In the world of high-end real estate sales, if you’re not innovating, you’re falling behind.
That’s why top real estate brokers around North America are pushing the envelope by bringing SmartPixel’s Interactive 3D Sales Solution, the Advanced Reality Tool (A.R.T.) into their showrooms and integrating Onyx Technologies’ Cutting Edge Real Estate CRM behind the scenes. While A.R.T. takes the concept of using a touchscreen showing off pre construction developments to the next level, Onyx streamlines the sales process and creates a wealth of data about the customer’s desires and demands in the process.
- Increase your property value by tracking user analytics, allowing you to review pricing based on interest and popularity of future units.
- Speed up your sales cycles by allowing a more comprehensive understanding of your future properties.
- Simplify the closing of your sales by having all the necessary tools available such as showcasing, tracking, qualifying and signing features, at the reach of your finger tips.
The two technologies were recently used to great effect by BakerWest to market Curv, the tallest passive house in the world. The Real Deal sat down with SmartPixel CEO & Founder Hadrien Laporte, Onyx Technologies CEO Marc O. Therrien, and BakerWest Real Estate Inc. Founder & CEO Jacky Chan to get a firsthand look at how bringing together these two innovative systems is changing the way real estate is built and sold.
A.R.T. by SmartPixel and Onyx Technologies’ Real Estate CRM in Action at Curv
We spoke with leading developer and broker Jacky Chan about implementing the A.R.T. system and the Onyx CRM at Brivia Group’s Curv, his firm’s latest high-profile tower in Vancouver. “Our primary sales tool for Curv is the SmartPixel system,” he says, “and Onyx is BakerWest’s national service provider.”
Chan explained how the customizability of the A.R.T. system as well as the Onyx CRM helped his team sell the record-breaking homes at Curv. “Controlling the client’s sales journey is extremely valuable,” says Chan. “As soon as you hand them a stack of brochures, you’re done.” With A.R.T. and Onyx, the salesperson can isolate only the units in a client’s price range, showing them only the units they are likely to purchase, invisibly guiding them to their most likely selection before Onyx takes over and seamlessly brings the transaction to completion.
“It’s very fluid,” explains Chan. “It’s a non-intrusive way of yanking that paper out of their hands and instead presenting the information in a very high-fashion manner.”
Curv is the tallest passive house in the world, and SmartPixel integrated a number of custom features in the building’s model that highlight the design decisions and materials that enable the tower to achieve this remarkable degree of energy efficiency. “You can go online and see technical drawings with lines and numbers and whatnot,” says Chan, “but it doesn’t look sexy. With SmartPixel, this three-pane electrochromic glass becomes something out of Iron Man.”
Chan estimates that implementing SmartPixel tech and the Onyx CRM at Curv generated an extra 5% of revenue, more than covering the cost to BakerWest. “Without these systems, our sales cycle for closing on a $12 million deal would be way longer,” he says.
Beyond the immediate return on a single project, implementing the Onyx Technologies’ Real Estate CRM creates value project over project by aggregating data that can then be used when planning the next development. “On the backend, I know as a developer, the data and analytics generated by Onyx is worth billions,” says Chan. “If you’re not adapting to these changes, you’re falling behind.”
From Montreal to Minority Report
Laporte, who comes from an arts and graphic design background, founded SmartPixel in 2009 with the goal of helping clients leverage technology to communicate more efficiently. One of the firm’s first projects was an interactive display promoting the iconic Olympic Stadium in Montreal; the very first iteration of what would eventually become the A.R.T. system was a simple touchscreen display that allowed users to swipe between pictures of the Montreal skyline.
Laporte was then approached by a real estate developer with the idea of creating an interactive display like the one for the stadium, but featuring a building that did not yet exist. “The real estate market came to us,” explains Laporte. “So our focus became preconstruction.” A longtime science fiction fan, Laporte took inspiration from the user interface technology in movies like Minority Report while conceiving the next phase of SmartPixel’s offerings.
The A.R.T. system combines touchscreens and the Unity 3D gaming engine to create the best interactive 3D sales app for real estate residential projects. The core of the presentation is a fully-rendered 3D model of the building situated in its actual environment, which can then be manipulated with the swipe of a finger. This allows the salesperson to direct the buyer’s attention to everything from nearby restaurants and public transit hubs to the view from a window in a specific unit to how the various available finishes will look in a resident’s kitchen.
Because the A.R.T. system creates an immersive, interactive experience in your showroom, potential buyers are given the ability to have their questions answered in real time. Want to know what the sunrise will look like from a unit’s balcony, or the path an elevator takes to bring you to your home? The salesperson can show them within seconds in 4k resolution. Developers can customize the systems they want highlighted in their digital model, from the details of the amenities spaces to real time virtual tours of a potential buyer’s future home.
Real Time Architectural Renderings
“My motto is, ‘Lead the market, don’t follow the market,’” says Laporte. “We like people to say, ‘We’ve never seen that before.’”Around 80,000 units over 250 projects have been sold via the A.R.T. system. Watching the video demo of the A.R.T. system in action, it’s clear that Laporte and SmartPixel achieved this goal.
As our solution gains increasing popularity among real estate developers, we’re setting our sights on further expansion across the US. We’ve already made significant strides, delivering unparalleled interactive sales experiences for esteemed clients like Pearlstone Partners with the Vesper project in Austin, Texas, and for the Oasis Hallandale project in Miami, Florida.
Harnessing the Power of Data
While the A.R.T. system ‘wows’ potential buyers in seconds, the Onyx CRM is working behind the scenes to ensure that the buyer’s journey is smooth and successful. Built on top of the ubiquitous Salesforce platform by Therrien’s team, Onyx Technologies’ Real Estate CRM is a business automation solution that handles every aspect of the buying process, starting with capturing and verifying buyer ID information to generating contracts and ultimately actually processing a downpayment.
In the fast-paced world of real estate and development, finding a solution that not only meets but exceeds expectations can often seem like an elusive quest. However, the powerful synergy between Onyx’s cutting-edge data analytics and SmartPixel’s immersive web-based 3D application has emerged as a game-changer, establishing a new standard of excellence.
Onyx brings to the table unparalleled strength in data analytics, lead tracking, and securing deals. Its sophisticated algorithms and intuitive design enable businesses to harness the power of data, transforming insights into actionable strategies that drive success. From pinpointing potential clients to closing deals with precision, Onyx ensures that no opportunity is missed.
When paired with SmartPixel’s state-of-the-art web-based 3D application, the duo becomes an unbeatable force.
Their combined capabilities offer an all-encompassing solution that not only tracks and analyzes data with unmatched accuracy but also presents it in a visually stunning, interactive format. This synergy enhances the decision-making process, streamlines sales strategies, and ultimately, confirms deals with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
“Once a buyer expresses interest in purchasing a unit, Onyx takes over,” explains Therrien. “They don’t even have to be in the sales office to complete the transaction. They can do everything virtually.” Over $35 billion in sales have been processed through Onyx in the last few years, including a few projects that sold out in a matter of days thanks to the system’s efficiency.
But Onyx is more than an automation process. The data Onyx captures when completing these transactions gives developers and brokers insight into demographic changes and buyer preferences. This allows them to make better business decisions, from those as small as adjusting unit prices on the fly to account for a fluctuation in demand to where to build their next project.
The firm is in the process of implementing AI models to better take advantage of this treasure trove of data. “We’re putting AI everywhere,” says Therrien. “For example, we’re working on an AI model that’s going to be able to predict which units are going to sell and proactively increase pricing to make sure that you’re maximizing the revenue.”
Contact SmartPixel and Onyx to bring these powerful tools to your next real estate showroom, and connect with SmartPixel and Onyx on LinkedIn to learn more.