Lately we’ve been playing with several apps that feature an “augmented reality” browser.  In particular apps such as Layar or TagWhat.  In all honesty I think there are some incredible uses for augmented reality, including some for real estate, but as a primary search tool for real estate it feels a bit awkward.  We found the standard list view or map view was much easier to use.

It reminds me of the first time I used the ”monocle” in YELP.   I was enamored the first time I saw Yelp’s augmented reality browser for businesses, but ultimately found it easier to use the list and or map view.  Yelp is actually a good example of an app that has incorporated augmented reality as a useful secondary feature and not the main function of the app.

Ultimately I think a lot of mobile real estate search tools will incorporate an augmented reality view, but apps that rely on the augmented view as the foundation of their search tool probably won’t make much of a dent in market share of real estate mobile search tools.

One drawback to the all-in-one augmented reality browsers such as Layar is that by nature of the current business model, it’s easy to switch on and off different layers.  Meaning you can switch between layers quickly.  If you don’t like the Trulia layers, you can use the Hotpads layer and so on.  For the end user this is nice, but for a real estate agent or broker, the chances of potential buyers moving quickly between their layer and the next one is high.

I don’t mean to say there won’t be some great uses for Augmented Reality in the real estate industry, and I’m sure we’ll see lots of social, or civic applications.  I’m just saying that the augmented reality view as a primary search tool probably isn’t going to make much of a splash until it matures a bit more.  But like everything, the consumer will have the last word.  I’d be interested to know what your thoughts are.