When the nation was thrust into social distancing in early 2020, few homebuilders were prepared. The home shopping experience that consumers demand had already begun to shift, but COVID-19 and the necessity of social distancing accelerated the process.

Chances are, if you’re in the homebuilding industry, the concept of self-guided tours has crossed your desk at some point in the last year. It might’ve gone by different names — unattended access, or maybe on-demand tours, but they all represent the ability to provide your shoppers a way to schedule a tour online and then visit a community and tour their home of choice without having to interact with a salesperson first. It’s home touring on their command and on their time, and the data shows that it is an incredibly successful supplement to help builders bring more qualified, motivated home buyers to the table.

Toward the end of 2020, we held a webinar with our partners at BDX to answer all the questions we were receiving about how self-guided tours work. We wanted to provide access to the recording of this Q&A session for those who are just learning about UTour for the first time. If you’ve got 30 minutes, we couldn’t recommend it enough. Read on below to get a full picture of all the answers you’ll receive while watching the webinar. 

Every year, new homebuilders from across North America converge for the NAHB’s most prestigious awards competition to celebrate outstanding achievements within the industry, from architecture to advertising campaigns, at The Nationals. 

By now, you’ve heard how self-guided home tours –– also known as “unattended access” –– are changing the way builders market, show and sell new homes. Maybe you’re thinking about offering these tours for your potential homebuyers.

Here’s what you need to know: Not all self-guided tour platforms are created equal. UTour rises above the rest with 5 Essential Features that no other platform offers. 

 UTour, the nation’s leading provider of interactive, on-demand, self-guided home tours for homebuilders, has partnered with Alarm.com (Nasdaq: ALRM) to become the premier self-guided home tour solution that offers integrated security for homebuilders. All UTour customers can integrate enhanced security capabilities at each of their model and inventory homes for self-guided tours. For example, the home’s security system automatically deactivates once a home shopper enters the four-digit code to unlock the door and begin the tour. The security system reactivates automatically at the tour’s conclusion.

Self-guided tours are gaining consumer confidence with more and more home shoppers eager to try a new, on-demand option that limits personal interaction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a growing trend — not just among new home builders — but across the real estate industry. In fact, Zillow recently announced that it will be extending self-touring options to all its Zillow-owned homes this summer.

Whether you’re using Siri to send a text message while driving, asking Alexa to play music while you’re cooking dinner or getting the weather forecast from Google Home, voice assistants can provide unparalleled convenience and efficiency.

Customers are more than just the result of successful marketing — they should be at the center of all you do, and your automation should bolster that relationship. The key is in using automation to reduce the friction between your customer and your business.

The world looks a lot different than it did just two weeks ago.