News

Is COVID-19 bringing virtual real estate tours into the mainstream?

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TOUR AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A virtual tour is a computer reproduction of an actual facility, such as a new office, industrial warehouse, or upscale retail experience.

New specialised cameras can capture static images as well as 360 video. These photographs and videos are then stitched together to simulate walking around an area, which may be done online via an app, browser, or virtual reality gear.

Some technologies also enable architectural blueprints to come to life even if a place hasn't been completed. Clients may take a high-resolution 3D tour of a site, complete with visuals that give navigation and extra information.

Of course, not all virtual touring tools are created equal. Three prominent choices are detailed below.

 

REALISTIC PHOTO TOUR

A virtual touring system can deliver an immersive 3D experience without the need for physical hardware ownership and operation.

Local scan technicians, who are trained and equipped to record any property in 3D, are used by companies. The user is then given the scan to utilise for their own needs.

A "play walk-through" function allows the user to examine a location in a virtual guided tour using a prepared series of scenarios.

The "dollhouse view" function generates a 3D model of the whole room, while the "floor plan" portion shows floorplans generated straight from 3D capture.

For the complete immersive experience, the tour may be seen on a phone, laptop, or through a VR headset.

WALK THROUGH virtual

These tools, which were created with the test-fitting process in mind, allow a team to build and exchange floorplans for individual tenants in real time, giving them a real-time view at important decision criteria like head count and available space.

With a single click, a test-fit may be turned into a 3D experience.

Clients may take a 3D tour of a location, which includes precise panoramic outside views and personalised design themes.

COMMERCIALS AND GUIDED TOURS

Videos that show off a room in unusual and entertaining ways may bring a site to life.

Everything from brief testimonial films with animated graphics to full-fledged site marketing productions are available for narrative and placemaking.

CBRE IS SETTING THE STAGE

CBRE recognises the significance of offering our customers with the most up-to-date property technologies available.

Get in contact with us right now to see how these technologies may help you get an advantage and remain ahead of the competition.

What You Need To Know About Showing Your House During COVID-19

The housing sector in the United States, probably more than any other industry in the epidemic, resisted fears of a meltdown and instead surged in 2020–2021, propelled by record low loan rates, great demand, and short inventory. Many homeowners have opted to keep their houses rather than sell them for a higher price, preferring to stay there and ride out the epidemic in familiar surroundings.

As we begin a new year, it's a good idea to assess the impact of the epidemic on small-scale real estate activities. That entails thinking about the mechanics and bolts of current best practises for selling, showing, and buying a house.

Read also: How COVID is slowly killing the open house

What Should Sellers Consider Before Putting Their House On The Market?

Many individuals have chosen to limit the number of visits to their houses because they are afraid of infection, especially if they are still living there. Many realtors have been instructed to schedule showings solely with preapproved customers via appointment.

Agents are doing everything they can to ensure that the concerns of sellers are handled. Lisa Alexander, president of Del-Co Realty and regional vice president of the SC Association of REALTORS®, adds, "We are taking efforts to ensure our buyers and sellers feel safe." "To assist ease worry, our merchants are giving supplies (gloves, hand sanitizer, and paper towels)."

Is It Possible To Solve The Problem With Technology?

For the benefit of sellers and their agents
Purchasing a home is one of life's most significant transactions. Because most purchasers prefer to visit a property in person rather than just looking at it online, the real estate business has been slower to adapt than others.

To sell their houses, real estate brokers have long used social media, online photos, and virtual tours. Agents may present virtual showings to their entire social network using photo/video platforms like Instagram, Periscope, and Facebook Live to generate new leads.

"Even before COVID-19, social media was a big part of how we got listings to buyers," explains Ryan Tombul, a REALTOR® in Nashville. "Social media doubles as a free marketing route for agents, allowing them to augment visibility for listings outside their own personal network."

Buyers' Agents and Buyers' Agents

For years, buyers and tyre kickers alike have spent endless hours looking at internet postings, but relatively few property purchasers have solely depended on them to make buying choices. That has changed, however, because to pandemic restrictions, the increased adoption of remote work, the high demand for housing, and the limited supply of available housing.

Many purchasers hardly have an opportunity to organise an internet tour through their real estate agent, let alone view the property in person, due to the pandemic housing market. In the midst of bidding wars, buyers are in a frenetic hurry to get their most appealing offers in front of sellers, not a leisurely tour around multiple properties before making a careful selection. In these circumstances, the pandemic is the least of their worries.

As a result, buyers are increasingly bidding on properties based on what they see online. Some real estate transactions are completed entirely online.

Taking virtual tours to the next level

Virtual tours, which have their origins in the computer gaming business, are evolving at a rapid rate, much like more complex video games.

Lessons are swiftly being drawn from other industries, such as the residential sector's increased usage of 3D and VR headsets to assist visualise internal rooms and the surrounding region.

"The next stage will be to look at how current technologies can be used to include facts and data into the virtual walk-through," Edds explains. "New technologies are always being developed, and as technology progresses, so should their integration into real estate decision-making timelines." The current three-to-six-month procedure might be cut in half."

For example, JLL's NXT suite employs machine learning algorithms, data visualisation technologies, and real-time video to help investors and occupiers locate and learn more about properties that fulfil their specific requirements in real time. It can speed up the process and is also more long-term than site visits.

Sandrine Garofalo, NXT support partner lead at JLL in Paris, adds, "It's this sort of creative technology that will move the market ahead, support clients in their strategic decision-making, and help to increase transparency."

Other technological technologies allow investors and occupiers to have a closer look at structures. When surveying and analysing property, laser-based instruments such as LIDAR, which operates in a similar way to facial recognition software, might become increasingly popular.