Real estate industry applies popular video game to home sales

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Written by Kristen Altas, Fox Business

What if you could tour your dream home anytime, anywhere before construction begins?

That's exactly what real estate developers are testing.

This work comes from video game makers like Fortnite and is performed by cutting-edge technology.

“This was an attractive tool for us. And it was great for people who can't visualize buying a plan, seeing it in a virtual world where they can actually walk through the space in 3D, rather than in reality. It really helps you get a sense of the grandeur of it, and that's what it's all about,” Related Group Senior Vice President Eric Fordin told FOX News Digital.

“This gives our sales team and their customers, external brokers, the opportunity to really showcase what a world-class product will look like,” he added.

Related Group reportedly saw an increase in sales after partnering with Brazil-based METAoriginal to create real-time, life-like renderings of Fordin's two unbuilt condominiums in South Florida. It is being

Rendering could take four to six months to complete and cost between $500,000 and $1 million, depending on the size and scale of the project, METAoriginal told Digital on the background.

The video game-inspired platform, called Unreal Engine 5, creates photorealistic visuals and allows client customization to change floors, furniture, and the time of day with just a click.

The technology took more than 12 years to perfect and is now used by METAoriginal in 40 different facilities.

“It's true to reality,” Fordin said of the technology.

“It was originally developed to be used as a marketing tool, but we use it as a design tool, where you say, 'No, I don't like where that wall is, it doesn't look good.' . We want to adjust it, but we can make changes on the fly. ”

According to real estate experts, one of the most appealing aspects of this technology is that it does not require virtual reality goggles to optimize the client experience.

“We wanted people to be able to come into the sales center or sit on the couch and just sit there and actually enjoy it. It's like watching a movie, so to speak. , as opposed to having to put on goggles and walk around a space, going up, down, left and right, hoping you don't hit a wall,” Fordin explained.

“You can't have that one-on-one human interaction and connection when you're wearing those goggles.”

In addition to potentially saving time and money on the backend for developers, Fordin pointed out that the technology also eliminates uncertainty for clients.

“If there's a downside, it's that it gives them a point of indecision as to whether they want this unit or that unit…and that's not a bad thing for us,” he said. . They come back and even after they sign, they say, “Can I come back to the unit again?'' so that's good. I want to see this. So, not only is this a great tour as a selling point, but it's also a great reinforcing tool. ”

While Related Group's Fisher Island property was reportedly 50% sold before any in-person construction or tours took place, and its Bal Harbor luxury condos were more than 30% sold, Fordin said technology are not concerned that their jobs may be lost due to advances in technology. danger.

“I'm not worried. [sic] Technology is taking over my job. This is a very hands-on, very person-to-person type of relationship. And I can't imagine artificial intelligence coming along to sell and run projects from soup to nuts. That's not going to happen,'' said Related's senior vice president.

Fordin encouraged other developers to consider investing in the technology and expand on “both sides of the coin.”

“It's a great tool for sales and marketing purposes, but it's an even better tool from a design perspective. You can see the design evolve before you even put the shovel in the ground, so you can order change orders. ” he said.

“It costs a lot to get started, but the savings on potential change orders in the future definitely pays off and helps with sales.”