Reinventing the Real Estate Experience with 3D

Digitalization is a rapidly growing phenomenon across all industries. Amid the current pandemic, businesses are increasingly relying on virtual showrooms and 3D visualization for use cases ranging from eCommerce to internal design processes. 

Hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions, the real estate industry is quickly adapting by going virtual in inventive ways. In response to the many inquiries that we have received from real estate agencies in the last several months, we want to share strategies for creating a powerful real estate experience with 3D.

Real estate is not bound to in-person appointments and walkthroughs anymore. Whether you would like to share your designs online to gather feedback from your team and clients, create a configurator to customize entire homes, or give clients the opportunity to visit apartments in virtual reality, there’s a 3D solution to fit your needs.

Virtual walkthroughs with 3D models

Visualizing real estate in 3D not only helps your team of specialists gain a better understanding of a property’s layout, but it also gives your clients the unique opportunity to explore their future homes and commercial sites in a virtual walkthrough.

By leveraging 3D, you can let customers dive into virtual tours of neighborhoods, apartment complexes or individual homes right from the comfort of their homes.

Interactive touchpoints

See how Zameen showcases entire homes in 3D to their clients:

Hotspots serve as quick markers and allow customers to swiftly move from room to room.

Annotations can be used to add more information, links and videos, as well as intuitively guide people through the different areas.

Beyond their B2C uses, annotations can also be used in a B2B context to easily collaborate with contractors, architects, and interior designers to exchange feedback. 

Additionally, all models hosted on Sketchfab are explorable in Virtual Reality (VR) and in Augmented Reality (AR), allowing for even more immersiveness in your 3D experiences.

Audio for an all-around experience

Real estate agents and designers know the importance of creating a harmonious environment when preparing for in-person showings. Similarly, curated environments can be achieved in 3D on Sketchfab using life-like animations and our audio feature.

See how Agency Marta offers an interactive experience entirely in 3D with underlying ambient music:

Not only does 3D allow you to replace physical showrooms with digital tours, but you can also create entire virtual events for your clients. Find out how you can leverage 3D in your next virtual event.

Home customization with 3D configurators

Customization plays a big role in real estate. Whether it is for office space or a place to call home, envisioning the property as their own can be a hurdle for buyers. A particularly powerful tool for home customization is a 3D configurator, which lets viewers swap, adjust, or remove structural or decorative features on the fly.

Not only do clients value the ability to make real-time changes in 3D, but configurators also substantially increase inquiries and engagement with your website. Home-buyers are much more likely to buy and commit to a home that is personalized to their every need—a configurator allows them to experiment with the possibilities and be confident as they head into the purchasing process.

Scotframe leveraged Sketchfab’s Viewer API to build a consumer-facing configurator that lets you easily customize your home in 3D.

Depending on your use case, configurators can range in complexity. A simple configurator, for example, might provide for color variations for wall and flooring materials, whereas a more complex configurator could allow your customers to design their entire house with real-time pricing updates. 

Importantly, configurators built with our Sketchfab Viewer API are compatible with any device and any modern browser, ensuring an easy and hurdle-free experience for customers.

Interested in creating a 3D real estate experience?

If you are at the beginning of your 3D journey and still need to create 3D assets, reach out to one of our content creation partners.

Already have 3D models and ready to go?

Just visit our Plans page and subscribe to the Premium license.