Virtual viewings supplier quantifies apparent savings to agents

A supplier of virtual viewings claims physical viewings cost £233 of an agent’s time on average - and that’s without fuel or other charges.

U-See Homes says that based on the average agent earnings of £34,583, a one hour viewing plus 20 minutes of travel time means a physical viewing’s total cost is £22.17 - plus a typical £1.08p fuel for the journeys between the office and the property.

The company then claims that with 10 viewings per property, the total cost is £233 per sale on average. 

Simon Dempsey, in charge of marketing for the firm, says: “There’s no future version of the property market that will see the physical viewing process be completely replaced and homebuyers are always going to want to take a fine tooth comb to any home they’re thinking of buying in person. 

“However, estate agents spend a considerable amount of time and money conducting initial physical viewings that could easily be replaced by a guided virtual tour. In fact, utilising virtual guided tours could help them showcase three or four homes in the time it would take to conduct one physical viewing.

“The industry has never been busier and the old adage that time is money has never been more relevant. With huge backlogs of transactions waiting to complete and a relentless tide of buyer demand, estate agents are up against it at the moment and utilising technology to help streamline their day to day tasks is one way of helping to turn the tide in their favour.”