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Will 3-D Virtual Tours Eliminate Home Staging?

I read Amy Bergquist's blog today on 3-D virtual tours. There was an article today in CNN Money that gives an example of Coldwell Banker utilizing a Second Life virtual tour to advertise a 3.1 million dollar listing of theirs in Washington.

At first glance, it's cartoony and reminds me of Grand Theft Auto and some other video games that I despise.

But, on second thought... there's no clutter. No dirty carpets. No warped wide-angle lens images. Second life virtual tours would eliminate the need for home staging, professional photography, vacant staging, model homes.

second life kitchen

What do you think of that?

EDIT: For more information on Second Life and this virtual real estate venture, check out Sara Washburn's blog.

Staged First Impressions, a NH home staging company.

Posted by Sue Argue - NH Home Stager on 08/10/2007 12:15 AM

Comments (61)

staged first impressions, nh, home staging, nh home staging, second life, virtual tours

61 Comments on Will 3-D Virtual Tours Eliminate Home Staging?

AUG

2007

That looks like a big waste of ineffective advertising dollars....

Ha! It'll be interesting to hear the reactions from folks on this one. It's kinda weird, yes?

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment from IL tonight.

Hello: I don't understand how this is supposed to make the buyer feel at home...So cold and too "unreal"....I think our company will stay open for awhile!

No gimmick will ever replace the hands-on talent of Sue Argue! End of story!

There's a quote I'd like to add from the CNN Money's article:

"I think it's very innovative and could very well start a trend," said Brad Inman, founder of Inman News Service, which covers the real-estate industry.

Inman says this is the next step up from virtual video tours, which have been a very successful real estate marketing method. "Sellers are always looking for all sorts of clever ways to sell a property," he said.

Cheri, you're not convinced of this 3-D stuff?

I don't know that they would replace anyone, but if used properly, they could be a useful tool when staging is not an option for a seller.

George, a gimmick! You're not convinced either?

Ryan, I can imagine it would be a useful tool for a builder who has nothing to photograph but a blueprint. It would save staging a vacant also. Hmmm...

I'm a believer in YOU Sue!

Sue, I understand what you're saying, but I agree with George and Cheri. This 3D tour does come across as cold and impersonal. A staged property adds a warmth and dimension that this tour is lacking. On the flip side, I can see builders or investors using it to sell properties that perhaps have several units available. Hmm.... I've bookmarked your blog just to see what others have to say. Very interesting.

Calie, it is rather cold and impersonal. What would buyers say when they actually see the house? "Oh you mean someone really lives here?"

Hey, maybe I'll submit a resume to Second Life and stage their virtual tours. I could show them where to add silk flowers, ficus trees, lamps, pillows and maybe some RAFFIA.

They could make Second Life raffia, yes?

AUG

2007

Sue~

Just IMHO...That is like taking the heart out of the home! ...the art out of the artistry and the dark out of chocolate! Congratulations on your Featured post by the way!

Sue, I would much rather go visit the home photographed in the first picture. The second one I would bypass. It's just not real enough for me. Betty

eh, it's just another marketing ploy to get people talking, which we are doing, aren't we? every real estate blogs has mentioned it one way or the other. i have read a bunch blogs today on this topic.

i don't think it's going to replace anyone frankly. like everyone has said above, it's cold and impersonal. my 8 year old cousin's sims look warmer and funner than this. plus, this is just a glorified blueprint. basically an elevation for clients to look at. it cannot replace the real thing. instead of spending thousands on paying people to auto cad this, they should've just pay someone to stage it. it will be more effective to drive traffic to the open house. plus it's a 3 million dollar listing! they should just stage it. look at the picture on the right, i have no interest of touring the home. sims look more fun than this listing.

It look so unprofessional to me! It also look like maybe the home is a real mess so we can only show you the drawing version!

I don't like it, BUT.....remember what they said about video tours? They're here now and they're here to stay. You just never know how this technology will change in the future. I've seen some of my sons video games and they look beyond real. Don't discount anything when it comes to this sort of thing.

Everyone has good points. Virtual tours are fine but with a dial up and not T-1 they load too slow. This maybe the wave of technology of the future but I think we need to get good quality exterior and interior photos on each listing before we start banking on the next great thing! This technology would not trigger me to call an agent to book a viewing!

When I stop laughing, I'll come back and give you my opinion... oh, wait... that is my opinion. That's just ridiculous.

Hi Sue!

Home staging isn't going away! What would we do without it?

I interviewed Charlie Young, Senior VP of marketing for Coldwell Banker for RainTV recently, and also attended Coldwell Banker's press release at Real Estate Connect. Young doesn't believe that regular 3D online home simulation will be happening any time soon (or at least through Second Life). As a Second Lifer myself (I've been on Second Life since June 2006) I have a few suspicions why this is... My own home with land in Second Life costs about $100 to me in monthly fees. My total "prim" count, or memory usage, is around 1100 prims. The Second Life representation of the real life 3.1 million dollar Mercer Island home uses 13,000 prims (rounded down to the nearest thousand). That's a rough estimate of $1000 or so that Coldwell Banker is paying per month to support this Second Life replication. Considering that the average market time for a multimillion dollar listing can sometimes be in the year plus range, I see the Second Life house more as a PR move than an innovative marketing move, since it cannot be feasibly maintained, or rolled out for other listings. It's a good marketing move for connecting with the Second Life audience (8.6 million users) though...

Link to my blog post with more details on the Second Life MLS listing replication and pictures I captured of the listing in Second Life. This pic below is of the veranda off the back of the home...

Coldwell Banker Second Life Listing, View of Veranda

Sue - I think that the most important part of a virtual tour is to have buyers eliminate homes that they don't like and go and visit the ones that they do like. As others have said, it's ok for a home that isn't built yet, but I'm always weary of a home that doesn't show it's actual pictures. I've seen renderings instead of a photo of the front of the house and it makes me feel like they are hiding something. The other problem is that these cartoon type virtual tours will show nothing but perfection, and as we all know, there is really no such thing. If homes were perfect, there would be no staging industry. I think that as long as you are already doing business, that you probably won't lose any business to this new technology.

This looks to sci-fi to me - not real and way too out there. I can't see this becoming mainstream, at least not in this format. but as Tracey said, don't discount it yet. Just as video games have evolved to be more life-like, this could, and probably will, as well. It's too cold and impersonal feeling, although I've recently been in some homes for showings that had been professionally staged and they were extremely cold and uninviting feeling. We were surprised when we learne that someone actually lives in the houses we saw. These sci-fi tours would have been fine for those houses - yuk!

If you buy, do you get a virtual family along with the price?

Sue - Regardless of how wonderful technology becomes people still need to walk through homes and still need to "feel" good about the home to buy it. I am big into photos...lots of them. Even though a recent buyer from California thought she liked certain homes from my photos and tours....she liked totally different homes when she saw them in person. Home Stagers like you offer a tremendous service. "You make a house feel like a home".

Sue - At some point the buyers are going to want a corporeal tour of the home. I think they would be very disappointed when they see it in person. I don't think anyone will be fooled.

I say no way Jose..... it looks too unreal and people would rather see some flaws than a cartoon.

In marketing a home, it is incumbent upon us to create emotion- a buying emotion.

This tool totally strips all emotion out of the property and gives a "virtual" feel. I want an "emotional" reaction.

I'll stick with my Hi Def Widescreen Video Tours on a well staged property every time. I'll stick with Fred Light at Nashua Video Tours and Sue Argue at Staged First Impressions...

http://www.billfaulkner.com/featured/87AtlanticAve/opendoor.html

Bill Faulkner

When buying a home, would I want virtual, second life, or the real McCoy? I think the answer to that easy. I remember an agent modifying a photo of a house that had cracks in the driveway. They used photoshop to remove all cracks, shadows, and some paint scratches on the house. Since the buyer was writing the offer from 250 miles away, the only time to see the property was at the walk through where the deal Yes, fell apart. These items were not disclosed on the TDS and the buyer said see ya!!

I still think the guy in the gorilla suit waving the open house sign on the corner is going to bring in more prospective buyers then a cartoon...

Of course, it would be kind of cool if you could turn it into a video game where you can do a virtual gut! Add some choices of tools such as sledgehammers to bash out the outdated cabinets.......Hmmm... could be useful for some of those luxury homes built in the 80's with the green porcelain tile and the flowery wallpaper.... Actually... these could turn into a lot of fun!

-Paul

Wow, fantastic comments here. Thank you everyone for taking the time to think about this concept, check out the images, and give your reactions.

Sara Washburn offered us an inside look at the cost of this venture, 1K a month she figures, that's pretty steep. Most people couldn't afford virtual staging!

The general concensus here seems to lean toward marketing images that have some emotional content, and I couldn't agree more. It's pretty hard to get any warm & fuzzy relationship started with a pictoral representation.

Thanks again all of you for your fine, well thought-out comments.

I guess my job isn't in any jeopardy yet.

Never! When they go look at the house they will not be sold! Hence, we will never be out of business!

Ha! Too "Ray Bradbury-ish!" for my taste...and I'll bet that's the way many consumers would feel too!

Hello Sarah from AZ, thank you for leaving a comment, and welcome to Active Rain :)

It is no only sily, it is inaccurate. The 'virtual' doesn't look anything like the real thing.

I talked to THE Big Shot realtor here (knocks off $40 million on a bad year, kind of girl) about this stuff and she is unimpressed. What she's moving to is a virtual floorplan where you click on a room in the plan and slide show, still or video comes up.

Personally, I think RES' days are numbered unless they offer the same thing soon. Surely it's just shows linked to code in the floorplan?

Kim, sounds like you aren't impressed with Second Life virtual tours.

I'm working on my virtual resume to post on my virtual blog so I can provide virtual staging services. I've already mastered the replication of raffia. Stay tuned...

Wow thats some interesting stuff! I like my real virtual tours better though!

What tours are you using Chris & Mary?

Juliet, what is the name of the virtual floorplan software that you're speaking of?

Sue

Visual Tour will be able to "hotspot" from a floor plan. I have that package as a backup for my listings in a lower price point, but for premiere homes nothing beats a full hi def video tour.

It's quite attractive dollar-wise and has some nice features. It's an Acura,not a Benz or BMW.

Come to my office and I'll show you both packages.

Bill

No-brainer, IMO Sue. I'll stick with strong photography and video representations of the real thing.

Sue- Interesting responses that you've gathered. I am actually quite shocked by the overwhelming "this will never catch on" attitude. Typically the AR group is a bunch of first adopters, but I guess not in this case.

I'm not a big fan of the "warmth" portrayed, but I do believe it helps people understand layout, something pictures and virtual tours cannot do.

I was a skeptic at first, but now that I think about this more, I think it would be a great, additional tool to help buyers. May even reduce the number of showings that we have to do because people will know if they layout works for them ahead of time!

Bill, I'd like to check that out. Will be in touch to set something up soon. Thank you!

Jeff, right on! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

Amy, I'm glad you stopped over here, and thank you for leaving a comment.

First of all, this won't catch on because of price, which may come down after awhile. New technology always does. But secondly, it's hard to get a real "feel" for the place without any texture or sense of outside light.

But I do agree with you, there are properties that could benefit from this, especially new construction.

I am embarrassed to say that I don't know what second life is, but the picture on the right is not as enticing as the one on the left. Wood floors, gleaming appliances and marble counter tops are sensual and I am not getting that from a computer generated tour.

Hi Sue!

Nothing sells a house like the house itself.. As long as people live in homes, homes are going to need "spiffying up"! The virtual home replication is most useful for a distance buyer, but my own inclination is to go with video blogging about listings. Virtual home replication may never be immediately feasible. This is because of how time and labor intensive it is to do the graphic work on these homes... It's a lot less work to walk through a listing with a camcorder and edit it into a professional video than the hours and hours and hours that a virtual home requires. I also doubt that due to the cost virtual tours will ever become readily feasible*. (It's a labor cost, not just a "technology" cost. Technology cost, such as the price of a laptop, goes down with time). As a seller, if I'm on SL, I may choose to replicate my own home on SL as a marketing move to sell it, but I'd hesitate to drop another 3 or 5 % on top of the regular home commission in order to hire someone else to create a virtual replica. Many people have touched on it: buying a home is a contact sport. Staging, virtual tours, and video tours all help to address the contact between the buyer and the listing. A virtual listing can't take the place of bricks and mortar, or bricks and mortar caught on (digital) film.

*If we wish to speculate, we could have virtual home replications with the development of intelligent computers that scan in the video of a home and patch together a model from it. But with where we are at today (programmers working to enable computers to do basic image recognition) I'm not holding my breathe! 20 years at the least! 50 years?

I give you credit!...advertising your potential competition!(congrats on the feature!)

Sue, I have not read all the comments here.

However, I would have to say, the 3-D visual appears very cold, sterile, and of course lifeless!

Buying a home is still a very emotional process, you need to be "moved" emotionally to take action.

That is why we stage properties, to stir emotions, create fabulous photos, make great RES's, that connect viewers emotionally and ultimately make home viewers feel like they can "feel home" in a particuar property.

I don't know, I but I can't feel home looking at a computer generated image!

AUG

2007

Sara, Love your comment, "Buying a home is a contact sport." Amen to that.

I don't know the process of animation (replication) but if it's anything like the CAD software that architects use, I know it's time consuming. Architects get paid nicely for their design work, but the hours spent on putting the design to paper are long.

Thanks for taking the time to develop such great comments here, you've contributed a lot.

Joan-I don't think so! Thanks for leaving a comment for me.

Joelle-You've summarized the consencus here nicely, and I fully agree.

Moderators- thank you very much for the feature!

All - My apologies for not personally commenting back to each of you. Thank you for taking the time to stop by here and leave a note.

Can you say FRAUD? Talk about bait and switch! Whose idea was this anyway?

I don't think it will impact staging. Second life is pretty neat and it can have a place in the market but real life is real life. I saw a demo of second life at NAR in DC...it was pretty interesting.

If you haven't checked out the Second Life site yet, check it out. Pretty amazing works.

Monika, I bet that was an interesting demo you saw in DC. Thanks for commenting tonight.

AUG

2007

Very interesting article and comments. Sounds like it's time to find and use a virtual home stager.

To take a tour of the virtual home, just visit Coldwell Banker Headquarters within Second Life located in the Ranchero sim (200,250), use the following SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ranchero%20/210/229/32/ or search under places for "Coldwell Banker".

For the record, design, execution, and ongoing maintenance of the Coldwell Banker presence in Second Life is handled by Code4Software LLC www.code4software.com

MAR

Will renderings replace the call for a home stager like you? No. Never.

Has cable tv shut down DVD rentals and sales?

Has the internet closed down the libraries?

Do people stop cooking at home because of restaurants?

Of course not! You provide a service that helps to showcase a very specific space.

We create renderings, and occasionally a virtual tour. I'd like to think they are a notch above Second Life though!

http://jssvd.blogspot.com/2009/03/virtual-tour-of-great-room.html

http://jssvd.blogspot.com/2006/11/sapphire-shores.html

I'm not sure what the appeal of the Second Life tours is. This is technology that has been available for years, and I've never seen people get terribly excited about it. I guess I'll have to try it out one day, but I don't see anything that really draws me in.

Bottom line: Your job is very safe!

Very well said, Scott!

APR

Second life wont be able to reach the right market, not everyone feels like registering and trying to figure out how to work a video game. The cartoon look is also something that can be avoided by using a high quality virtual home staging service.

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