Three Ways the Real Estate Industry Can Utilize WebVR
Though WebVR has only been around for a relatively short time, the technology has gained popularity through the promise of inclusivity and use of web browsers rather than expensive head mounted displays (HMDs). One of the companies leading the WebVR frontier is Vizor, a unique and powerful content creation platform. Vizor’s mission is to help build a more immersive web by allowing businesses and creators to produce engaging VR content. Along with content creation, WebVR opens the door for many industries to experiment with how they market and advertise products. Real estate is an industry not often thought of in conjunction with WebVR/VR, but it actually benefits a great deal from the rise in popularity of WebVR. Here are a few examples of how WebVR is making an impact:
- Virtual Open Houses
With the help of WebVR, real estate agents can now host guided property tours to entice interested buyers virtually. There are many advantages to using this technology to show houses; the most important being that it affords buyers peace of mind that the house does look like the pictures. Incorporating WebVR into the open houses also lets potential buyers schedule more tours within their day as they do not have to drive across town to different locations. The properties they’re interested in easily available through any web browser in full 360-degree view. In addition, WebVR allows people to view houses and properties in other states and countries that they might not have been able to see due to distance. The virtual visits can be embedded on the real-estate portal of their choice, allowing customers to do the open house from the comfort of their own sofa.
- Visualize Space
When touring an open house, the property is either staged with furniture to give the rooms a fuller, cozier feel or completely empty to give the buyer a sense of the property’s size and space. In both circumstances, it can be difficult to visualize how the space will look with specific furnishings including bigger items like bed, couches and fridges. While taking a virtual tour of the house or property with WebVR, users are now able to see what their future home would look like personalized the way they want it. This new addition revolutionizes how people will view open houses. With the ability to customize the space while viewing it, users will have more of a sense of what they are looking for in a property regarding size, style and shape. Being on the web means that the customized space can be saved into the cloud for future reference, or for sending to friends and family for comments.
- Under Construction
Through the use of WebVR, properties under construction can now be seen in completed form. Buyers, investors or anyone who is renovating can walk-through a property before it’s finished to see what the finished project will look like. This will make construction and renovations go smoother because the architect and construction company are both able to easily see what the vision is for the finished property, inside and out. One of the most popular users of Vizor are architects who are sending WebVR images of their designs by e-mail to clients. The cross-platform nature of WebVR allows the client to view the design in full 360-degree on their phones or computers. Construction companies are already starting to embed virtual visits made from these photorealistic architectural renderings of future properties right onto their webpages and Facebook feeds.
Real estate agents also benefit from this by being able to show off the unfinished building via virtual walk-throughs. Potential investors and buyers can personalize the space during the virtual tour, allowing for more customization and freedom. Making changes to an architectural/style design is easier through WebVR as well with the personalization aspect of the technology.
Though people think WebVR/VR is synonymous with gaming or strictly used in the technology field, there are many industries that are breaking into the WebVR space. The real estate field is utilizing WebVR/VR to make properties easier to access through virtual tours as well as letting users personalize the space in order to get a better feel of what they are buying before making an offer. WebVR also allows for inclusive sharability among users especially on social media. Real estate agents can use social media to spread the word regarding open houses, properties that are for sale and properties that may not be able to be accessed due to construction. Due to the inclusiveness of WebVR, anyone with access to internet browsers will be able to see the product and will be able to share with potential buyers they know are interested. Real estate is only one of many industries taking advantage of the new technology that is WebVR. In the near future, we will see some form of virtual reality incorporated within most relevant industries.
About Kaarlo Kananen, CEO and Co-Founder of Vizor
Kaarlo Kananen is the CEO and co-founder of Vizor, a pioneering virtual reality software company. He currently leads Vizor’s strategic vision, builds the culture, provides proper resources and oversees the company’s overall performance. An avid influencer in the gaming industry, Kaarlo has over 16 years of gaming and over three decades of visual effects software development experience including programming, software architecture, team and project management. Additionally, Kaarlo specializes in real-time graphics, engine architecture, performance and memory optimization.
Prior to Vizor, Kaarlo lead an engineering team for Nuke, a leading visual effects compositing software at The Foundry in London. Prior to Nuke, Kaarlo worked in the gaming industry at powerhouses such as Housemarque, NAMCO BANDAI and Codemasters, working on both development and management on mobile, PC and console games.
Kaarlo’s career was kickstarted in the mid-90s at PC Demoscene, a computer underground subculture, where he created demos and real-time art pieces that gave him an artistic eye for design.
