Virtual Reality In Real Estate: Engaging Clients in 3D

The secret of successful marketing and, accordingly, trading is the timely implementation of trending technologies in business. VR technology is rightfully considered one of the most relevant IT areas of commerce, which market, according to the forecasts of Statista, will double by 2024 compared to 2021. From $4.8 billion in 2021 to $12 billion in 2024.

According to Business Insider, about 82% of survey participants regretted buying property at least once in their lives in 2022. The 2021 survey, which was conducted by Bankrate, showed that at that time, only 62% of respondents regretted purchasing. As it turned out, consumers mostly got acquainted with the houses in person, spending fuel, time, and nerves on the road, repairs, and another red tape. If they could inspect the property before visiting, they would probably look for other options.

The potential of Virtual Reality in Real Estate allows you to empower clients and realtors, providing fresh ways to interact with real estate. Why is it so important to combine Real Estate Virtual Reality with traditional types of commerce? Today we will talk about the benefits that come from implementing VR in the real estate business.

How Exactly Is VR Used in the Real Estate Business?

Virtual reality is a mathematically constructed model of an existing (or fictional) environment with full detail, animation, and even interactivity. It is designed to show a person physically correct models in the virtual space. Most often used in the modern gaming industry, but is gradually being introduced into other areas of life, such as AR in commerce or VR in real estate.

Working with real estate is constant communication with clients, organizing visits to houses, apartments, and plots by potential buyers. Also, the realtor must know the technical characteristics, the state of communications, dimensions, and other data about each of the objects that are in the jurisdiction of a specialist.

VR in modern real estate commerce is designed to solve 3 main problems:

• Transportation costs, since there is no need to visit the property in person.
• Lack of information, because all the necessary data can be entered into the database and displayed directly on the items.
• Personalization of offers, as it is how you can personalize a tour to the specific client’s requirements.

How does VR help buyers and real estate experts get rid of routine, expenses, and frustration?

Why does using Virtual Reality make it easier for realtors?

The need to demonstrate the same object every day, whether it be a private house, apartment, suburban area, or office, is exhausting, and the work turns into a routine. This not only reduces the productivity of the specialist but also causes additional costs for the company, which negatively affect the final budget.

Obvious advantages of VR technology in the field of real estate for a realtor:

• Instant access to the property.
• Comprehensive information about communications, etc.
• Ability to customize the demo for specific tasks.
• Physically accurate model, BIM, or graphical demonstration.
• No transport and time costs.

Virtual Reality allows you to create comprehensive tours of the entire exterior and interior of a site, apartment, or an entire multi-story building. A 360º view and partial or full interactivity allow a customer to thoroughly explore the subject of a potential purchase. That is, the real presence can be postponed for the visits of “serious” buyers, focusing on improving the quality of the demonstration.

What are the benefits of VR for customers?

Consumers can view the desired property without leaving their homes using any device. Of course, it is preferable to connect to virtual tours through a special headset, but a smartphone screen, for example, will convey most of the information about a potential purchase.

The main advantages of real estate virtual reality for clients:

• No travel expenses to the desired location.
• The maximum depth of immersion in the virtual environment.
• Realistic physics of objects in the demonstration.
• The interactivity of all subjects.
• Comprehensive information about communications, materials.
• The ability to change, and evaluate the layout and furniture before buying.

In fact, a virtual real estate tour is a simulation of an object in a “game” form.

Opportunities And Benefits of VR in Real Estate

Of course, the main advantage of Virtual Reality in Real Estate is that the use of this technology pays off all investments, albeit gradually. Savings on transportation costs, on employee time, and even on the banal number of personnel, because a couple of IT experts on staff with modeling skills can easily recreate any 3D environment and integrate it into a resource, followed by the introduction of interactive elements, important information and necessary details. Consumers will appreciate such innovations because they will no longer have to cross half the country just to view one of a dozen desired properties.

Remote Visiting

Indeed, even with an ordinary smartphone, you can take a virtual walk through the houses, offices, or land. If you use a VR headset with controllers, you can literally “visit” the building without getting up from the couch. This saves a lot of transport costs and time, the most valuable resource.

Using context menus, gestures or voice commands, you can explore every corner of the house, get acquainted with finishing materials, open cabinets, doors, windows, etc. The simulation is so accurately recreated and has the correct physical model that a visitor can easily knock over a vase, for example, and break it, which in reality would cause many problems.

Visual Tour

Simulation of an environment where the consumer is a viewer who is smoothly guided through the rooms, showing the layout, furniture, plumbing, etc. Key differences from a video:

• 360º view on any frame.
• Comprehensive information when focusing on a subject.
• Possibility to switch to the mode of viewing communications.
• Maximum realistic graphics with good scene lighting.
• Communication with a realtor via voice communication right on the tour.

The opportunity to visit a virtual copy of a property strongly influences a client’s buying decision. Since the process of getting to know an apartment or house is carried out in comfortable conditions, the chances of a successful transaction increase.

Independent Research

In addition to classical visualizations, there are full simulations of rooms, buildings, workshops, etc. The main difference is the complete freedom of movement and interaction of the client with the environment. This level of access allows the consumer to fully explore a potential purchase from the comfort of their couch.

Such simulations are created on game engines that allow you to fully convey the physical properties of objects and build “correct” models in compliance with proportions, architectural features, and electrical, heat, and water communications. By moving around the rooms and interacting with the objects, the client can fully explore the critical aspects and decide to buy or at least visit the building in reality.

Space for Creativity

Most Europeans appreciated the creative development of IKEA associated with AR. The company has implemented in its app a technology that projects a piece of furniture with the preservation of real proportions and dimensions into a room using a smartphone camera. Virtual Reality in Real Estate allows you to do even more. Imagine that being in a virtual simulation of the desired apartment, you can completely change all the furniture in the field of view with a couple of clicks of the controller.

In a virtual real estate model, you can:

• Change the layout in real-time.
• Check how furniture or decorations look.
• Project desired objects, such as a door or window.
• Thoroughly study communications, wiring, etc.
• See the final look of the house, taking into account all the wishes.

The opportunity to make full repairs before purchase, furnish rooms, change lighting, wallpaper, flooring, etc., is what most buyers lack. It’s one thing to just plan and visualize the future housing in your fantasies, it’s quite another to see the desired result without leaving the couch. How much does the chance of a successful transaction increase with a client who knows exactly what and how they will do next with real estate?

Benefits of Implementing VR Technology in a Real Estate Business

There are at least 3 reasons why you should implement VR technology in your business.

• Reduced marketing costs. Fascinating virtual tours of real estate objects are advertising in themselves. Clients will appreciate the trendy approach to the presentation of real estate services and provide the word of mouth effect of the company.
• Increasing competitiveness. The technological race does not forgive delay. By introducing the most promising technologies, for example, real estate virtual reality, you improve your position in the market, breaking away from competitors using the “old school” method.
• Increase in the number of successful transactions. Real estate preview in VR weeds out clients. The realtor and the consumer go to the objects only for the final inspection and transaction. This saves time and increases the chances of a successful sale.

The only tangible disadvantage is the cost of implementing VR. But this is a one-time development, which pays off by increasing the number of successful transactions.

What Difficulties Arise When Integrating or Using Virtual Reality in Real Estate?

The first difficulty arises directly in the decision to implement VR in a real estate resource. A quite logical question arises: What platform to use and for whom to implement this opportunity?

If you need a universal solution for all clients, it is best to develop a native or web app. It will provide wide coverage of the audience, but from the technical side it will turn out to be quite mediocre.

If you want to provide your customers with maximum freedom of action and an advanced user experience, specialized development for top immersive virtual reality systems is your choice. Headsets such as Oculus, HTC Vive, Playstation VR, or Valve Index allow you to fully immerse in the amazing world of 3D graphics and physical simulations right from the comfort of your chair.

Special Equipment Required

You need special VR systems (headsets) for a full immersion experience. Prices range from $200-$1000 depending on the complexity and possibilities. It is not hard to guess that the target audience of such devices is gamers, who generously buy VR headsets even for great money, thereby causing a shortage in the market. According to Statista, by 2024, the total number of VR devices sold will exceed 34 million, which is quite a bit. Sometimes it is very difficult to get equipment, which leads potential customers to refuse a full-fledged tour in favor of a simplified option through the screen of a PC, laptop, tablet, or even smartphone.

Need More Computing Power

In addition to spending directly on the headset, you also need to invest in a PC, because the performance of the simulation and its quality directly depends on its power. Not everyone can afford to buy a top-end system unit with a couple of expensive video cards ($500-$1000 per piece). Fortunately, there is a way out of this situation – server solutions for processing graphics in the cloud. They reduce the load on the user’s device, displaying a very high-quality picture on the screen, but increase traffic consumption, requiring a wide bandwidth connection to the server.

An up-to-date Database of 3D Objects And Visualization

Now some programs build a 3D model of a building from a photo or video. But, unfortunately, this is not enough for the complete visualization of real estate. Maximizing the detail of the environment and creating a “real” picture requires savvy 3D artists and developers who adapt the game engine for specific conditions.

Also, the realism of what is happening for the client directly depends on the quality and depth of animation of the same door handles, windows, or doors. When interacting with objects, they expect to “feel” the action and see the result. It is especially crucial to focus on the introduction of high-quality 3D objects and animations into the visualization scene, regardless of the type of simulation or virtual tour scenario.

Conclusion

Virtual reality is the trend of the next decade, which will develop in all areas of commerce, including real estate. Although the top companies have already begun to master VR in their products, you still have a chance to catch up with the favorites and develop an advanced VR system for your company with the help of Glorium Tech. With it, you will receive an influx of customers and increase the number of successful transactions in proportion to your investment.

Don’t wait for the right moment, it’s already here. Book a consultation with our manager and break into the IT world with leading experts in the Real Estate industry in the digital universe – real estate software development.

AboutHanna Skliarova

Expert in project-based development, specializing in leading highly complex projects and building robust, scalable applications.