The benefits of virtual reality systems go beyond the sales center, but are they worth the cost?
By Drew Vass | Builder
Twenty years ago, builders used to advertise a new listing with a small, pixelated photo of the home’s exterior that appeared in a black-and-white newspaper ad. Maybe they took a few interior shots, too, or paid extra for a four-color advertisement.
Thanks to the internet and digital photography, new-home marketers have much better options these days. Savvy building firms are capturing entire environments in super-high-resolution, three-dimensional, and 360-degree photographs and renderings. Viewed through virtual reality (VR) headsets, the images whisk potential buyers away to unbuilt homes and let them see all of the available options and upgrades. Others are utilizing gaming-engine software to create graphics-based, 3D models so detailed that they’re hard to distinguish from the real thing.
