Even in the midst of a pandemic, people need to find a new home or sell their current home. But while real estate has been deemed an essential service, the industry has had to adapt to social distancing guidelines and other precautions taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In many places, real estate agents have been prohibited from holding open houses or showings of properties for sale. According to the Connecticut Association of Realtors, local professionals must now restrict showings solely to "those making the decision" on whether or not to purchase a home, and are advised not to show multiple properties to a buyer unless they are certain a contract might result in the next 30 days.

The coronavirus pandemic has also diminished the number of people willing to go home shopping during "stay at home" orders. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, approximately half of the association's members said buyer interest had waned in mid-March due to the virus.

As a result of these circumstances, there has been an explosion of interest in virtual tours of residences for sale. Listings with this feature allow buyers to conduct a three-dimensional walkthrough of the home using their computer or another device.

According to the real estate site Redfin, requests for video tours led by agents shot up 494 percent in the week between March 15 and March 22. While just 0.2 percent of the site's property tour requests asked for this kind of walkthrough at the beginning of the month, the share was up to 18.9 percent on March 22.

The increase followed a website update on March 3 encouraging visitors to request agent-led video tours. Redfin says there was also a 9 percent increase in traffic to its three-dimensional scans between February and March.

"The future of real estate has come earlier than any of us could have anticipated," said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin. "The way things are during the pandemic won't last forever, but at the end of all this, things won't go back to the way they were either. We hope we're well prepared."

The real estate site Zillow also noted a rapid expansion of virtual home walkthroughs. The number of tours created using its 3D Home app increased 188 percent between February and March, and the tally of new tours for a typical week in March was 408 percent higher than in a typical week in February. On April 2, the number of tours created was nearly 600 percent higher than 30 days earlier.

Zillow suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted sellers to fulfill what had been a largely unmet demand among buyers for more virtual tours. In its Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report, 46 percent of surveyed buyers said they wished more listings included 3D tours.

Numerous different types of virtual tours are available. Erica Sweeney, writing for Realtor.com, says they include virtual open houses, video conferencing where an agent walks through the property and remotely discusses its features with a buyer, and 3D tours created with special imaging equipment and included with online listings. Virtual staging tools are also available.

Virtual tours, while useful, are generally not able to provide as in-depth a look at the home as an in-person visit. As such, buyers should take steps such as getting a home inspection and appraisal to ensure the purchase will be a wise one. The Connecticut Association of Realtors' Sight Unseen Addendum has buyers acknowledge that by buying a property without physically visiting it—or seeing it only through "electronic or virtual telecommunications methods"—they indemnify the seller, broker, and any broker agents for issues arising from this purchase method.