The UK housing market is busier than it has been in ten years, with government incentives such as the recent stamp duty holiday, low interest rates and an increase in deposit savings after the lockdowns causing a surge. UK house prices rose 13.4 percent in the year to June, the fastest pace since November 2004, as buyers look for bigger homes and gardens following broader lifestyle shifts and demand due to the pandemic.
With increased competition in the property market and houses selling fast, more and more buyers are now buying homes without even viewing them – or not in person at least. The property market is increasingly willing to adopt innovative technology like AI, VR and digital twins, enabling the rise of virtual viewings.
A global shift toward digital
Where traditional, in-person practices for property viewings have been curtailed, the digitisation of property has accelerated in every aspect. Through the rise of PropTech, the ability to show listings in new ways enables buyers to visualise environments they have yet to experience in person, providing a more authentic viewing experience, more conveniently. As a result, buyers are increasingly purchasing homes without ever stepping foot in them physically.
With the advance of PropTech, we’re now seeing the real estate industry embrace digital like never before. Remote property investments are being facilitated by companies that offer set-up and asset management using just the smartphone in their pocket. Paper property logbooks are becoming available in a digital format that provides upfront sales information with just a few clicks. Face-to-face appointments are being replaced with remote meetings to adapt to the changing preferences and needs of consumers and businesses alike. Some companies have even gone as far as facilitating online, live-streamed auctions to seal property deals.
Digital twins: a new way for viewing property
Today, PropTech can help estate agents and new build developers to create immersive 3D digital twins for back-to-work planning, listing or appraising properties, documenting makeover projects and more, fuelling the industry’s digital transformation.
Using digital twin technology, estate agents enable prospective buyers to more effectively search for their dream property. For estate agents who aren’t yet creating 3D listing experiences, now is the time to start, as property sentiment trackers indicate a surge in demand. For example, Rightmove, one of the UK’s leading online property portals, has more than 10,000 property listings that feature virtual viewings. According to Matterport research, 74 percent of agents win more listings this way, while 95 percent of people are more likely to enquire about properties with 3D virtual viewings.
Using digital twin technology starts with the click of a button: whether booking trained technicians with specialist cameras, using compatible cameras, or even just opening a mobile phone app, estate agents can create a digital replica of a property with ease, including small rooms or hard-to-access spaces. These replicas can then be adapted into an interactive 3D model that provides a virtual, immersive experience of a property for potential buyers. Estate agents can embed these listings on their websites or share clips on social media to encourage viewings. They can also use digital twins to increase commission, enquiries, encourage qualified leads, accelerate sales, reduce unnecessary viewings and improve Google rankings.
For prospective buyers and tenants, the experience is simple: they drop into the 3D property experience where they can click to explore any room, view each space from multiple different angles, including a floor plan view or zoomed-out dollhouse view. Tags can also be added to identify individual features of the property such as granite kitchen work tops or integrated ovens, all of which saves estate agents valuable time.
Future-proofing real estate with PropTech
Despite the prolonged effects of the pandemic, it will eventually recede. The property market is resilient, and like many industries has learned to adapt and prosper within this new normal by embracing innovation and emerging technologies. The phenomenon that is 3D is only set to increase within the property industry, and successful agents will be those who capitalise on the benefits of offering 3D virtual viewings, which increasingly outweigh those gained from traditional, in-person viewings.
While the past 18 months has created challenges and unexpected obstacles for estate agents, it has also created new opportunities to leverage PropTech in a way that better supports buyers. As estate agents continue to shift towards remote viewings and utilising digital to improve the way their business is run, the rise of 3D digital twin technology will enable them tap into a rich data layer for greater insight on their listings, and improved engagement with prospective buyers.
