The New York Times details how virtual reality is expected to change the game of real estate. The possibilities for planners and architects are endless as well.
Jennifer Miller visited Halstead Property in Manhattan to get a taste of the future of real estate. Namely, how virtual reality is already being to use in selling properties that haven't yet been built. Miller explains:
Halstead had hired a company called Virtual Xperience to create a virtual rendering based on the architectural plans. The idea was to have potential buyers wear an Oculus Rift headset and 'walk' around the building. The more realistic the experience, the more likely a client might be willing to pay the asking price of nearly $1.98 million for the building before construction crews even broke ground — at least that was the hope.
According to Miller, Halstead is preparing to introduce virtual reality headsets to their sales offices this year. Other real estate brokers are doing the same. Expectations for the benefits of the technology, writes Miller, are high.
FULL STORY: A New Dimension in Home Buying: Virtual Reality

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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