Samba easily scales with your operations. Through API and SDK integration, it can be embedded directly into your website, CRM, or property listing portal—allowing seamless in-platform virtual tours without forcing clients to use external apps or downloads. This integration not only simplifies client access but also ensures that everything stays on your platform while enhancing the professionalism and security of every interaction.
Real estate viewings demand crystal-clear visuals and stable audio to properly showcase lighting, textures, and layouts of the spaces. Digital Samba’s infrastructure is optimised for HD and Full-HD video streaming, ensuring smooth performance even in bandwidth-challenged environments. Adaptive bitrate control automatically adjusts quality to maintain continuity of performance, so your virtual showings stay uninterrupted and impressive.
Digital Samba’s team and infrastructure are based entirely in Europe, ensuring alignment with local business hours, language preferences, and regulatory frameworks. As an independent, privacy-first European provider, we operate free from third-party data monetisation, surveillance, or advertising. For agents who value trust and transparency, this ethical foundation is going to take away all of your concerns and offer a genuine competitive advantage.
By hosting your live virtual showings, virtual open houses, and video chat virtual tours on Digital Samba, you gain a fully controlled, branded, and compliant environment purpose-built for professional interactions. Unlike mainstream tools that prioritise convenience over compliance, Digital Samba combines the ease of browser-based access with enterprise-grade privacy, making it the smart, future-proof choice for modern real estate professionals.
In short: Digital Samba empowers agents to deliver high-quality, secure, and beautifully branded virtual showings that inspire confidence, protect data, and close deals faster.
In today’s digitally savvy market, virtual showings and virtual tours are no longer optional extras—they’re essential tools that have become a standard. They combine convenience, immersive engagement and reach, while keeping cost, branding and security under your control. While not a magic wand, when done well, they improve listing visibility, qualify leads, and save time.
If you’re a real estate agent, property manager or marketing team exploring ways to upgrade your remote showings, consider leveraging a platform like Digital Samba as your secure, flexible foundation for live-stream property tours and immersive property experiences. Digital Samba empowers agents to deliver high-quality, secure, and beautifully branded virtual showings that inspire confidence, protect data, and close deals faster.
Explore Digital Samba today to see how it can host secure, GDPR-friendly virtual viewings and virtual showing sessions customised to your brand. Schedule a demo or sign up for a free trial in order to bring your listings to life—online.