In this post we’re explaining how to create a virtual tour of homes with the use of 3D rendering services. One of the many advantages of hosting a 3D virtual house tour as a real estate agent is that homebuyers can feel some sense of ownership before they spend time checking out the space personally. The idea of a 3D virtual house tour is increasingly becoming a breakthrough concept that increases brand awareness and drives customer service to the next level.
What is a virtual house tour?
Virtual reality (or VR) has been captivating the world for the past several years. It is primarily a source of brand new technology that provides businesses the opportunity to present their customers with a glimpse of their services or products. Many industries today utilize virtual reality in one way or another, such as the real estate industry. Agents, in particular, use VR to showcase and present their properties more creatively.
A virtual house tour also allows potential buyers to check every nook and corner in just a matter of clicks. Unlike videos and photos, this unique system provides a more immersive and accurate experience of their desired home. Virtual tours possess two specific categories: 3D tours and 3D walkthroughs.
3D Walkthrough vs. 3D tour
A 3D walkthrough gives prospective buyers a better feel for a house without physically visiting the location. 3D walkthroughs are virtual renderings of a home to provide potential buyers a glimpse of what it will look like with different options of furniture pieces than its current state. Essentially, a 3D walkthrough offers more flexible options compared to virtual house tours that only present what currently exists in the house. Virtual house tours are essentially videos, and 3D walkthroughs are not.
3D walkthroughs create a vision of the property and bring it to life by digital rendering. A 3D walkthrough and a virtual tour are excellent complementary methods to let you see a home’s interior possibilities. Real estate professionals add both to their listings to increase their chances of selling their listings. 3D walkthroughs add a more transparent view of the property to answer a potential buyer’s questions. On the other hand, 3D tours are similar to 3D walkthroughs. Real estate experts use them for presenting movement in a property.
However, 3D tours offer more animation. The space inside the home can shift around and provide a 360-degree panorama of an object. It is similar to a rendering since it is not the property’s actual picture but more of a presentation of what it can appear as. 3D walkthroughs and 3D tours share many things in common and are applied interchangeably. It won’t matter which you favor most, a 3D walkthrough or a virtual house tour, because each one serves as a valuable tool for potential buyers. You can even apply both together for better results.
RELATED: How 3D Virtual Reality is Changing the Real Estate Industry
Stages of virtual tour production
Digitally produced virtual house tours are the cutting-edge solutions that can help real estate agents and developers promote and sell their properties. Among the key benefits of the virtual tools are the opportunities to pre-sell and advertise places currently under construction by presenting their anticipated look. The perfect way to offer impeccable options for interior staging and inspire even those prospects with the most demands! It will also be possible to find customers from different cities or even countries by offering an online interactive 3D experience.
Realtors and developers must be familiar with the different stages involved in producing virtual tours and what takes place during each phase to harness the full potential of this form of 3D architectural visualization. It is helpful as it can carefully plan the time and budget and the scope of work. Also, fewer difficulties can arise during the process, and the final result will be as perfect as envisioned. Take a look at the critical stages that lead to the creation of 3D virtual tours:
1st Stage: submission of the brief
During the initial virtual house production stage, the realtor or developer will submit a complete project brief with all the essential references to the CGI studio. 3D artists will require elevation and floorplans, lighting schemes, layouts of furniture, mood and style references, and background pictures for the window views to envision the interior. It is also essential to indicate the intended purpose of the 3D tours. For example, should they be compatible with VR or need to be added to an app or website?
Other minor details will be essential to preparing the brief. The realty specialist or developer must identify the “hotspots” on the floorplans. Ultimately, this will allow the viewer to move and click around the virtual floor for the 3D tour. One may also need to specify when there is a necessity for other buttons. For instance, there might be a “view format” button, a “room preview,” any zoom-in and zoom-out button, including any auto-rotate controls.
The view format buttons can significantly help make changes between rectilinear, stereographic, and fisheye modes. Lastly, providing the designer with any informational descriptions to display on clickable objects is another option. They help viewers know about the specific texture and brands.
2nd Stage: review of the drafts with the basics
Once the assignment is set with all essential references, the CGI specialists can begin their interior visualization work. In this stage, it becomes vital to assemble the 3D scene correctly. Typically, a team of 3D artists will develop the custom 3D architectural models as needed and choose some premade variations when requested.
First, the 3D specialists will arrange the models in the scene before applying textures and materials. Then, they can offer several still views of a scene or render screenshots of their ongoing progress directly in the software and send images to the client for approval. The client makes the option to request any changes and approve the 3D models, composition, and layout.
3rd Stage: review of the drafts with materials and light
At this stage, the 3D artists will apply materials and textures on all of the scene’s surfaces and objects. The CGI specialists will work meticulously in the artificial and natural lightings of a home so that every room has organic and event lighting to ensure that every texture is well-visible. By doing so, the artists create a photorealistic rendering of the appearance used in CG virtual house tours. Lastly, they seek their client’s feedback once they render the place’s still images showing variant angles.
4th Stage: review the results of post-production
During the post-production phase, CGI experts add their final touches to the home’s virtual interiors. They can either adjust contrast and brightness or do any color corrections in the 3D renders. After this, the images will get converted into the correct format necessary for virtual house tours. It is often hard to edit the final result following this step. What matters most at this stage is to ensure the images look perfect and satisfactory for the client.
5th Stage: assembly of the 3D tour
Finally, CGI experts assemble the client’s 3D virtual house tour and make them interactive using specialized software. The process includes the addition of room previews, hotspots, information, and navigation buttons. Then, the professionals will upload the virtual 3D tour on the client’s website using specialized plugins or iframe HTML elements, and just like that, the work is complete! We listed the five stages in producing a virtual house tour, so you know what to expect. As you can tell, the process is not as complicated as it may sound, considering how versatile and powerful the results can be. We should also mention that when posting a 3D tour on a website,
VR can be supported to allow the viewers to switch to a VR headset with a mere click of a button. You can also try a Panoramic 3D image to upload on your business’s Facebook page. While the platform does not support virtual tours, viewers can still check out different home areas with 360 panoramas as they move their phones. CGI truly takes the real estate industry to the next level as 3d virtual tours simplify the sales of unfinished homes.
How Cad Crowd can help
To make great architectural designs, you’ll need to hire the right people— an expert with great expertise, experience, and software. AtcCad Crowd, we have what it takes to give you or your clients impressive designs. Give us a call or request a free quote when you need architectural rendering or 3D rendering services. We are here to help.