VR in Real Estate
By Simon Rose
Virtual reality or VR is a kind of technology that’s been around for a while now. With VR, a person can view a three-dimensional image or perhaps an entire environment and even interact with it. VR is able to create and resemble how things will or do look in the real world. Alternately, VR can create a completely different fantasy landscape or an alien planet for one to explore. It’s been predicted for quite a while now that virtual reality would be the next major technological development. Historically, its been widely utilized in things like video games and the entertainment industry. Today, VR is being used notably in the real estate business. The ongoing pandemic and restrictions on people meeting in close proximity indoor, has massively contributed to the increased use of VR technology.
Realtors usually have a number of properties available for clients to choose from, with clients usually visiting many different locations before making a final decision regarding a purchase or investment. Naturally this takes time. However, with VR, prospective buyers can view multiple properties through a virtual reality headset, even in the same day.
This saves time for both the buyer and the realtor. Clients can explore homes or other properties that are in other parts of the country, saving money on travel costs. Using VR provides a realtor with a much larger potential market to work with, showcasing properties to clients nationally or even internationally.
Virtual reality technology can be employed to create 360-degree videos. Realtors use these to provide their clients with a virtual guided tour of a property. Potential buyers wear a VR headset and experience the place as closely as they can without actually being there in person. Interactive tours can be slightly more complex to create with VR technology, but are in turn a more effective way to showcase a property to clients. These types of virtual visits allow people to move around inside the property by clicking on designated places in the VR field of view. Clients view the interior in a similar way that they do on a guided tour, but the interactive element gives them a better feel for the different rooms.
Virtual reality is also a particularly useful tool when marketing a property that isn’t even built yet. With what’s known as architectural visualization, realtors can show clients the inside and outside of a building, just as they can with virtual staging of existing properties. Clients might not always be viewing a possible future home for themselves, and with architectural visualization they can decide whether to invest in a planned commercial building project or rental property, such as an apartment block.
Virtual reality was around before the pandemic arrived, now used more often in the real estate business then ever before, and will undoubtedly remain a key marketing tool for realtors in the future.
Posted by ROSS Magazine on
Leave A Comment