Is VR the Future of Real Estate?

Looking to get ahead of the competition in real estate? VR is your answer.

The real estate game is constantly evolving. Especially with the advent of new technology that can be applied to a variety of industries, there’s never been a better time to get ahead of the curb and innovate. 

We’ve already seen the use of drone technology change the real estate game in many ways. From aerial views to virtual tours, drones have revolutionized real estate. But virtual technology is right around the corner as well. 

Virtual technology allows for a much more immersive experience and can be used for a dazzling, comprehensive tour through a home and its property. So if you’re in real estate and looking for new ways to get ahead of your competition, let’s take a look at VR and see if it really is the future of real estate. 

1. Experience real estate in a new light

We’ve had the ability to take high-quality photos and even camera footage with drones for a while now. And, while these two new additions to the real estate game have already changed it in a huge way, there’s more change yet to come. VR real estate marketing, meeting, and touring is now possible and will become much more prominent in the real estate game than it already is. Remote viewing a home before you even drive there is preferable for a number of reasons. First, you can get the opportunity to experience the home as authentically as possible without actually going there. This allows you to inspect minute details such as whether the kitchen has faux wood floors or real wood. It also allows you to tour outside the home and around the property.

Using a VR headset with controllers (Source)

Touring the exterior of a home through a VR headset affords you the opportunity to not only check out the yard and surrounding landscape but also lets you check for many smaller details that might be important to you, such as whether the garage has garage door window inserts.

All of these seemingly insignificant details were previously left unknown to a buyer until they actually showed up in person and toured the home. Now, you can effectively inspect a home from top to bottom without even seeing it in real life. 

Not only does this give the potential buyer the opportunity to pass on homes from a distance, it also allows them to experience potential homes from a new light and might convince them to take a real-life tour of a home they might’ve passed on without a VR viewing experience. 

2. Tour homes before they’re finished

Touring a condo using virtual reality (Source)

Say there’s some new construction going on, and you’re interested in moving to a neighborhood that’s still in development. Before VR, you would’ve had to wait until the homes were fully finished before getting to tour them. But now, with VR, real estate companies can send a cameraperson through the home as it’s still in construction to give you a preliminary view of what’s to come. 

Being able to virtually tour a home that’s still in construction can be a unique and exciting experience for someone who is prepared to purchase a brand new home as opposed to buying one that’s already been lived in. 

VR aids in the construction of homes

For companies who are building homes and selling them as well, VR can greatly aid in the construction of these homes. For instance, instead of having to work off blueprints and computer images, project managers can use VR to walk through a home before it’s built. Doing so will allow them to more easily envision the project as it’s coming along and allow them to move things along at a quicker pace. 

3. Speed up the process with VR

VR real estate tech makes things easier for everyone. Not just buyers and sellers, but agents, investors, and companies as well. Because VR is a remote viewing experience, people can use it from their living room couch. 

Not having to prepare in any way to view a home allows you to tour many more homes than you normally would’ve been able to in real life, and it gives you a much clearer picture of what the home is like than videos or photos can. 

As the buyer demographic slowly shifts to one that’s more in tune with technology, VR real estate marketing will become commonplace. However, it’s so simple to set up and use that even those less inclined toward technology can take advantage of it, meaning that the opportunity to benefit from this new technology is right here and now. 

Additionally, by adding VR real estate tours to your marketing efforts, you can cut back a bit in other areas. Newspaper ads, postcards, flyers, local business advertising, webinars, and other traditional methods of real estate marketing may not be necessary once you implement an attractive VR tour to your homes. This allows you to save time and money without sacrificing the efficacy of your marketing strategy. 

Also, with concerns about COVID-19 still being very prevalent, using VR real estate tours is the best way to get an immersive experience without having to put yourself at risk of contamination. As we’re primed to move into a much more cautious and hygienic world, this is critical to maximizing your reach in real estate. 

4. The time to invest in VR is now

As with any new product, technology, or strategy, you only have to follow the money to see how popular it is. And right now, investors are pouring a ton of money into VR real estate technology.

VR in real estate is estimated to be worth about 2.6 billion dollars by the year 2025. With the amount of time and money you can save by implementing VR anywhere in the real estate industry, it’s safe to say you should give it some thought.

Using a VR headset (Source)

Whether you’re a real estate agent for a small town or the owner of a big real estate company that builds and markets dozens of properties, VR can and should have a big impact on your business moving forward. And, as with all exciting new innovations, the time to get on board is right now, before your competition does. Start offering VR tours for your real estate properties, and get a head start on the future of real estate.