Real Estate Virtual Tours for New Homes: A Guide to Using AppFolio

Cloudpano
July 11, 2025
5 min read
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🏡 Real Estate Virtual Tours for New Homes: A Guide to Using AppFolio

🚧 Selling or Leasing New Homes Before They're Built? Start with Virtual Tours

In the real estate world, time-to-market is everything—especially for new construction. But how do you sell or lease homes that aren't finished yet?

That’s where virtual tours + AppFolio come in. 🔑

With the right 360° virtual tour tools embedded into your AppFolio listings, you can give buyers and renters a fully immersive experience—even before construction is complete. This guide shows you how to bring your new homes to life online.

🎯 Why Virtual Tours Work So Well for New Construction

Real estate marketing is visual—and nothing communicates value like a walk-through.

💡 Here’s why virtual tours help you sell or lease faster:

  • 🏗️ Showcase progress or renderings before physical completion
  • 🖼️ Help buyers visualize the finished product
  • 🚫 Eliminate unnecessary showings and site visits
  • 📱 Provide access 24/7, no appointment needed
  • 💬 Increase trust with out-of-town buyers or renters

📘 Related read: Why Virtual Tours Increase Lease Conversions in AppFolio

🔌 How AppFolio Supports Virtual Tours

AppFolio is a powerful platform for listing and managing rental or for-sale properties. It also allows you to embed clickable tour links inside your property listings—making it the perfect home for your 3D walkthroughs.

📎 Learn more: AppFolio Virtual Tours: A Game-Changer for Property Managers

🧰 Tools You Need for New Home Virtual Tours

🛠 Recommended Platforms:

  • Matterport – Best for 3D scans or virtual model homes
  • CloudPano – Great for fast, affordable, white-label tours
  • Kuula – Easy to create and share 360° tours from renderings or progress photos

📊 Comparison breakdown: CloudPano vs Kuula vs Matterport: What Works Best with AppFolio

✍️ How to Add Virtual Tours to New Listings in AppFolio

Here’s how to embed your tour for new construction homes:

  1. Go to your AppFolio dashboard
  2. Click the listing you want to edit
  3. Paste your tour link in the Media or Description section
  4. Use a strong CTA, like:

“🏡 Click here to view the virtual tour of this model home

📘 Step-by-step instructions: Step-by-Step AppFolio Virtual Tour Tutorial

🌐 Best Practices for New Home Virtual Tours

To truly bring your project to life:

✅ Do This:

  • 🖼️ Add renderings alongside the tour
  • 🗺️ Include floor plans with interactive hotspots
  • ✍️ Use labels to indicate features (e.g., “Walk-in Closet” or “Quartz Counters”)
  • 🏞️ Add community amenities and nearby highlights as part of the tour

📘 Deep dive: How to Embed and Highlight Virtual Tours on AppFolio

📣 Promote the Tour Beyond Your Listing

You’ve built the tour—now make sure people see it.

📍 Promotion Tips:

  • Include “Virtual Tour Available” in your listing headline
  • Share the tour on social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
  • Add the link to follow-up emails, texts, or autoresponders
  • Submit the tour to syndication sites like Zillow or Craigslist

📘 Marketing strategies: How to Promote Your Virtual Tour Beyond AppFolio

🔄 Automate for Consistency Across Developments

Are you managing multiple new homes or communities? Save time with a repeatable process.

🔁 Time-saving automation tips:

  • Create AppFolio listing templates with a virtual tour field
  • Use Airtable or Google Sheets to track tour links
  • Require photographers or designers to deliver tours with each project
  • Pre-load model homes into your CRM or showing schedule system

📘 Workflow tips: Virtual Tour Setup in AppFolio: Step-by-Step Guide for Property Managers

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the best tour won’t convert if it's set up wrong.

❌ Don’t:

  • Use a private link (must be public HTTPS)
  • Forget to use a CTA
  • Hide the tour at the bottom of the listing
  • Let links expire or break

🛠 Fix issues here: Virtual Tour Doesn’t Load in AppFolio? Fixes & Solutions

📊 How to Measure Virtual Tour Success

Track the effectiveness of your tour and optimize as you go.

Metrics to Monitor:

  • 🔁 Tour click-through rate
  • 🕒 Time spent on listings
  • 📩 Number of applications or inquiries
  • 📆 Days on market
  • 💬 Buyer or renter feedback

📘 Reporting tips: AppFolio Virtual Tour Setup Tutorial for Real Estate Pros

🧱 Builder & Manager Testimonials

“We pre-leased 40% of our units before drywall—thanks to the Matterport tour inside AppFolio.”
Jenna H., Multifamily Developer

“Adding CloudPano tours saved us from building a physical model unit. We just send the link.”
David R., Single-Family Home Builder

📖 More use cases: How Property Managers Use AppFolio Virtual Tours to Lease Faster

🔗 Related Articles to Explore

✅ Final Thoughts: Sell the Vision Before the Finish

In real estate, the earlier you can start the conversation, the faster you lease or sell. Virtual tours give your new homes a head start—especially when paired with AppFolio’s powerful listing tools.

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Property Marketing
Allows potential buyers to explore properties in detail from anywhere, enhancing the real estate marketing process.
Automotive Spins
Create an interactive virtual showroom and engage affluent digital buyers with live 360º video calls, all through the CloudPano mobile app for a complete automotive sales solution.
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