Why VR and AR may become standard terms for real estate agents

The importance of effective listings is highlighted by a new report which shows that 1 in 5 homebuyers bought their home without physically walking through the property before deciding it was ‘the one’.

While that may be a risky strategy and most buyers still want to go inside their potential purchase, online listings do play an increasingly prominent role with almost three quarters saying that they toured or viewed images online before deciding which homes to physically visit.

The survey also reveals that 60% of respondents said they prefer to see homes furnished and professionally staged, or both furnished and empty, before making a purchase or signing a lease.

When moving into a new space, 65.4% of respondents said their top pain points included the stress of buying new furniture at once, shopping for furniture or designing their homes and finding furnishings to match their existing pieces.

The study was carried out by roOomy, a virtual staging and 3D modeling company which has just launched custom augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tools for the real estate industry. The technologies allow for enhanced live views or an immersive digital experience.

“We’re enabling our Real Estate partners to transform the home buying and renting processes with the development of custom apps that allows users, both agents and home seekers, to take control of how they visualize a new space. In this digital era, consumers expect to use advanced technology regularly, including when considering one of the biggest purchases of their lives – a home,” said Pieter Aarts, CEO of roOomy.

Sothebys International adopts AR
Sotheby’s International Realty has launched an AR app called Curate, which it says has empowered agents and consumers to virtually stage properties and view them with AR technology.

Nick Church, Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty sales associate says it adds an extra tool to win business.

“The seller felt confident in my ability to use the latest technology to sell the home,” he said.