Date Online: 2021-04-12
Article published on Inman.com
Who would have thought incorporating 3D avatars within 3D tours would get so much attention from the real estate industry? Since the soft launch of UiMeet3D by Urbanimmersive earlier this year, all metrics indicate that avatars could indeed become the next big thing to look at for virtual home showing. As this new trend accelerates, Urbanimmersive was invited to present UiMeet3D at the 2021 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings Emerging Business and Technology Forum on May 11th, 2021.
Last year, over 28,000 participants attended the week-long 2020 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. This year’s Emerging Business and Technology Forum will be covering technologies that exploded during COVID-19 and are here to stay, and technologies that can help solve issues with low inventory. Jeremy Bowman, head of sales at Urbanimmersive, a publicly-traded 3D Tour Provider, will be showcasing how agents can use 3D avatars to generate leads and engage with potential buyers using 3D tours.
Let’s meet in 3D
Urbanimmersive’s patent-pending UiMeet3D is the first 3D tour technology enabling visitors to interact with each other as avatars. The integration of Video Conference technology with 3D tours utilizes the cameras on a user’s phone or computer to allow for a live guided tour from anywhere in the world. Whether it’s an agent who is remotely touring clients through a home or multiple stakeholders who want to remotely tour a space together, UiMeet3D makes this possible.
The name Urbanimmersive may be unfamiliar to most agents, but this is by design. The company white-labels their solutions under their customers’ brands, so they can provide a fully integrated experience to their clients. Urbanimmersive was founded in 2007 and is widely used by the real estate photography community in the US (under Tourbuzz) and in Canada (under Urbanimmersive).
Virtual is the new normal
COVID-19 accelerated 3D tour adoption and video-conference meetings. Although it is now common practice to virtually tour a house with a prospective client using a 3D tour on a shared screen on Zoom, the experience of using two separate platforms is poor and comes with technical challenges. UiMeet3D overcomes these issues by providing a single, fully integrated solution that was purpose built for this specific use case.
As an agent, all you need is access to a phone or computer. No other software or plugin is required. Once you email the link of the 3D tour to your client, the client only needs to click and is instantly live with you on the 3D tour together.
“Because of UiMeet3D, one of my clients landed a notable listing.” shared Kevin J. Wohlers of KJW Photography in New York, New York. “She was able to bring something to the table that no other agent could offer.”
Do more with 3D
What makes UiMeet3D standout is the proprietary technology on which Urbanimmersive is built. Instead of showing a mosaic of video streams of people beside or on top of the 3D tours screen, the video is streamed in 3D with each avatar displayed in the exact location that they are within the tour. This approach enables multiple interactions, which is not available in any other solution on the market today.
Besides just marketing properties, agents can use 3D avatars for lead generation. If the agent detects someone that really looks engaged and interested, they can send an invitation for a meeting, or live chat for visitors that might prefer to not open their video camera. This feature, which allows you to see all web visitors within the 3D tour, is the closest approximation of a live open house available, and it creates a powerful lead and conversion tool for agents.
Right now, Urbanimmersive is offering a free version of its UiMeet3D solution and will soon launch a Premium version. The Premium version will offer advanced features such as visitor alert notifications, private group meetings and more.
