Brandon Doyle

By Brandon Doyle

My Matterport Pro 3-D camera system arrived on Thursday, and agents who are early adopters of new technology will see the benefits of being able to offer your clients something that no one else can do.

Matterport is the equivalent of HD Google Street View for the interior of a house. It provides consumers the ability to virtually tour a property in 3-D from anywhere in the world. Scanning is done with the 3-D camera ($4,500), which rotates 360 degrees on a tripod, as well as an iPad app. Typically, this process takes anywhere from one to two hours for an average-size home. As you complete scans, the iPad mapping images fill in until the entire property has been mapped. At that point, the file gets uploaded to Matterport’s cloud system and is rendered into a 3-D model. Users can go online and interact with the doll house view, floor plan, and even walk through the property at their own leisure from any desktop computer. Agents are able to syndicate the link through the MLS similar to the way you would with slideshows and videos.

These 3-D virtual tours could be great for new construction, allowing the builder or agent to continue to show the home and provide examples of their work even after the house has been sold – without inconveniencing the current owners. It gives potential buyers a feel for the layout of property, which they can share with friends and family online. This technology could cut down on time that sellers need to be out of the home, and buyers’ time spent in the car.

After my team completed our first 3-D rendering, the home owners were blown away. It was something they had never seen done before and they told everyone they know.

Here is the example from listing in Maple Lake, Minn.:

Please note: Matterport tours are not yet mobile/tablet compatible; they must be viewed on a desktop computer. Matterport also has plans in the future to allow editing of finished renderings, such as changing paint colors, finishes, and possibly even doing full virtual renovations.

Brandon Doyle, ABR, e-PRO, is a second-generation real estate pro with Edina Realty in the Twin Cities. Learn more about Brandon at www.doylerealestateteam.com.