Standard virtual tours are now longer enough in an age in which technology is making everything better and more readily accessible. A real estate firm based in Greensboro is now tapping into this trend to revolutionize the way in which homes are sold. Total Care Realty, launched by a former Coldwell Banker broker, has invested heavily in 3D technology to provide buyers with one of the most innovative and high-definition virtual reality home walkthroughs yet.

The Difference Between True Virtual Tours and Traditional Virtual Tours

While most other home tours feature pictures or perhaps a video or slideshow, Total Care Realty is taking things a step further. What buyers see and when they see it when viewing traditional virtual tours is typically controlled by the person with the camera. In most instances, this results in a virtual tour that features nothing more than the photos the buyer has already viewed on the listing. The 3D scans offered by Total Care Realty allow buyers to determine where they wish to walk and what they want to see in a home, virtually. For instance, buyers can choose to approach a window to see the view or zoom in on particular areas of a home.

To date, the company has used the equipment to scan about two dozen homes in the Triad area, and those tours are now available on the company’s website. When designing tours, a focus is placed on what buyers would like to view, and those areas are scanned in order to provide the most realistic virtual tour possible. Although the process for scanning an entire home can be time-consuming, especially for larger properties, the ability to provide such a realistic virtual tour can provide real estate firms like Total Care Realty with a strong competitive advantage.

The new and improved tours hold particular appeal for out-of-town buyers, who may be interested in viewing listings but may not have the time to travel to the area to tour multiple homes in person.

Home Tours Could Become Even More Immersive in the Future

New updates could soon allow prospective buyers to do even more, including change the color of a room or measure walls to better visualize whether a home might be the right fit for his or her needs and personal tastes. The inclusion of a virtual reality headset in the future would also give buyers the opportunity to sit in the firm’s office and become fully immersed in a true 3D virtual reality tour of listed properties.

According to the firm’s founder, the technology is based on a Matterport 3D camera. The scanner features six camera eyes along with three laser eyes. Matterport software is used for building 3D models.

With more technology emerging, the real estate space has become increasingly competitive over a short period of time. As that trend continues, real estate firms may find they have little choice but to invest in such technology in order to remain competitive and relevant.