The virtual reality (VR) infiltration of industries everywhere isn’t over yet, far from it. The power of VR and augmented reality (AR) allows users to view places they’ve never been, and adjust or visualise things in the real world. So naturally, it’s a great fit for the real estate industry, where buyers are eager to see their homes before they buy them.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate has performed an online poll with over 3,000 US adults participating, and the results suggest that Americans are eager to try VR in order to view and visualise prospective houses or property.
VR house tours are almost as in demand as traditional video tours according to the results, with 84% interested in a video tour of homes, and 77% interested in a VR tour.
Americans have also stated interest in being able to use VR or AR to visualise furniture in a home, so they can see if their current suite suits the décor of their new place. 68% think it would be helpful to have that kind of foresight.
62% meanwhile stated they would be more likely to use a real estate agent that provides VR house tours that buyers can view on their computer or smartphone.
It’s natural that Americans and people all over the world are opening up to the new technology. 32% of Americans have smart home products in their houses, up a third from the previous year. 42% of Americans are also interested in seeing how smart products could help or impact the sale of their home.
Buyers are also interested in homes that come with smart products already installed;
- Smart thermostat (77%)
- Smart fire detector (75%)
- Smart carbon monoxide detector (70%)
- Smart camera (66%)
- Smart lock (63%)
- Smart lighting system (63%)
Charlie Young is president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, and he believes they are at the forefront of smart homes; “Our consumer findings underscore the need for industry-wide smart home education for real estate sales agents. As the smart home leader in real estate, Coldwell Banker is at the forefront of this trend. We were the first to offer a smart home certification and definition of a smart home which positions our network of brokers and agents to deliver a competitive advantage for their customers in an ever-changing market.”
Coldwell Banker Real Estate were at CES 2018, Las Vegas, for a third consecutive year showing off their smart homes and the technology within them.
Would you be more interested in a house you can tour in VR? Let us know, and for everything on VR keep reading VRFocus.