Virtual reality and augmented reality are very slowly starting to enter the real estate brokerage business. In some new developments you can take a VR tour when a building is in the pre-construction phase. More often than not, a model apartment is created so that the buyer can see, and feel the touches of a new luxury apartment in Manhattan. Real estate brokerages and agents tend to be slow adopters of new technology however and as a result, very few listings even ones in the luxury and super luxury market have a VR tour which does not require technology like a viewer. You can tour the property just like you use google maps navigating through in the way that you would like. Very few listings even have a video tour. I would estimate 5-10% of all listings. Take a look at an example below of a VR tour and a video tour. One photographer said he felt that VR was a fad. I am not sure I agree as I think it is a tool that allows property to be truly showcased 24/7 and the buyer can zoom in on the details that they want to see.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
We are starting to see VR tools move into the real estate industry beginning with new developments and then filtering their way down the pipeline to your average listing. It’s interesting with all of the technology that we have at our fingertips that the average listing does not even have a video tour and the majority of the rental listing photos are taken with an smartphone. This delay in embracing new technology by the majority of the Manhattan real estate brokers is nothing new.
With international buyers searching Manhattan properties from all over the world and in many different time zones, having a video tour or 3D tour that can be navigated by the buyer (similar to Google maps) is an ideal 24 hour sales tool. Having only professional quality photos plus a 2D floor plan is akin to putting an ad in NYT and holding open houses. It might have been the tools that worked 15 years ago but times have changed.
Take a look at the video tour that was done for 189 Edgecombe avenue, a Harlem townhouse that is in contract. Video tours are an ideal way for buyers to get to know a property before they see it in person as well.
News about the NYC real estate residential and commercial markets provided and interpreted by an industry veteran licensed since 1999. Brian Silvestry of BSRG Inc. Licensed real estate broker
Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.