Trends in real estate marketing: emotions in virtual worlds

Palais an der Oper, Hofstatt, Quartier 205: For years, owners of commercial real estate have attached importance to positioning their property as a brand - even before the building is built. In the future, potential tenants and buyers will be addressed emotionally not only through the name and individual concepts, but just as much through virtual experiences. "Customers, time and technology are ripe: the integration of computer-generated worlds, virtual reality (VR) for short, is on the verge of a breakthrough in 2017. This will allow prospective customers to enter the property long before its foundation stone has been laid," explains Malte Tschörtner, Managing Director of Modal M. Below, the company shows how the new technology will change real estate marketing.

As a consultant and general planner, Modal M has been managing all communicative and construction processes required for a conversion, extension or new construction of land and existing properties in the commercial sector in Germany, Europe and the USA for nine years. This also includes marketing the property for investors and owners. According to Malte Tschörtner, this is becoming increasingly digital. "Since the 1990s, real estate in Germany has been advertised in an increasingly elaborate way. The simple drawing was followed by 3D renderings. Finally, in the past five years, image films have gained in importance, some of which are even inspired by Hollywood blockbusters. The marketing lounge has also become indispensable for many owners. Here, prospective buyers can see and feel everything from the flooring to the faucet to how the planned office can be furnished. All these measures are about making it possible to experience a property that often doesn't even exist as a shell," says the 37-year-old.

Data glasses allow live experience of the property

According to Tschörtner, this is precisely the point of a development that real estate marketing experts have been discovering for some time: VR technology. High-resolution goggles and screens allow prospective tenants to walk through a new office building without it actually existing. They can assess spatial dimensions, change perspectives, select wall colors, furniture and flooring, and see live how rooms change in effect through colors, patterns and materials. "Among other things, the new technology is currently being used in the Bavaria Towers project we are managing in Munich. We have therefore been working with the Munich-based specialist for architectural visualization and real estate marketing form 3D for some time," says Tschörtner.

Investing in VR means investing in image as an innovator

According to him, companies that rely on virtual reality in marketing benefit from additional attention as early adopters. VR applications strengthen the image with regard to innovative strength and degree of digitization. "Those who invest today can give their customers something that is currently still very rarely offered to them. Thus, the investment in VR additionally pays off with the client through positive emotions," says Tschörtner.

Tschörtner, however, does not believe that virtual reality will completely replace renderings and concept offices. "Of course, it would be more cost-effective for real estate owners to switch completely to VR. However, just as computer-generated worlds won't replace surgery in the medical field or the assembly of vehicles in the automotive industry, they won't replace face-to-face conversations close to where the property was created and the potential client's touching of materials in the real estate industry. The new technology is therefore an additional building block that will further advance real estate marketing and facilitate consultation - for both sides."