Written by Rahul Agrawal
Immersive digital experiences are quickly paving their way into every sector. Research from Goldman Sachs estimates that the market for virtual reality, in real estate alone, might rise to $2.60 billion by 2025.
People love imagining supplemental, non-present realities, especially in games, healthcare, retail, defense, education, entertainment, etc. Consequently, these sectors are some of the early adopters of VR.
You can credit this dramatic rise of virtual reality in real estate to the various benefits it offers. Here is how virtual reality will change the real estate industry –
Photorealistic Virtual Tours will Become the New Normal
The most prominent effect of VR in real estate is the opportunity to experience 360 virtual tours. Gone are the days when your clients had to visit the listing in person to understand the layout. Now all they need is a suitable VR headset. The VR film will allow them to get a physical feel of the listing while creating an emotional bond. Visitors can understand the dimensions and appropriate measurements of the space using the additional layer of depth. Consequently, this will save you a lot of time and even help streamline your sales process.
Virtual Staging
A report by the National Association of Real estate agents found that 77% of real estate agents prefer staging to help buyers associate with their future homes. But buying and adding the furniture to make the place look homely requires a heavy investment. Thanks to the wonders of real estate virtual staging, you can now broaden your horizons of helping your clients connect better with the listing in the first go with minimal investment on your part.
Virtual-Commerce is the Next Big Thing
With his fantastic idea, you can use your virtual staging using AR for integrated selling of the staged furniture. By adding a purchase option or the address of an online store into your VR film, you can guide your clients to easily customize the listing and view it with a different set of furniture or lightings to create a lasting impression. Such interactive experiences enable your buyers to imagine what their new home will look like later on.
Sight-unseen is Getting Increasingly Popular
More and more people are ready to make a bid on properties they haven’t seen. A recent study by Redfin found that a third of homebuyers have made an offer on a listing sight-unseen. Even clients living abroad can effectively have a look and feel of the listing by using AR. And virtually staging the listing helps sell a sight-unseen.
Bottlenecks in Communication to Diminish
Buyers have every right to seek clarifications about the listing for their satisfaction. Agents can leverage VR with an instructional and accessible video library for the same. Cranky tenants and tired landlords will take leave when VR can automatically answer all the questions. That is especially helpful in the case of short-term vacation rentals.
Why implement virtual reality into your real estate business?
#1 Saves Time and Money – As explained above, VR in real estate can do away with the need to visit the listing. Additionally, virtual staging can help your clients visualize their home without you having to pay a lot of money for it. By relying on this technology, you’ll be saving both your and your buyers’ time and cost.
#2 Builds Emotional Connections – Since the virtual tours can be easily customized to suit the clients’ needs, it entails a sense of belonging with the listing and successfully births an emotional connection. Some interactive tools you can consider are a mortgage calculator, neighborhood descriptions, etc.
#3 Offers Global Reach – Well, enabling the accessibility of your video library to anyone searching for a listing will get you more eyeballs across the globe. Like Mentioned previously, VR is making sight-unseen sales more and more popular.
Hopefully, this article has provided enough insights for you to make a decision about VR for your real estate business. It is time to make the leap into digitalization and use it smartly to improve your reach and productivity, even if you only start with the 360 virtual tours. Just get in the game!
About Rahul Agrawal:
Rahul Agarwal is the Co-founder & Chief Business Officer at Styldod, where he has taught a computer to do interior design! Styldod provides the most hassle-free & inexpensive virtual staging solutions for real estate agents so they can sell their listings faster, and for higher prices. Rahul was also a co-founder of Mebelkart. He’s your everyday IIT Kanpur nerd who pushes the boundaries with his innovative entrepreneurial stints and is also a sound startup investor & advisor. Rahul attributes his success as a professional to the discipline he has learned from his district hockey days, being a swimmer and a gym enthusiast.
