Real Estate Investor Magazine July/ Aug 2020 July 2020 | Página 21

that switch as people focus on affordability and flexibility.
The country’s 2 million formal rental properties already
generate in excess of R168 billion per year, making rental
property the most valuable asset class in South Africa.
It makes lives easy. Technology helps landlords find the
best candidates to occupy their properties while helping
tenant in the search for the best properties. Well it doesn’t
end there, 3D real estate is another tech inspired trend that
helps real estate property buyers view properties virtually.
In the digital arena where in we all find ourselves during
this difficult time, there is a very high demand for critical
thinkers who think out of the box and creatives who pay
attention to the finer things in life. In the presence of AI’s,
apps and virtual activities, the real estate sector has been
capitalising on technology to advance the prosperity of the
real estate industry, both economically and socially.
3D Real Estate
While a picture tells a story of a thousand words, a 3D
Virtual Tour captures an entire property in an immersive
experience. 3D Real estate can be described as a presentation
of anything in a three-dimensional form. It’s basically seeing
something in its entirety, but digitally.
Utilising the power of the internet, virtual tours seem to
have taken the real estate sector by storm. Rachel Burris
believes that open houses have long been an advantageous
tool for generating buyer interest in the real estate sector.
She however says “now that the doors to listings have been
closed to large groups, agents are turning to technology”
which is a not so common endeavour for the industry even
though it is not a new venture.
Jerry Clum, Founder and CEO of cutting-edge technology
services provider to real estate professionals, Hommati
says due to the importance of social distancing, physically
showing homes can be a bit problematic.
“A virtual tour is as close as you can come to an inperson
showing right now! Real estate agents across the
globe are implementing this as an alternative to physical
showings. Many home buyers are staying home as a result
of the pandemic but are still shopping for homes by utilizing
virtual tours,” says Clum.
The impact of technology and/ or virtual real estate is
not only for convenience. It translates to bigger avenue,
including the real estate global market value boost. There is
more connection between buyers and sellers. International
property sales can be easily finalised, and similarly
international economic boost can be expected.
What is left is quality!
As video tours and virtual reality become more common,
they should also be more realistic. Today technology is
often used to make things even more appealing, but here
it should be different.
“If you want buyers to purchase based on a video, it needs
to be more than just sparkly and showing the highlights.
You need them to be nittier and granular so people can see
the baseboards and watch someone turn on the faucets
to make sure they work. Technology means you can make
everything look perfect, but serious buyers want a more
detailed experience.”
SOURCES FLOW, Mansion Global & Rocket homes
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JULY/AUGUST 2020 17