360 tour technology company Made Snappy has revealed a 600% jump in the use of virtual tours, based on its analysis of Rightmove data from November 2019 to June 2021.

The figures show that virtual tours are now in use for 7% of properties to let and 14% of homes for sale in the UK. Those figures have jumped from 1% and 2% respectively at the start of the data period.

“We’re seeing a strong, sustained increase in the use of 360 tours, as agents do all they can to respond to the immense pressures related to such a hectic market. As the time saving that virtual tours deliver becomes more widely appreciated, we’re likely to see their use jump even more.”

Mark McCorrie, CEO and Founder, Made Snappy

With anywhere from 50 to 200 leads for every rental property, Kevin Hall, Director of Martin & Co. in Ashford, Kent, has taken to using virtual tours for every one of the 600+ properties for which he manages lettings. Doing so “speeds up the process massively” and means that he can run the business with a single negotiator, something that would simply not be possible without the 360 tours in place. In-person viewings have become far more like second viewings, which is reflected in their increased rate of transactions.

While many agents obviously turned to 360 tours to minimise face-to-face interaction over the past 15 or so months, Made Snappy’s Mark is keen to point out that this is far from the only factor driving the increase.