How VR Tech Is Helping Real Estate Agents, Developers, and Homebuyers
In a world filled with news about seemingly endless types of emerging technology, virtual-reality, or VR, tech has become a tool that many businesses are leveraging.
The value of the VR industry has been on the rise as different industries capitalize on immersive tech. Last year, the global VR market was estimated to be worth nearly $60 billion and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27.5% through 2030, according to a report by Grand View Research.
While VR tech has been instrumental in the gaming and entertainment industries, it’s also been disruptive in real estate: Aspiring homeowners looking for a place to call their own aren’t limited to viewing a space in person anymore, and realtors can broaden their reach to more clients.
Research from Goldman Sachs estimated that 130,000 real-estate agents used VR to show homes in 2020, per Encora. Indeed, virtual tours were key to keeping the real-estate market alive while COVID-19 restrictions were in place. While virtual tours don’t seem to have had a lasting impact on home sales, research by Isamar Troncoso, a Harvard Business School professor, found they can still boost the value of listings in certain areas and help homebuyers screen for what they don’t want in a home.
Using VR to save time on homebuying
James Bowerman, a real-estate agent at Real Creative Group of Compass, has seen the advantages of innovative house hunting. Bowerman, a self-described early adopter of technology, tapped into VR by using a product from Matterport to show his home listings virtually.
The 3D-data platform uses its data library and artificial intelligence to capture 360-degree scans with compatible cameras. It then stitches them together, turning physical spaces into immersive tours. According to the company, the “digital twin” 3D models can be shared and virtually viewed on any device. For properties that have a Matterport virtual tour available, people can “enter VR” and move within the virtual space online, Bowerman told BI.
While VR lets potential homebuyers transcend geographic limits, it can also make the process quicker by allowing people to see more houses and sort through their top choices.
“If you’re able to just simply strap on a VR headset and look at this property, you’ll be able to make a faster decision,” Bowerman told BI.
Bowerman works in Maryland, which allows a “coming soon” label in its multiple-listing service — a database where real-estate agents and brokers share listing agreements and data about properties for sale — for 21 days. People who are looking for a home aren’t allowed to physically tour any space that’s described as “coming soon,” Bowerman explained, but VR allows them to bypass that restriction.
“By having a virtual tour done and putting ‘coming soon,’ it gives a potential buyer the opportunity to see it in VR and make a decision, if they’re comfortable enough, where they’re like, ‘You know what? I’ve seen this virtually, and I love the space. I don’t need to go see it in person. Let’s make an offer on it,'” Bowerman said.
“There’s no rule that says you can’t make an offer on properties during ‘coming soon,'” he added. In 2022, Bowerman said he received three offers from clients who hadn’t seen their picks in person — the virtual tour was enough to get them on board.
VR can save real-estate developers time and money
Patricio Navarro, the CEO and a cofounder of Yupix, a Miami-based real-estate tech startup, told BI that VR can reduce the time that properties are on the market, in his experience.
Yupix uses headsets and Unreal Engine, a tool that creates 3D photoreal visuals, to put together its home tours, Navarro said. Clients can virtually visit a unit in New York City and a 100-story building in Miami in a matter of seconds.
Refresh Miami, which follows tech and startup news in the area, reported in August that Yupix’s partners sold about $1.3 billion in real estate each of the past two years with the help of its VR platform.
Yupix’s tech can show properties that exist and those that are still under development, said Navarro, who has over 30 years of experience in computer graphics and architecture. The tech can also identify potential problems and look for solutions during the development process, he added. For example, it can detect in a blueprint that the floor plan of a closet is too small for a master bedroom before it’s built.
Property tech, or proptech, is the future of real estate, some say
Bowerman emphasized that VR can’t fully replace in-person home tours, because there’s still room for improvement in the technology’s quality, speed, and accessibility.
Navarro said another challenge is that some industry professionals aren’t yet willing to adapt to the tech-driven change.
“It’s taking some time for players to adapt to new changes because this is not a substitute product as it was for 3D renderings,” he said. “This is a complete change in the mindset, tools, and skills.”
While proptech is still in its early stages, Navarro said it’s gaining momentum and there will be “no turning back.”
