Why The Office Leasing Sector Prefers Good Old Reality To Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has become increasingly essential to the real estate industry over the last two years, but while companies within the residential, architecture and construction sectors have been quick to adopt it, the office leasing market has not, The Real Deal reports.
Use of VR in the office leasing space has been sluggish in part because the tech is often marketed to potential tenants, rather than brokers and landlords. Pricing for the technology is also on the high end, MetaProp NYC co-founder Zach Aarons told TRD, though Oculus Rift is now hovering around $399 per headset — down $200 since it was introduced two years ago.
Oculus Rift, a VR system created by Oculus VR, is a common tool used to market luxury condos across the U.S. since it came online in 2016. The technology allows clients to view developments before they are built, which has led to a higher return on investment for companies using the virtual reality headsets.
The construction industry is also in on the trend, using VR to help improve productivity on the job site while the industry is experiencing a major labor shortage. Turner Construction created its own artificial reality technology that allows project managers to access things like renderings or emails while they are on-site. Though not quite VR, tech startup Doxel uses artificial intelligence and robots to help keep construction projects on time and on budget.
