Shopping for a home can be a stressful experience. You spend your day running from one property to the next hoping to be dazzled by an option in your price range. Some days will be a complete bust, with none of the homes catching your interest. Then, you have to get a new list of properties together and start all over on your next available day.
But what if technology could change all of that? Sure, you can look at photographs online or take a video tour, but that approach doesn't give you an accurate perspective. Fisheye camera lenses and other tricks of the trade can make a property seem much more spacious online only to have its true form revealed when you walk through the door.
The next thing in real estate is looking to give potential home buyers a more accurate experience without having set foot on the property. Say hello to the virtual reality home tour.
Virtual Reality Home Tours
Instead of having home buyers scamper from one home to the next, all they need to do is strap on a suitable headset and being their tour. If they don't like what they see, then they can move on to the next property in an instant. And, when they find something appealing, they can go check out the property in person to see if it truly meets their needs.
Virtual reality for real estate is primed to change the home buying process. Not only can it streamline the process by eliminating properties from the list without having to set foot in the space, but it also allows people to tour homes in cities in which they do not currently live.
Imagine a cross-country move where you could take a look at available properties before you finish packing. And the service wouldn't have to be limited to home buyers either, as renters could use the technology for a similar purpose.
A Shareable Experience
Using virtual reality tours are also ideal when not every person who will be purchasing or renting the property can make an onsite visit. Interested shoppers could simply share a virtual reality tour with family members and friends at a time that is convenient for them. This allows more people to be involved in the decision-making process without necessarily having to take everyone along on the actual tour.
With the ability to share the experience across anything from specialty VR equipment to popular smartphones, finding a way to get the potential buyer connected to the virtual tour has never been easier either. Even the cardboard options work well in most cases.
A Better Perspective
Since the renderings are 3D, you can get a realistic perspective on each space. If a bedroom looks small on a floorplan, you can actually immerse yourself in the rendering to see if your original opinion was accurate. You can also see how comfortable it is to move from area to area, and even use it to test new furniture or home décor options to see if they are comfortable in the space.
The technology can also be used during new construction. If a potential homeowner finds a floorplan they like, a virtual reality model could let them actually see the space before they even break ground on the property. It could also be used to preview different finishes for new construction as well as for home remodels.
No more guesswork regarding whether a paint color or countertop is actually the right choice. Add the data to the model, and see what the space will look like once it is complete.
The Future of Real Estate
With VR technology becoming increasingly available, don't be surprised if you start seeing virtual tour options springing up at real estate companies across the globe. In fact, some agencies have been offering the service for some time now. Now you can shop for your next home without having to leave your current one. And how awesome is that.