New technology is changing the real estate game. From blockchain to Virtual Reality, an industry long stuck in its ways is finally beginning to embrace new technology and incorporate it into its industry standards.
Disruption in the real estate industry is hard. In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, Regan McGee, Founder and CEO of Nobul, a one-of-a-kind digital marketplace for real estate agents and homebuyers, said:
“People have tried to disrupt real estate for years. I don’t think most of it has been very successful. One of the big challenges is that it’s a lot of people who aren’t in the real estate industry and don’t understand how the real estate industry works very well. This is industry players who are disrupting it from the inside.”
But change is finally here, much of it thanks to new technology. So how are VR and AR disrupting the industry?
Taking Virtual Tours into Virtual Reality
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a wave of change as the 360-degree tour became a necessity. As pandemic restrictions prevented open houses, many agents hired 360-degree photographers to create 24-hour, online open houses. This alone was an improvement on the standard real estate photos that don’t give the viewer any sense of dimension or connectivity from one still to another.
But 360-degree photography was just a stepping stone to something much bigger: the virtual reality tour. As virtual reality becomes more common, agents are investing in virtual headsets that give their clients a chance to view an immersive, live tour of a property without having to be physically present. VR headsets can even give prospective buyers access toa virtual rendering based on blueprints before the property has even been built.
As virtual reality becomes the new standard for virtual tours, home buyers and agents alike will be able to save time as the viewing process becomes faster and more streamlined. Even without restrictions on open houses and tours, buyers can filter out options that aren’t right for them without having to schedule in-person viewings.
Augmented Reality: A New Way to Stage
Staging a home usually requires a significant investment on the agent’s part. It can require professional cleaning, house plants, new curtains and accessories, additional storage, and even new furniture to frame a home in the best possible light, not to mention the considerable investment in time that it requires.
Furniture companies have led the way in Augmented Reality for homes, introducing technology that allows consumers to place new furniture in augmented images of their home interiors. It’s an incredible way to visualize a space before making an important purchase.
Today, virtual staging services are helping agents apply the same benefits to home buying while saving brokerages thousands of dollars in staging costs. Virtual staging is streamlining the real estate process, giving more buyers a chance to see a home in its best light at their own convenience.
Technology isn’t just making life easier for home buyers. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are saving agents time and money. They can spend less time arranging physical viewings for their clients and save on staging costs as they embrace a new way of doing things.
