Home Shoppers are Trending Toward Buying Sight-Unseen, Selling Virtually

• 36 percent of Americans would be more likely to try to buy a home entirely online during the current coronavirus outbreak; 43 percent would be more likely to try to sell a home entirely online according to a Zillow survey.
• In a departure from traditional practice, 1 out of 3 would prefer taking a virtual or video home tour instead of touring a home in person after the current coronavirus outbreak ends.
• For shoppers who want to tour a home in person, virtual tours will allow them to winnow down their options and save time attending showings or open houses.

Home buyers and sellers say they are more likely to make the purchase or sale of their biggest financial asset entirely online.

Digital tools widely adopted during the coronavirus pandemic are giving people the ability and the confidence to buy or sell a home in a tight real estate market where homes are selling at their fastest pace in two years. Consumer demand will likely keep those tools in place and lead to more online real estate transactions in the future.

More than a third of Americans (36%) say they are more likely to try to buy a home entirely online during the coronavirus pandemic, and 30 percent say after the current outbreak ends, they would do the same.

Even more Americans appear to be getting comfortable with the idea of selling a home virtually.  During the pandemic, 43 percent say they are more likely to try to sell a home entirely online. When the current outbreak ends, 33 percent anticipate they would still be more likely to try and sell a home entirely online.

A majority of people still want to tour a home in person before committing their down payment. However, when asked to choose between taking an in-person or a virtual tour after the current outbreak has ended, one out of three say they would choose the virtual or video tour — a meaningful departure from traditional shopping behavior.

The home shopping tradition of loading the family into the minivan and touring open houses all weekend may be over. Now shoppers are realizing they can use virtual tours to either skip in-person shopping, or at least to winnow down their options and visit fewer homes in person, making it easier and less time-consuming to find their next home. That speed advantage can give buyers a leg up in today's fast-moving market.

During the current coronavirus outbreak, 64 percent of agents report fewer in-person showings at least most of the time, and nearly a third (31%) anticipate that trend will continue after the outbreak is over, according to a survey of select Zillow Premier Agents.

Virtual and video tours are becoming the new standard.  The creation of Zillow 3D Home virtual tours skyrocketed when stay-home orders went into effect, climbing more than 750 percent in one month and remaining at least three times as high in the months that followed.  Of the surveyed Zillow Premier Agents, 86 percent said they started or continued to use virtual or video home tours during the coronavirus outbreak, and 72 percent said they are likely to continue providing those tours after the current outbreak has ended.  A Zillow survey finds three out of four U.S. adults want the option to tour a home remotely through virtual or video technology if they were home shopping right now.

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