Virtual reality is a technology mentioned mostly in relation to the entertainment industry. While visiting a video game news website, a movie journal, even a mobile pokies guide over the internet, people routinely stumble upon news telling them about an innovation related to this emerging technology. Of course, virtual reality is a technology that will have the biggest impact on the world of entertainment, yet its effects on other businesses will also be felt sooner or later. Let's take a look at how the emergence of virtual reality can influence the way real estate is sold and bought.
Overcoming difficulties
What are the difficulties most cited by real estate agents? On one hand, there's the question of time management - a lot of time is often lost while going from one visit to another. Dealing with traffic and other factors out of the agents' control can make their lives miserable. On the other, there's the eternal "it doesn't look like in the pictures", invoked by many potential customers during their visit.
Adopting virtual reality can take care of both of these, saving time, and offering potential customers a realistic look at the property they might intend to buy or rent.
VR and real estate
One of the advantages of using virtual reality instead of in-person visits to the property is that they are far less time-consuming. Prospective customers can instead walk through the property either in a 360-degree video recording that will allow them to experience the environment first-hand. This might prove even more useful when it comes to properties still in construction - customers will be able to walk through a 3D rendering of the end product even before the construction teams finish their jobs. Besides, customers can even use virtual reality apps to furnish their apartments (virtually, of course) and even order the furniture and accessories they imagine in their dream home.
What are the costs?
A VR gear fit to run virtual reality games can cost a small fortune - an Oculus Rift headset, coupled with a pair of controllers, will set you back $599, plus the computer capable of running VR content will also cost around the same amount. But VR doesn't have to cost this much: Samsung's Gear and Google's Cardboard / Daydream virtual reality platforms - not to mention third party versions - cost much less and can be used with existing - compatible - smartphones.
This will be even easier to roll out for real estate agencies that already having smartphone apps. Through this, they can make their visits more efficient, and the experience of the prospective customers more immersive and meaningful, saving time both for them and their buyers.
