FLOORPLANS
VISUALISING VALUE
Interactive floor plans from Home3D from
mydeco.com are at the cutting edge of design technology but available at an affordable price. Home3D allows the potential buyer to
dress a room from an interactive blank canvas. With a choice of 120,000 items of real available furniture from the likes of IKEA and John Lewis, the user can decorate a room or remove an internal wall, for instance.
Mydeco.com Director, Malcolm
McCallion says, “Visualisation is the real problem for a potential buyer, they cannot imagine what it could actually look like or what is possible – this is the future of property floor plan design as potential buyers use the product and get emotionally attached to the property.” Home3D grew from
mydeco.com’s
service to interior designers which enabled them to virtually design and dress a room with real products, which they could then
Visualisation is the problem for a buyer, they can’t imagine what is
possible.” MALCOLM McCALLION
MYDECO.COM
purchase online. The company offers design packages starting from £99 for the eight virtually designed plans with the full bells-and-whistles virtual interactive floor plan coming in at £50 per unit.
THE NEXT BIG THING As cost is not the real issue, what is
preventing wider uptake of the latest technology products? Mobile Agent’s James Davis says that the Property Misdescription Act puts some agents off the virtual path, as they feel it may mislead buyers who think that the virtual bricks and mortar images are exactly what they will be getting. Lee Helliar, MD at Real Property Tours,
thinks that agents are dragging their feet about virtual tours and videos as they are worried that the technology will show the property ‘warts and all’ without the agent to point out, for example, the potential for refurbishment. But, she points out, “Put a voice-over on the video and say what you need to say.”
42 AUGUST 2012 PROPERTYdrum
A virtual tour can also save on the cost and time of a real visit. Helliar says, “It could save you 10-12 viewings, cutting out all that driving around.” Virtual tours can even create a new
revenue stream. Some agents are charging vendors up to £150 for a Home3D plan which they paying £50 for. Another spin off from the
mydeco.com connection is the possibility of getting commission from a piece of furniture that is sold to the end user. But the key use of offering an improved product is to act as a sweetener to win instructions. Also any product that makes you stand
out from the competition is a valuable accessory. McCallion says, “Many potential buyers looking at properties on a portal will just browse and go no further – staged images can turn a buyer around go further.” In a market with limited uptake, any user
of new technology will stand out from the crowd as they act as a marketing tool, James Davis says, “A high quality 3D plan looks fantastic in a window. They really make the agent stand out and help them sell themselves.” Metropix’s Brian Farrell points put that
agents can demonstrate that they are at the cutting edge of technology, “We typically see that the market leader within a town will be the first to use them, as they tend to always be looking for a competitive edge over other agents within their local vicinity.”
Whilst not the norm yet on the high street, 3D plans and virtual tours are
absolutely vital in the new build sector, particularly for off-plan sales, as they can help establish understanding and give a feel for the property. Interactive plans can extend the marketing phase as buyers can envisage what the property will actually be like to live in at the earliest stage of development. The use of technology by the house builders will also lead to economies of scale coming through to the rest of the market. The immediate mainstream future is
definitely 3D for floor plans and in the slightly longer term maybe virtual – this could be two to three years according to McCallion, “Home3D is launching a brand new initiative with AudioAgent in the coming weeks which will further enhance both of our services and show what’s technically possible when quality media and instantaneous interactivity come together. That’s what’s happening right now – one thing I can guarantee is that in two to three years’ time the things that seem crazy hi-tech now will be mainstream and we’ll be being amazed by the next, Next Big Thing!”
Datography:
www.datography.com Home3D:
http://home3d.mydeco.com Metropix:
www.metropix.com Real Property Tours:
www.realpropertytours.com The Mobile Agent:
www.themobileagent.co.uk Floorplanz:
www.floorplanz.co.uk
Do you have any views to share?
www.propertydrum.com/articles/floorplans0812
The 2D floor plan: simple, uncluttered, effective, inexpensive.
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