New VR tech offers hope for the Real Estate industry

The challenge of showcasing property in the pre-built phase, particularly at the prime and super-prime level, is not a new one. In the current climate of change and uncertainty this challenge has taken on a dramatic new dimension. With traditional sales galleries across the globe closing their doors for the foreseeable future, the creative architectural visualization industry must evolve and innovate to stay on top of a changing landscape.

If clients are unable to travel to sales galleries to experience immersive creative content, then bringing as much of that real-time look and emotionally evocative ‘feel’ to online immersive experiences is key.

For the real estate industry, the concept of the virtual tour is not a novel idea. Commonly seen in mainstream real estate marketing for pre-existing real estate, they can be an effective marketing tool, despite the reality often being a less than seamless user experience.

In the pre-built prime and super-prime residential and commercial sectors, to date, immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences have only been accessible within sales galleries. This is because until now the only VR technology which truly captures the detail, quality and photorealism expected by discerning clients has been via hardware-intensive and often prohibitively expensive real-time rendering, and therein lies the problem – it cannot be shared with clients online.

This is now all starting to change. Leading the charge with their recent digital innovation ‘Boundary Explore’, are New York City and London-based visualization company The Boundary.

Two years in development, this proprietary virtual reality platform allows the user to explore a space in photorealistic virtual reality, enabling the user complete freedom of movement, whether accessed through a tablet, phone, web browser or VR headset. Unlike traditional real time rendering however, The Boundary Explore only requires a regular internet connection, so can be easily accessed from anywhere in the world. The Boundary have shared a selection of stunning examples illustrating what can be achieved using this innovative new platform on their new product site at www.the-boundaryexplore.com.  

Nikki Dibley, a Development Executive at Helical London, commented “International sales and marketing for the prime real estate sector will never be the same again. This is a game changer for our industry, as we can now offer a significant element of the marketing suite experience to our clients around the world without the need for them to travel.”

The Towers at Waldorf Astoria – Image by The Boundary for Noë & Associates

World leaders in the field of architectural visualization, The Boundary have an unrivalled international reputation for excellence, and have been responsible for many groundbreaking contributions to the industry, particularly in the super-prime residential sector. Projects over the last ten years have included work on The Towers at The Waldorf Astoria, 70 Vestry, 565 Broome, Waterline Square, 87 Park and 2000 Ocean, to name but a few. The team has prided itself on consistently raising the bar of what is possible in terms of photorealism within the unbuilt environment.

Among the first to offer ‘cinemagraphs’: still images with elements of subtle movement, that have become popular on prime real estate website landing pages, The Boundary were also pioneers in the field of camera-matched helicopter and drone videography, utilizing techniques more familiar to Hollywood studios than architectural visualizers. Recently, they have pushed the envelope even further, developing new techniques in the areas of green screen and hyper-realistic CGI people.

Co-founder of the Boundary, Henry Goss states “we recognize that in the modern online space, content must somehow be immersive. Motion within photorealistic environments is not only the most effective way to grab attention, but also has the capacity to hold attention, and draw a viewer into a place in a

In these uncertain times, it is reassuring to know that studios like The Boundary are responding boldly to contemporary challenges with innovations focused on getting the real estate industry back on its feet. As it has done before, the industry will no doubt overcome this current predicament, emerging stronger and more resilient than ever.