Its a beautiful view.
Stunning really.
The perfect sunset.
You pull out your phone, go to Facebook to upload a 360-degree photo of your shenanigans.
But, surely there’s more to this 360-degree technology than just sunsets and views?
Well, young grasshopper, for the real estate industry, 360-degree and Virtual Reality is revolutionising the way they sell houses!
The managing director of Jellis Craig Real-Estate Andrew McCann considers the technology to be a win-win for sellers, buyers and agents.
He explains that providing people with an opportunity to “walk through” and view a property online, usually sends a qualified purchaser straight to the open-for-inspections.
Furthermore:
Wait, what is it?
So a 360-degree scan, takes a series of photos of the room, and then it sticks all the photos together to create one file, so you can view the room from a different vantage point.
This takes approximately two hours to shoot a home, and the final content can be back with the agent within 24 hours. And the cost? Depends on the size of the house- it can be anywhere between $250-$750.…… so many coffees I could buy with that….
A scan essentially creates a 3D virtual walk-through of a property. The technology allows the prospective buyer to move around within a room, and from room to room. Not only do they receive a 360-degree photo, they can step outside and view the floor plan from a dolls house perspective.
Source: from a 3D scan of a property in Prior Road, Malvern East sold by Andrew McCann
Okay, so whats the big deal?
Scann3D found that online property listings, that have 3D tours, have property hunters spending at least 52% longer than the listings that just have photos and a floor plan. They also found that there is an 80% increase in inquiries for properties with 3D tours!
Matthew Hood Real Estate Group at Sotheby’s International Realty says that:
How.
Freakin.
Awesome?!
So from a digital marketing point of view, Raphael Ruz, creative manager and photographer with Urban Angles states they’re seeing growing demand for 360-degree photography and virtual (static) tours as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) follow-up tool. This allows real estate gents to target interested parties who have come through a property.
Furthermore, advanced analytics can demonstrate time-specific information as well as analyse those rooms within a property that are the most visited. This important for marketers, and the real estate agent, because at the inspections, the agent can try increase the client’s perception of a room they didn’t spend much time on, or even focus on the room that the customer “loved” online.
The rise of virtual reality and 360-degree scans and videos in real estate is growing rapidly. Soon, it will become expected that all agents have this option on their listings, and, once this happens, according to Hood we will ask ‘How did we do this before?’
Tell me what you think? Would you inspect a house using this technology? Can you think of other industries that could benefit from this technology?
SpaceBarr 
Would be interesting to see whether it features on the boards outside homes or can only just be done on websites. Maybe a business opportunity for boards to be presented in digital form and no longer follow current ways
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Another option in terms of boards outside of homes is to have a qr code or link which a pedestrian can access and have a virtual tour of a home right there and then on their phone without an agent present. It saves the customer a lot of time and frustration waiting for an agent to respond.
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That is such a smart and creative idea!
I think anything that makes that billboard more interactive is great for real estate agents. Because the real estate agent’s website will have the house details, the virtual reality tour and/or 360-degree photos, the billboard is just a snapshot.
So having a QR code is a smart and not so costly way to engage potential buyers on the street, and direct them to the website.
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Thats a fantastic idea! It would be very expensive to set up though…. having giant touch screens with 360 degree photos on them…. I think another concern would be the risk of people stealing the billboards…
But definitely something that real estate agents should look into.
It would certainly make the billboards more interactive.
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I think the 360 degree scans are an incredible idea and great way of viewing houses particularly if someone can’t make it to an inspection or auction. Although they are costly, it looks like the benefits make it worth it! I think another industry who should consider using this idea is the hotel industry and booking websites, it will make it much easier for guests to see the hotel they’re potentially staying in rather than going through only a few photos.
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I couldnt agree more! I think the hotel industry would greatly benefit, and the consumers who book hotels online would also!
I just came back from overseas and booked all my accommodation online, some of it was a big hit or miss, one of the places i stayed in was the size of a cupboard, if i wouldve been able to see that from 360-degree photos or virtual reality, i definitely wouldve chosen to stay somewhere else.
So i think it would motivate hotels to increase their standards, and it also gives the consumer a higher chance to make a more informed decision.
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