Our team at Designblendz recently collaborated with Zatos Investments to create a virtual experience that would assist in pre-selling a development of single-family homes. The key component in particular to pre-selling these homes is a set of three pre-defined interior packages for buyers to choose from. Our interactive 3D virtual tours were the perfect tool to let buyers navigate these beautiful homes. The goal here was to allow buyers to view and explore not only the layout of the homes but also the finish package options that were available during the presale phase.
The first step to creating any virtual experience is to create a 3D model of the home and everything in it. Our team is able to work from anything you can provide, including PDF plans, CAD files, or even sketches. In this case, Zatos was able to send us a PDF of the complete construction drawing set, provided directly by their architect. Our artists used exact dimensions from the document along with other specification references to create all of the 3D architecture and objects that would be in the final renderings. We were also able to produce exact matches for key appliances and fixtures based on specifications provided by our client for each finished package.
Any developer or real estate agent who has worked with a professional photographer knows that lighting and time of day are critical to capturing the most attractive photos of a home. Lighting is just as important when producing 3D renderings such as this virtual tour. The difference is, our artists have complete creative freedom to adjust lighting as needed for that perfect image! With this virtual tour, our team produced a number of test renderings to review with Zatos and select the best mood. The final result was a combination of early afternoon light and selective use of interior lighting to complement the large and wide-open floor plan.
One of the most important elements of this pre-marketing virtual tour was the differentiation between pre-set finish packages. Our team of artists is used to receiving necessary references in any format and then organizing and making sense of everything with our client. With the team at Zatos, everything went very smoothly. Three finish packes had been curated for buyers and were identified as Byrne, Torresdale, and Manor. Each finish package had a palette of finishes and fixtures that created a unique personality for the home and was laid out in a well-organized pdf document by our client. The kitchen ended up being the area with the most variation between packages. Our team of artists created custom 3D models and textures in order to showcase these packages exactly as buyers would experience them in real life.
While most homes are not sold pre-furnished, staging is one of the most critical elements of real estate marketing. Furniture can transform a home and help buyers get a feeling for the life they could live in their new place! Because of this, our artists take extra time to explore different furniture styles and layouts in order to determine what will work the best in a space. Designblendz has a large library of 3D assets for virtually staging 3D renderings. We allow our clients to specify exact furniture pieces if needed, however, typically staging is left to our artists with a few simple guidelines. Zatos chose to let our team determine staging for these renderings with the guideline to stick to a neutral palette that would compliment any of the three finishes packages niceley. Ultimately, our team can produce any look and feel that our client believes will resonate best with their target buyers.
The final step of the process is to create the virtual tour itself. This means setting up the interface and experience for potential buyers. Designblendz uses 360-degree panoramic renderings in order to create an immersive experience. We use an online hosting platform that allows viewers to access the tours on any internet-connected device. The final result is accessible through a shareable link and can also be embedded directly into any website. Zatos was able to embed these tours directly into their website to give potential buyers easy access.