3-D & Sotheby’s. Do Consumers Care?
Sotheby’s supports 3-D (Inman paywall article).
That’s cool; some buyers will certainly get value from them.
Zillow actually did this last year.
Even if Sotheby’s did beat the big boys to the punch, the reality is it doesn’t really matter. If it gets great consumer pick up, Zillow / Realtor.com will (re-)implement in 6 months (and probably do it better), and put 20x (more than that, realistically) the consumer eyes on 3-D tours within a month. I assure you, if 3-D was near or at the top of buyer wish lists — it would be implemented on all the major portals in a big way.
I do realize Sotheby’s is on the luxury side, and this is likely a value for attracting sellers more than it is buyers.
I’ve seen dozens and dozens of products/startups in the augmented reality, virtual tour, 3-D, VR, and video listing realm over the past ten years. The tech has always been cool, but nothing has broken through from “nice to have” for buyers to “must have”. I’ve long been convinced none of these technologies really matter until 3-D/VR (or something else) replaces the need to actually walk through a home. I don’t think we’re there yet, especially given the majority of home buyers buy local — and can easily go look at a house in person instead of needing to rely on fancy technology/imagery.
For buyers, 3-D is a nice to have. Not a must have.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 18:00h, 10 OctoberI think this is more for sellers than buyers. For buyers large, clear photos are much easier to digest and do not take so much work to view. These 3D models take a lot of time to go through if you really want to get a feel for the house.
I believe buyers find the photos enough to decide if they want to see it in person.
We offered for a while as an option and found even our sellers did not care about it that much. However, they are concerned about quality photos.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 22:24h, 10 OctoberAgreed, definitely a sellers offering.
Sep Niakan
Posted at 08:40h, 11 OctoberI agree across the board. It’s too much of a hassle to download, you might need equipment to use, etc. It’s a gimmick for now for the most part, but I do believe in the upper echelons there are those buyers that buy properties all over the world sight unseen, and this would assist in making those purchases more comfortable for them.
Maine Home Connection
Posted at 11:22h, 11 OctoberThere is no big request by sellers for 3D video – and lets stop calling it video – it is not. What is so overlooked in the media are agents and brokerage who are actually producing real video of homes and communities that allow for a more thoughtful presentation of properties. This is a gimmick by Sotherbys and of course just more page clicks for Inman.
As an alternative that could really benefit both sellers and buyers ………… improve your photography!!!! Why do seller continue to hire brokers who can’t do this simple thing correctly?
rolandestrada
Posted at 09:51h, 09 NovemberI’ve commented on this at Inman and got some flack. This isn’t going anywhere. The viewing inelegant and clunky. There is no beauty to it the way there is with photos (properly taken) or video. It doesn’t build emotion.
I take my own HDR photos because I’m geeky that way. I can make a dump look good, and I have. If you take the right photos and enough of them, you can walk someone through a house. The key is arranging the photos in the right order. I see professional photos where the agent has them arranged a haphazard way. It takes effort to properly present a house in photos. When done correctly the result is wonderful.
As is also mentioned, it takes to much time to wander through a house in comparison to viewing photos.