The advent of immersive technologies has revolutionized several industry sectors and real estate is no exception. Advanced applications of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate will deliver efficient and user-friendly platforms for realtors as well as property buyers.
Traditionally, finding, viewing, buying, and selling properties used to be manual tasks. Interested buyers needed to visit a real estate agency to search for available properties and visit different properties one after the other to select the most suitable one. Then came the digital era, potential buyers were able to search properties online based on their location and price preferences. This approach became so popular that over 51% of property buyers found their homes online. However, interested buyers still need to visit various properties to make an informed decision.
The entire process of visiting different properties in various locations can be tiring and time-consuming. This process is especially inconvenient for potential homeowners that stay in a foreign country or at a distant location. But, the advent of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate can eliminate this issue altogether. Advanced VR applications can offer 360-degree tours of several properties for interested buyers in any location. The introduction of augmented reality and virtual reality will transform the landscape of real estate. Realtors can incorporate AR and VR tours in their online marketplaces to offer a streamlined experience for buyers and investors. With this approach, realtors can attract global investors and buyers to their website.
Augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate
The adoption of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate will give rise to the following innovative
Virtual property tours
Everyone knows that finding properties for housing or commercial use is a time-consuming task. To make the process more efficient, realtors can offer virtual property tours on their websites with the help of virtual reality. For instance, if a potential buyer clicks on a house, the website will display a ‘virtual tour’ option for that house. Using this feature, the buyer can take a virtual tour of every room with the help of virtual reality goggles. The tour can include a virtual guide that takes buyers through different rooms and narrates the pertinent information about various features of the house. Also, virtual tours can allow potential buyers to interact with several objects in their surroundings like opening the fridge and turning on the sink tap. Similar tours can be created for commercial spaces to help business owners choose a suitable workspace. With virtual reality in real estate, potential buyers can save time and check out multiple properties right from their homes.
Visualization of unfinished projects
In underdeveloped areas, resale prices are affected due to various factors such as the construction of an airport, mall, or commercial complex. Basically, any type of construction that attracts more people to an area will affect the resale price of several properties. Hence, property investors may choose to buy unfinished projects to capitalize on the potential hike in resale value. However, investors experience complexities while predicting how the finished project would look like. With the help of virtual reality in real estate, architects and builders can showcase their finished project to potential investors using a virtual tour. For this purpose, architects and builders can implement 3D modeling to precisely recreate their project with the help of project plans and blueprints. Builders can also incorporate guided walkthroughs highlighting the key aspects of the project. For example, an architect who is designing a commercial complex can create a guided tour of the final project for the clients. The guided walkthrough will contain every element of the building like staircases, rooms, elevators, lobbies, and many more. Using this guided walkthrough, clients can make informed decisions about their investments.
Home hunting
Property investors are always looking for better investment opportunities. While traveling for work or to meet some friends, they may stumble upon areas where properties may have a good resale value. In such scenarios, investors may look for the street or the area online to find the estimated property value. But, with the help of AR, this task can be simplified. With AR-enabled apps, potential investors can simply hold their phone towards a street and receive important information such as estimated property value, rental prices, number of bedrooms, and many more. Such apps can be especially useful while driving through a neighborhood where investors can easily obtain property information of any property they are interested in.
Commercial spaces
Finding good workplaces is a crucial task for any business owner. Generally, business leaders search workplaces online. But, several business owners have busy schedules, to which finding a new workplace becomes a tedious addition. In such cases, business leaders can use an AR-enabled app to scan commercial complexes with their smartphone while traveling. For instance, a business owner visits a client site that is located in a well-established commercial complex. If the business owner desires to buy or lease an office space in that commercial complex, they can just point their smartphone towards the building and the AR-enabled app will display important information such as office spaces, area, tenancy situations, and amenities. Using such apps, business owners can instantly gather crucial information and make informed decisions while selecting new workplaces.
Interior design
Traditionally, interior designers and architects took several days to create 3D design layouts for houses. Also, designers have to spend additional time when clients demand different designs or changes in the same design. But, with the help of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate, interior designers can now exhibit their designs via VR goggles or AR-enabled mobile apps. For instance, an interior designing firm can create multiple virtual designs for clients considering their preferred color scheme, layout, area, and the number of rooms. In case any client asks for changes in the design, then the designer can update such designs in real-time. Hence, virtual reality can be a feasible solution for interior designers.
Homeowners can also use AR-powered mobile apps while choosing the right furniture, plants, and lights for their house. For example, Ikea offers an AR-based mobile app that virtually places every item from their catalog wherever their customer wishes to. With this app, customers can easily understand how the furniture will affect the entire interior design of their house.
Immersive marketing
The use of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate can help brokers or agents to create innovative marketing campaigns. For this purpose, realtors can publish AR-enabled print ads that display an interactive 3D model of different properties when a prospective buyer points the smartphone camera towards the advertisement. Such ads can be posted in newspapers or on billboards. Similarly, realtors can create AR-enabled brochures to showcase their properties.
Real estate agencies can also create an AR-powered ‘portal’ that will be accessed via a mobile app. Marketing representatives can showcase properties to their clients using the interactive portal during meetings. With such apps, clients can remotely evaluate a property even after the meeting and interact with different objects like open the windows or turn on the lights.
Communication with tenants
Property owners have a complicated task of inspecting leaks and repairs after renting out their property. Usually, tenants notify property owners about their repair-related concerns and the owners then have to visit the property to take a look at such issues. In case the property owner lives in another town or city, then such tasks become even more tedious and time-consuming.
However, newer applications of virtual reality in real estate such as holoportation can simplify this process. Microsoft is working on holoportation, an innovative VR-powered technology that can virtually ‘teleport’ anyone to any location in real-time. By leveraging such technologies, property owners may be able to remotely inspect the nature and extent of damages and track the progress of the repair processes. With further research and development of immersive applications of augmented reality and virtual reality in real estate, extended reality-based applications can be developed. Extended reality will club together augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality to deliver an even more immersive experience for investors, realtors, and home-buyers.
