More consumers are turning to virtual tools that make it easier and faster to view a home without ever having to leave the house. Remote home-touring technology, like 3D tours or video tours, allows prospective renters to streamline their home search online, even if they still choose to tour in person as well.

According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2020, younger renters have been quicker to adopt 3D tours or video tours compared to older generations. But renters as a whole are indicating that they are increasingly open to new digital tools and technology that make it easier to interact and perform transactions remotely. This includes options for signing leases remotely or completing payments online.

Despite these findings, the fact remains that most renters still prefer to view homes in person — even if it involves attending open houses during a pandemic. Renters, however, value safety, and it’s important to note that although in-person viewings are favored, renters want many of the safety measures adopted during the coronavirus pandemic to become standard business practice.

To meet the needs of today’s renters, property managers and landlords should embrace opportunities to provide new technology while maintaining a commitment to strong customer service. Improving the rental experience along these lines means providing safe ways to view in person, supplemented with more options for remote touring and more tools to pay and do paperwork online.

Download our data sheets to learn more about multifamily and single-family renter preferences around remote technology. 

Rich visuals are important when making rental decisions

Overall, more than half (55%) of renters surveyed agree that 3D tours would help them get a better feel for a space over static photos. Almost half (46%) say they wish more listings had 3D tours available. As well, 44% of all renters agree that a tool that allowed them to virtually add or remove furniture to home listing photos would be very helpful. In terms of other media, 60% of renters say viewing pictures of the home is very or extremely important when deciding whether a rental is right for them — 52% say the same of viewing a floor plan of the home.

Meanwhile, according to the 2020 Zillow Group COVID-19 and Renters Report, most renters said they somewhat or strongly like certain remote touring tools and technology when searching for a rental and deciding if it’s right for them. Remote or virtual tours are liked by about half of prospective renters: 51% like live video walkthroughs, 51% like 3D home tours, and 47% say they like pre-recorded video tours.

Younger renters lead the remote touring charge

It may come as no surprise, but compared to older generations, younger renters are more likely to consider remote touring technology as a helpful tool in their search and when deciding if a rental home is right for them. For example, 23% of Gen Z and 24% of millennial renters say that watching a recorded video tour of the home is highly important. For baby boomer and silent generation renters, only 15% share the same sentiment.

Younger generations are also more likely to agree somewhat or completely on the helpfulness of 3D or virtual technology in their rental search. Slightly more than half (51%) of millennial renters agree that they wish more listings had 3D tours available. For older generations, this simply isn’t as important to them. Only 41% of Gen X and 39% of boomer and silent generation renters agree.

What tops the list of priorities for older renters when it comes to finding a home? The report shows that they are more focused on the details and relationships. Lease terms and deposit information are highly important considerations for three quarters (75%) of baby boomer and silent generation renters. By comparison, only 61% of Gen Z renters place the same level of importance on these factors. Likewise, 69% of baby boomer and silent generation renters say meeting or speaking with the landlord/property manager is a highly important consideration when deciding on a rental property. However, this drops considerably for younger generations where only 54% of Gen Z say the same and 55% of millennials.

Preference for in-person tours remains strong

More so than home buyers, who are more likely to favor remote touring options, renters prefer to see homes in person. Approximately three quarters of renters (70-76%) say they somewhat or strongly like touring homes in person. This includes in-person self tours (76%), in-person private tours (75%), and attending open houses (70%). As a whole, 66% of renters say taking a private tour is highly important in helping decide if a rental is right for them. In fact, only one in four (24%) renters prefer 3D tours over in-person viewings. Whether establishing trust or making sure they have a crystal clear picture of what their potential home looks like before making a commitment, the human touch is a critical piece of the search process for renters.

Safety concerns open doors to create better experiences

Renters appreciate in-person viewings, but safety is unquestionably important. Property managers and landlords have an opening to enhance the renter experience via contactless interactions and remote touring tools.

According to the COVID-19 and Renters Report, a majority of current and prospective renters would like to see many of the safety measures established during the coronavirus pandemic stay in place, including physically distant in-person interactions with real estate professionals. A majority (69%) of respondents said they prefer to continue no-contact interactions. The same share (69%) also said they prefer to continue maintaining a 6-foot minimum distance with real estate professionals and 59% said they preferred continuing requirements for all parties to wear PPE.

The preference towards contactless interactions also supports findings that renters want to do more physical transactions remotely and online. This includes many of the physical transactions that are part of the rental process, such as submitting an application, signing a lease and paying rent.

Less contact means more ways to apply, sign and pay online

Digital tools help limit in-person contact but also work to streamline processes, reduce paperwork and make it easier to complete basic transactions. Renters overall, but particularly younger age groups, show an increasing desire to take many basic transactions online. There are opportunities for property managers and landlords to meet those needs at each stage of the journey.

Renters across the board demonstrate a shrinking preference for in-person payments — down to 16% in 2020, compared to last year’s 21% — while a larger 60% of renters would ideally pay online. Again, Gen Z and millennials are leading the trend. When asked to name the ideal way in which they would like to pay rent, most Gen Z and millennial renters say they would ideally like to pay online (63% for Gen Z and 64% for millennials). For baby boomers and silent generation renters this number sits at 49%, and these age groups are more likely to prefer in-person payments (28%) than younger generations. For Gen Z renters, only 20% say they would prefer to make in-person payments.

A larger share of renters also express their preference for online tools to be part of the rental experience. In 2020, 46% of renters were more likely to prefer signing a lease online — up from 39% in 2018. A majority (60%) of renters also expressed that they prefer to schedule in-person tours online. And finally, 54% of renters agreed that it would be easier for them to unlock properties with their phone and tour them in-person on their own time.

Minor differences in preferences based on home search types

The differences are minimal, but renters in single-family homes are less likely than other types of renters to find certain remote technologies helpful. Single-family renters are also less likely than renters as a whole to agree somewhat or completely that they wish more listings had 3D tours available (38% of SF compared to 46% of renters as a whole).

Conversely, multifamily renters are much more likely (53%) to prefer online lease signings over single-family renters (42%). Almost a third (32%) of single-family renters don’t prefer to sign a lease or apply for a rental online.

When it comes to virtually visualizing furniture, only 38% of single-family renters say they would find a tool that allowed them to add or remove furniture to home listing photos very helpful. This is compared to 49% of multifamily renters and 45% of other home type renters.

Takeaways:

• Offer more options for remote viewing and touring that complement or supplement the in-person experience and help renters visualize themselves in a home, such as Zillow 3D Home® tours, video tours or dynamic floor plans with photos. Providing rich media experiences can help shorten search times for renters while increasing your lead quality.
• Provide digital tools that enhance and speed up other aspects of the rental experience, such as online appointment scheduling, lease signings and payments.
• Continue to emphasize safety measures and offer options for no-contact interactions during in-person viewings and interactions.

Renter data sheets: Free download

Learn more about renter preferences for remote touring and digital tools.

• Multifamily renters
• Single-family renters