Tahoe real estate: Sierra Sotheby’s embraces 3D technology

Sotheby’s International Realty is breaking new ground in the real estate technology world as a forerunner in online 3D and virtual reality home tour integration.

“Listing portals are known for introducing innovative features to the online property-search experience before their old-guard peers, but Sotheby’s International Realty has bucked the trend,” says Inman, who reports on real estate news and trends.

According to Inman, the Sotheby’s real estate network beat the likes of Zillow and realtor.com to hosting immersive 3D home tours on its listing pages to become one of the only other big-name online property search operators to support the experience.

This technology allows real estate consumers the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in homes listed by Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty on a worldwide scale. The 3D tours will also feature a Virtual Reality Tour (VR) experience that can be viewed through a compatible device such as an Android phone or VR headset.

The 3D and VR Tours are produced by strategically placing specialized cameras throughout a home to create a transformative way people view homes in Lake Tahoe, Truckee and around the globe online. The 3D tours are viewable on desktop, tablet or smartphone.

“Distance can present a challenge when looking to purchase a home in a second home resort market like Lake Tahoe,” says Peter Strand, President of Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty. “Virtual reality provides a provocative solution for buyers from afar to preview and purchase homes without having to physically travel to view them, which is relevant to the domestic and international clientele we serve.”

“Introducing 3D and VR tours on sothebysrealty.com is just another example of how we are keeping the Sotheby’s International Realty brand on the cutting edge while creating an immersive experience for consumers,” says John Passerini, global vice president, interactive marketing at Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC.

The sothebysrealty.com site experienced 16 million user sessions in Q1-Q3 of 2016, a 60% increase year- over-year. Property detail pages on the brand site support Matterport, a past winner of the 2014 Realogy FWD innovation summit, and additional compatible 3D Tours.

In coordination with this announcement, Sotheby’s International Realty is also a real estate launch partner for Matterport’s CoreVR release— the largest collection of virtual reality content across multiple disciplines.

With the adoption of CoreVR, Sotheby’s International Realty will be able to offer both a 3D and VR experience which sets them apart from competitors. Additionally, Sotheby’s International Realty property listings on Mansion Global, the digital luxury real estate destination from Dow Jones, will also be equipped with the 3D Tour feature.

This article was submitted by Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty, which currently has 9 offices throughout the Tahoe region and more than 19,000 affiliated independent sales associates located in approximately 800 offices in 65 countries and territories worldwide. Visit sierrasothebysrealty.com to learn more.