The largest asset class in the world is poised to take a leadership role in capitalizing the use of Virtual Reality (“VR”). There has been much discussion and a great deal of excitement over the past five years about the possible applications of VR for real estate and the market potential as well as the overall market. As with many new technologies, the hype was ahead of the reality, no pun intended. However, there are signs that is starting to change, and the real estate sector is poised to help lead the way.
The application and benefits of VR since it entered the mainstream discussion approximately five years ago was apparent to people in many industries. The potential for both time and cost savings was clear. It was and is akin to the automotive industry being able to replace their old design process involving drawings, clay models and prototypes to doing it all on computer in real time.
It was clear that VR software could be a game changer for many industries, the excitement was tempered by the reality of the existing hardware’s abilities. Not many were willing to pay $3,000 for a 15-pound laptop and another $2,000 for a pair of VR goggles and still be saddled by all the wires that restricted movement, the fatigue from wearing the googles for too long or messing up your hair when you strapped on the goggles. It was not a good, friendly user experience.
Today you can get a powerful, lightweight 2-in-1 computer and goggles that deliver a great 3D experience for $1,000 or less. Even more important, particularly for real estate, is the ability to deliver a compelling VR experience on a mobile device. Most real estate professionals typically spend more time out of the office than at their deck, often with clients.
While the gaming industry is not seeing the anticipated growth in VR, other industries such as real estate are starting to. The City of New York recently announced a virtual and augmented reality lab that will have Columbia University, New York University and several other schools participating. The announcement noted the applications to various industries, including real estate.
Another recent indication of the growing impact of VR is Walmart’s announcement that it will use the technology for training employees. VR is a cost effective, low risk and safe way to provide the most realistic training possible for large retailers, franchises, security personnel, the military, construction workers or others, and something the Pix team has years of experience with.
While using cryptocurrency to buy virtual real estate may never become common, the use of VR for physical real estate is poised to accelerate. Using VR for real estate projects can save time and money, reduce risk and help increase cash flow. With the past use impediments removed and the current solutions being mobile friendly, the sentiment for using VR is growing. Our next blog will demonstrate this with the presentation of the results from the recent survey in which we partnered with CRETech.
If you want to see how VR can help you in your real estate business now, check our all-new website here.