Estate agencies and property developers are working on virtual reality viewings in light of the coronavirus crisis - this could change the industry beyond the crisis.
It's a storybook flat tour: you can look at different positions of the sun. View the flat from all angles and perspectives. Change materials and colours in an instant. Of course, you can't touch anything directly, because it's a virtual flat tour. Instead of walking through the flat in real life, you can move from one point to the next using a controller or by clicking the mouse.
The property industry has been dealing with this form of viewing for some time now. The exit restrictions to contain the coronavirus are not only promoting various branches of the VR entertainment industry, but are now the decisive factor for some property developers and estate agents to fully embrace them. This is because many people would actually have time to view flats now, but no longer want or are allowed to socialise with others.
A virtual flat in 24 hours
The Viennese company Squarebytes creates virtual tours of flats. There are currently a particularly large number of enquiries and orders from property developers who want to provide interested parties with digital flat tours, reports Co-Managing Director Ari Benz. For example, it is possible to view a flat that does not even exist yet using VR glasses or via streaming.
The cheapest option is 360-degree images of the flat, for which a special camera takes photos that are then stitched together. Benz reports that a flat is ready for online viewing within 24 hours - at a manageable cost in view of the sales prices realised for flats.
"We have been working with 3D tours of flats for some time now," reports residential property expert Sandra Bauernfeind from EHL Immobilien. "But now we're really pushing it." In the past, customers would have been sent a link to the virtual tour as a supplement after an analogue property viewing, says the estate agent. Today, virtual viewings play the main role.
Virtual, but with brokers
360-degree viewings are also being further expanded at estate agent Immofair. The question of whether customers will make a purchase decision solely on the basis of virtual viewings is still open. "That will also depend on how long the current restrictions last," says estate agent Bauernfeind.
But what will definitely change with virtual viewings: Ari Benz from Squarebytes believes that sellers will no longer have to answer some questions in future: "Customers will no longer have to ask about the location of the flat or the view because they will be able to see all of this for themselves." It will also be possible to play around with scaling. For example, you can zoom in on something to get a closer look. Basically, you can view 3D objects in VR from any perspective.
In theory, personal contact will only be necessary in future when the contract is signed. "And then there will be a handshake and a glass of champagne," says Benz.
Source: the Standard
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