Whatshot
Property Talk
Property Talk
Date: 2018-10-12
Sales Tool in Property Industry
The impact of technology on the real estate industry has been debated for some time with a host of divergent views expressed over the years ranging from virtual agents replacing actual estate agents, or aggregated websites becoming vertically integrated and taking over the industry, to low cost low service disruptors hoping to sell property without actually negotiating the outcome.
The trends that have emerged do point to some key insights and rather than technology replacing estate agents, indicates that it places in the hands of astute agents certain tools that significantly enhance the entire property search and viewing experience.
The demise of print media as a tool for showcasing property has begun to accelerate and the disappearance of newspapers and weekly or monthly printed material as a place where residential real estate is showcased is possibly going to be complete sooner rather than later.
We live in a digital world and for those that are slow to embrace this fact and actively use the amazing tools it presents, will become extinct and irrelevant far quicker than anticipated only a few years ago.
Although aggregated websites have an important role to play within our industry in creating the platform where many properties can be showcased and conveniently searched for, the process following lead generation in terms of speed of response and engagement with the prospective buyer lies firmly in the hands of the respective agents. Having a large number of gated estates within our greater Ballito/Dolphin Coast area the traditional Show Day method of exposing a property is compromised to a large extent and raises some interesting questions around the accessibility by prospective purchasers to view a property.
The experience and engagement by a purchaser with any given agents online listing, currently ranges from extremely poor to excellent. There is a relatively new product in the market that I believe has the potential to be a game changer and create as a standard which only some of the very best agents are currently doing to showcase a property.
This is the Matterport Spaces system, which is a genius 3D representation of a physical space using their bespoke camera and software to easily scan and generate the imagery. It removes almost all of the manual manipulation required by earlier 3D solutions and is outstandingly simple and elegant in its application. It is made for integration across social media platforms and the amazing HD camera is good enough to generate crystal clear still images for use in printed marketing material.
A tool such as this has the potential to change the way in which real estate is showcased. The camera integrates seamlessly via Bluetooth with an iPad - similar in the way a drone can be controlled using an iPad - and then the scanning process completed by somebody with only basic technical knowledge. To some extent it may remove the requirement for a professional photographer.
Although the costing is in US dollars starting at around US$2,500 the results are impressive enough for many of the more successful estate agencies to take note and start experimenting with this technology.
We at Seeff are always actively engaging with new technologies and innovative ways of showcasing properties to make the entire experience better, safer, easier or more enjoyable for both buyers and sellers. Matterport Spaces is a technology to watch.