The Complete Guide To Real Estate Virtual Reality For The Modern Agent

Inman has announced the lineup for Inman Connect 2017 and the panel schedule is incredible.

Scrolling through the opening day’s agenda, this session caught my eye.

How many of you have though about virtual reality and technologies this year?

Yeah, it hasn’t been front of mind for us either.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take some time to explore it before the new year.

So today we’re going to talk about what we do know about the latest developments in virtual reality and what this futuristic trend means for you, the modern agent.

Let’s dive in.

The National Association of Realtors recently published this bar graph.

In the year 2015, nearly 90% of all buyers used an agent to purchase their home.

Even with the leaps and bounds at which the tech industry is evolving, one thing’s for certain.

The real estate agent will never be obsolete.

Think about it.

Buying or selling a home is a massive, life-changing event.

And with so much information available, people are actually more likely now more than ever to need an expert to help them work through these processes.

This should empower you.

Where does virtually reality come into play?

It’s just an example of yet another tool that you can take advantage of.

Let’s quickly look at the history of virtual reality and how it applies to realty.

A Brief History

It’s not like this is a new concept.

However, Facebook is revolutionizing the way we use VR today.

In 2014 Facebook acquired a company a virtual reality company called Oculus for $2 billion.

Oculus is most recognized now for the virtual reality headsets they make, especially the Oculus Rift gaming set that was released in March of this year.

Zuckerberg has big, make that HUGE, plans for Oculus and intends on bring the virtual reality experience to social media.

What’s Happening Now

But while we’re waiting for the Oculus Touch to be released, let’s talk about what all this means for agents.

As it stands, the rich and famous already have access to this technology.

Luxury homes can be toured through an immersive virtual reality experience, thanks to Sotheby’s International Realty.

The YouVisit VR App also lets folks have an interactive experience that agents can also now take advantage of as well.

This can all seem kind of intimidating.

I mean, aren’t most of us still trying to find the best times to post to Facebook and the most popular hashtags to pair with our Instagram photos?

These kinds of marketing maintenance tasks will always be a thing, but that’s no reason to ignore the tech developments like virtual reality that can easy become an agent’s new best friend.

Imagine being able to sit down with a client and show them a property on the spot.

Or to show them their dream home in a building that is still being developed.

You can sell homes before they’re even built.

If a client is relocating from New York to Florida, they can take a virtual tour through dozens of properties without ever leaving their house.

Now, unless your niche is selling luxury condos in Miami or something, you many never end up using this technology as a real estate agent.

And that’s okay.

I mean, if this seems complicated to you then just imagine how your clients will feel.

Again, purchasing a property is an intensely rewarding, yet complex and overwhelming experience as-is.

Which is where you come in.

Whether everyone is walking around with a virtual reality headset on in the future or not, they’ll still need a guide to help them figure out the best ways to use the tool.

And, as we’ve said, we as agents will always be a better seller than any piece of technology.

What You Can Do Now

1) Go to Best Buy this weekend and try Oculous Rift and Samsung Gear VR.

Just imagine it and test drive it.
2) Watch this 360 video on Facebook.

Imagine selling real estate with this.

Whether you end up using the technology right now or not, you’ll know how it works so you can have the option of doing business with it.

And, of course, be a source of knowledge for your network.

So, test out these tools of the future and let us know what you think!

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Tyler Zey

Hey! I'm Tyler with Easy Agent Pro! We provide top notch marketing content for realtors... And we do it for FREE! I get excited about sharing tactics and strategies that can be implemented TODAY.

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