Real Estates New Dimension
I
Top Producers
Gilroy Office, 2015
Marta Dinsmore, Realtor GRI
Intero Real Estate Services
DinsmoreThePowerOfTwo.com
408.840.7420
magine touring a home in Los Angeles and
walking through the fl oorplan to come
to the realization that this is the home
of your dreams. The spacious living room,
open kitchen, and modern style are exactly
the features that you have been looking for.
As you take off the virtual reality headset in a
REALTOR®’s offi ce here in South County, you
tell them you’d like to put in an offer. It may
seem like something a few years off, but it’s
closer than
you think.
The way we experience
home buying is changing
rapidly. While virtual reality
is not something new per
se, it has for the most part
been reserved to the realm of
gaming and entertainment.
The idea of virtual reality
integrating into the public’s
daily lives is new and a little
overwhelming, but the past
year has seen significant launches in access
to such experiences. Like any technology, its
success is driven by relevance, simplicity, and
frequency of use. With companies like Google
providing tools at relatively low cost solutions
— albeit limited in function—to build virtual
reality experiences, it is expected that virtual
reality will become more mainstream in the
next few years. In short, virtual reality is
about to do for real estate what video and
photography did to change the landscape of
home buying.
Sotheby’s International Realty is tak-
ing a different approach to the power of
virtual reality. Joe Cilic, brokerage manager of
Sotheby’s International Realty in Brentwood,
Calif., sees a more practical side of virtual
reality. He and many other agents are finding
it especially convenient for tenant occupied
properties or properties where the seller
doesn’t want to be disturbed. It doesn’t end
there either.
“Virtual reality can give a client a better
sense of the flow of the home, and where
rooms are in relation to each other,” explained
Cilic. “So many clients need multiple visits to
a home to remember the layout, but virtual
reality allows clients to immerse themselves
in the home at their convenience whenever
they want without being rushed through a
showing.” This is especially important for
real estate agents who showcase listings all
over the world, and are now able to intrigue
high-end clientele with virtual tours. These
clients previously needed to travel overseas to
tour a property, but are now able to use new
technology to give them greater confidence
that the trip will be worth their while (and
some investors might even elect to buy based
on their virtual tours).
Cilic remembers the beginning stages
of virtual reality in the real estate industry.
“Agents were capturing virtual reality footage
using multiple GoPro cameras literally taped
on a pole,” Cilic said. Now professional 360
degree mounts for GoPro exist, allowing
virtual reality to be captured in a slightly
more seamless way. That’s when price comes
into play—currently the biggest roadblock to
mass adoption.
The price to produce a virtual reality tour
requires agents to be selective in when they
use the technology. Starting at $4,500, the
Matterport system, akin to the Rolls-Royce
of virtual reality equipment, is not cheap
and requires a significant investment for real
estate agents. That’s just to create a virtual
reality experience, next is allowing clients
to view it. Virtual reality viewers range from
Samsung’s $99 headset to the $599 Oculus
Rift. Since many home buyers come in pairs,
REALTORS® would need to invest in three
devices in order to give a proper tour.
Price isn’t everything though, especially
when considering the technical savviness
required to build and to showcase tours.
Companies like Matterport have invested
significantly to ensure that their product is as
user friendly as possible. “Watch a five-minute
video, keep the documentation handy, and
REALTORS® will be ready to capture a space,”
said Bill Brown, CEO of Matterport, about how
to use the technology.
DRE #01352339
Sean Dinsmore, Realtor
Intero Real Estate Services
DinsmoreThePowerOfTwo.com
408.840.7327
DRE #01966405
22
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
June
Closed Sales
Average List Price
Average Sales Price
Average Days on Market
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
59
$734K
$732K
37
gmhtoday.com
July
52
$744K
$740K
34