A digital tour of the property? Yes, but how? In this blog post, we ask the question: What’s better? The classic 360° tour of a property or a 3D model as a digital twin? Read more about marketing opportunities for existing properties and new builds, and learn everything about how your potential buyers will perceive them.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, 360° tours for real estate are nothing new. During lockdowns, they primarily served as a substitute for in-person viewings. Now, such tours are considered standard practice in effective real estate marketing.
A 360° tour transforms static panoramic photos into a digital experience, allowing users to explore from fixed viewpoints. Image quality still depends heavily on the device used. When shooting with a smartphone (e.g., using our app), camera shake is practically unavoidable, as you have to turn around to capture a full panorama. While it’s theoretically possible to create a panorama by stitching multiple individual photos, post-processing is quite tedious. Another option is to use a rotating tripod, which at least mitigates the camera shake.
360° tours create a panorama by stitching multiple individual photos. The best panoramas are still obtained with specialized cameras that, thanks to an integrated fisheye lens, capture a 360° image of each room. However you acquire the 360° panoramas, you can easily and quickly stitch them together into a 360° tour using our software.
With a 360° tour, your prospective buyers can “jump” between different viewpoints or rooms by clicking, but they cannot move freely within the space or change their perspective. This jumping between views is more like a digital photo album with limited movement, as there is a certain lack of spatial depth, no matter how good the panorama quality. For a first impression, such tours can certainly be useful for existing properties, as they use actual panoramas of the property. 360° tours are also worthwhile for new builds, although here the disadvantage is that these panoramic renderings must be created by architects or other third-party providers.
A 3D model is a fully immersive, interactive digital twin of a property, allowing users to move freely, change perspectives, and even view a helicopter view of the entire building or floor plan.
The accuracy of this model depends heavily on how it is created. Our models for new construction are most accurate when created using IFC or DWG files from the planning office. However, even with our LiDAR scans for existing properties, very precise results can be achieved, depending on the device used. For iPhones, we were able to research the following data: For objects with a side length of over 10 cm, an absolute accuracy of approximately +1 cm is achieved, according to ResearchGate. In the range of up to 5 meters, a relative accuracy in the single-digit centimeter range can be achieved, explains BIM Hamburg.
In any case, there are many ways to create a complete 3D model of a property. But there’s even more variety in what you can do with it.
A 3D model offers multiple benefits. A significant advantage is that the model also provides a complete two-dimensional floor plan in black and white as well as color, which can be used as a sales plan.
Users can move freely within the space, explore it from every angle, and even view the entire property from a helicopter perspective. One minor drawback is the look of the tour: the created model looks exactly as its name suggests—like a model and not like the actual property. However, this can be changed thanks to our artificial intelligence, which can generate a realistic image from any angle requested by potential buyers.
A 3D model, on the other hand, offers your prospective buyers complete freedom. For example, sunlight can be simulated at any time of day, on any day. However, the furnishings can also be changed according to the individual wishes of interested parties, be it the special equipment options provided by developers or freely available furniture, floor or wall textures.
This also makes sense for existing buildings; just think of prospective buyers who want to renovate floors, walls, bathrooms, kitchens, etc., after purchasing the property, or who generally want to furnish it in advance. Thanks to AR furniture scanning, prospective buyers will soon be able to import their own furniture into the 3D model using our software.
Generally speaking, any kind of virtual tour helps potential buyers get a realistic picture of the property, which in turn supports their decision-making. While 3D models for marketing purposes are still a relatively new technology with no established marketing studies, the situation for 360° tours is already very promising:
3D modeling technology is increasingly being used in various industries such as construction, manufacturing, and urban planning, suggesting similar potential for the real estate sector. Ultimately, the adoption of this technology likely depends on the generation in question. Giraffe360 summarizes this well:
“We’ve seen how the technology evolved, but the other side of the story is how buyer expectations have shifted. For Baby Boomers, a few photos and a description were enough. Generation X pushed for more detail, wanting every room photographed and accurate floor plans. Today’s buyers, Millennials and Gen Z, are different. They are accustomed to visual-first content from platforms like Instagram and TikTok. They demand immersive experiences, video, tours, and lifestyle photography that help them imagine living there. For them, professional-grade, multi-format media isn’t optional; it’s the baseline.”
A 3D model offers a wide range of visual experiences. Whether it’s the freedom of movement in a first-person view or the interactivity with users who can furnish the property completely to their liking even before purchasing it. A 360° tour, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive view of a property’s current state in a realistic way that a 3D model likely won’t be able to achieve in the future (keyword: loading time).
In our opinion, both technologies are absolutely valid and ideally complement each other. Our software allows you to use and combine both: The 2D floor plan from the 3D model, for example, is perfectly suited as a floor plan map for the 360° tour. And in our new digital exposé or the configurator for new construction projects, both options can be combined in a single link. Ultimately, it’s up to you as a developer or real estate agent to decide which technology you want to use to market your properties.
Have your smartphone or tablet ready for every viewing, because now you can digitally place furniture into a property. Thanks to augmented reality, you can now see all the furniture from our library in the actual property. We’ll tell you why this is a real game changer and how the feature will be significantly expanded in the future!
A detailed property valuation at the touch of a button? Now possible in our software – thanks to our new PriceHubble integration! In this article, you’ll learn everything about the data that will be available to you – and your prospective buyers – in the future, and why this new feature is worthwhile not only for real estate agents of existing properties, but also for developers and project planners of new construction projects.
A digital tour of the property? Yes, but how? In this blog post, we ask the question: What’s better? The classic 360° tour of a property or a 3D model as a digital twin? Read more about marketing opportunities for existing properties and new builds, and learn everything about how your potential buyers will perceive them.
Do you know that feeling when you really should be out photographing your new property, but the weather just isn’t cooperating? Thanks to our new AI mode, that’s no longer a problem! Read this blog post to find out how you can quickly turn dark, wet, and cold weather into perfectly sunny shots.
With our sunlight simulation, you can show your prospective buyers how sunlight enters your property at any time of day and on any day of the week. This feature is available in both our 3D models and exterior views in conjunction with Shadowmap. Learn more about the benefits for marketing your property in this blog post.