In the real estate industry, proper representation can make or break any transaction. Behind any successful sale is a confident homebuyer making their decision because they feel informed and assured that their money is being well-spent. Armed with this knowledge, real estate professionals are using 3D visualization services to pre-sell homes before they are built, enabling them to move on to their next projects faster.
The project began when we received an inquiry from a real estate developer who was interested in learning more about 3D renderings. After discussing the uses of a holistic pre-construction marketing package, the developer signed on to pre-sell the properties ahead of construction completion. The five-home development in the Pennsport section of Philadelphia was a highly sought out location. With a cohesive website, renderings, and details on the project, three of the five homes featured were sold within 48 hours of launching the website.
In order to determine pre-construction marketing assets that would be most effective, we analyzed the architecture, price range of the homes, and target audience, and elicited the insights of the developer. Following our analysis, we suggested creating 3D floor plans, 2D floor plans, and interior and exterior renderings of the finished property.
We’ve learned over the years that regular floor plans are rarely enough to make a homebuyer confident in their purchase. Rendered floor plans are often more effective, allowing buyers to understand the space, the staged layout, and see the actual square footage of the property.
At minimum, we recommend to clients that they opt for colored 2D floor plans. The developer for these Pennsport properties decided to contract both uncolored 2D floor plans and 3D colored floor plans.
In the 3D floor plan, we emphasized the different materials inside the space, such as the hardwood floors, countertops, and bright white porcelain of the bathroom. The shading of the space is another important aspect of the representation, adding to the realism of the render and allowing viewers to feel as though they are seeing the inside of the home with accurate natural lighting and quality of space.
While the floor plans were being completed, we were also creating full 3D renderings of the interior spaces. The most common scenes we render are that of the kitchen, living room, and master bathroom.
In most cases, a client will only need one full exterior rendering per property or development. However, when the property features a roof deck or other private outdoor space such as a pool, we always recommend that be rendered as well.
This developer’s property did feature a roof deck, and so they opted for a rendering that featured people enjoying the views. By flying a certified drone at exactly five feet above the top building height and merging those photos with a 3D rendering, we are able to provide the precise sightline that the homeowner will experience.
Once we determined all of the perspectives inside the homes that we would need to show, we asked the client if they had separate trim levels that they would like to showcase. This was understood at the beginning of the project during the project kickoff meeting. The developer had plans to offer three different trim levels, something that we could help them achieve by rendering all options over the same perspectives, making upselling the properties easier. Our client asked for the additional trim levels to be rendered, and once the base model renderings were complete, the process of replacing the different countertops, cabinets, and appliances was relatively easy to perform.
This client commissioned a cohesive marketing booklet, combining all of the visual elements we provided. The brochures allowed the developer to begin drumming up interest while the website was being created.
The website was launched on a Friday afternoon, and by Sunday evening, three of the five homes had been pre-sold.
We have seen throughout our time offering visualization services that, on average, clients will pre-sell 50% of their properties when offering visualization services.