(Virtual) Reality bites: VR in real estate

One such developer is The Dinerstein Companies. They’re behind Sterling Northgate​, a large student housing project currently in the works in College Station’s Northgate district. They use virtual reality (VR for short) headsets to give people a fully immersive tour of the development, so potential tenants know exactly what they’re getting before they sign a lease. Without ever stepping foot on the property, people can visit the courtyard, pick up footballs and throw them through a goal, play a game of horseshoes, and even grill outdoors.

I asked Merideth Savoie, Dinerstein’s vice president of marketing and management services, about the use of VR in marketing their project.

​"In our company’s 60-year history, Sterling Northgate is the first property that we have created the VR experience for prospective renters," she said. "Many developers do virtual tour videos, and initially we did too once the project broke ground. After the video was finalized, we knew we had to up our game, and our thinking was that the VR experience would make Sterling a standout in the market during peak leasing season."

Merideth said they haven’t used VR as a tool when seeking investors, but they’re currently exploring all of the ways that they can use the technology.

And, as you might expect, the technology isn’t cheap.

"Implementing the VR experience was a significant investment for the business but one that we felt was important for our future," Merideth said. "The company we worked with was working on enhancing and broadening their capabilities, so we were able to try the VR experience at a better rate."

Dinerstein was first introduced to VR two years ago at an apartment marketing conference.

"The organizers invited attendees to come on stage and try the oculus rift headset, which subsequently inspired us to adopt the technology ourselves," Merideth said.

To take their brand to the next level, Merideth said they knew they had to move the VR experience beyond the leasing office. In other words, hit the streets and the Texas A&M campus.

"We knew we would have a line of students waiting to try out the VR experience at the Spring Housing Fair, which led us to the portable VR headsets," she said. "We have been on campus and in the Northgate District with the headsets, and they’ve been received really well by the students."