In the age of pandemic, the world has gone digital, remote and virtual. One of the industries to truly embrace this has been the real estate sector. Virtual reality and augmented reality are being adopted at an increasing rate and have transformed the experience for both buyers and sellers. As technology continues evolving, the sky is the limit for what it can do.
AR and VR get often grouped together, but they are two slightly distinct concepts. Whilst augmented reality lays items on top of the physical environment through a camera phone, virtual reality lets people roam in advanced computer-generated worlds.
The latter has obvious benefits for the real estate sector. Even before the arrival of the pandemic, companies were using VR to conduct virtual tours of the property. By logging into websites, people could scroll around a location and view the property from any angle they liked. From 2D experiences through the computer to ultra-high-definition immersive visuals, the development of VR headsets has allowed people to step inside a room and take a walk around, with an experience becoming closer and closer to reality.
For real estate developers, the approach also makes financial sense. They can lower the cost of viewings and see more potential buyers within a day.
Additionally, VR offers exciting opportunities for the holiday market. Rather than relying on the pictures on the website when renting a villa, you can plug into virtual reality and put yourself right in the location. It gives you a much greater sense of what it will be like to be there.
Virtual reality is also making waves in the growing self-build market. Due to the high price of the property, many people find buying land and building a property a more profitable alternative. However, this comes with the rather obvious catch that it will be challenging to get a good idea of what it will look like before construction is complete. With virtual reality, developers can transform the plans into 3D models. It helps during the design process and enables new owners to have a much better idea of what the house will be like to live in.
Augmented reality, meanwhile, is creating a host of new opportunities. By overlaying digital images through a mobile device, users can experiment with different room layouts. They can go to an online store, click on items and see what they might look like in the room.
The possibilities become endless. As technologies evolve, they become even more immersive and realistic. In a highly competitive environment, they give companies a chance to stand out from the competition. They also can provide customers with an experience they have not had before and help them interact with properties in a completely different way.
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