Augmented reality and real estate
Augmented reality is the overlaying of a computer generated image on to a real life situation by using a camera, either webcam or cell phone camera and is already being used in real estate by brokerages like Zip Realty whose Home Scan iPhone app utilized augmented reality.
Users can hold up their GPS-enabled phone in a neighborhood and open the app and the phone screen shows surrounding house information, sales data and listing agent contact info.
The video above shows a new technology called Augmented Reality Cinema wherein users with the uploaded app can hold up their phone in given cities and see clips of movies filmed in that very spot, thus their reality is augmented.
Real estate implications
Although this company is doing something far different than real estate marketing, it would be amazing to see all videos associated with any property be they listing videos of the past or present, or even homeowner videos should they choose to tag it via Foursquare or with their address.
Augmented reality could be a really creative way to give context to a neighborhood or to a house and be a part of the lifestyle marketing toolbox many brokers are seeking as their marketing angle.
The ultimate winner in the augmented reality game will likely be whichever developer pulls together multiple sources like YouTube, Gowalla, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook Places, Google Places, and others that give full context to peoples’ surroundings, a key element missing in the current augmented reality world. The current state of augmented reality is relatively fragmented and users have to download a new app for every layer they wish to see.
Currently, real estate is focused on QR codes and the like and most are missing the boat when it comes to augmented reality, mostly based on pricing for development, but the rise of augmented reality is making the price point more within reach of major brokerages, so it will be interesting to watch its growth in the real estate industry in coming years.
