A Guide to Matterport 3D Virtual Tours for Commercial Real Estate

In the era of social and physical distancing, 3D virtual tours are becoming more prevalent to help aid during the sell/lease decision making process for commercial properties.

Virtual tours are digital recreations of a physical space, be it an office, retail space or industrial warehouse, that allow leads to get a sense of a property before spending time to tour it in person.

Specialized cameras can shoot still images and 360 video and then stitch the images/video together to create the sensation of walking through a space either through an app, web browser or VR headset.

We asked the experts at Matterport, a leader in immersive 3D technology, for some key guidelines every CRE professional should consider before starting their project.

Why should commercial real estate owners and brokers use virtual 3D tours for marketing?

Transparency is a key factor in selling or leasing a property. Virtual 3D tours provide the transparency that translates into the trust that’s sought after in today’s market.

Virtual 3D tours enable brokers to offer remote, 24/7 open buildings. This can save time not only for prospects but also for brokers as they offer a greater level of information about a property that will stand out and close commercial properties faster.

With Matterport, our partners are arming their brokers with the tools they need to prove they are the best in the industry with the best technology.

How do virtual tours help sell/lease commercial properties?

Many prospects simply do not have the time to tour buildings in person. A visit can take weeks to schedule, and just one visit often does not provide enough information for an investor or someone leasing a space to make a confident decision.

Brokers can solve these time-consuming hurdles in the sell/lease process by using virtual 3D tours to inform and engage prospects from anywhere, anytime, on any device.

Virtual 3D tours offer an immersive and accurate view of the property before the customer ever schedules a visit. With Matterport, brokers can provide a personalized view of the property, providing more information about specific areas with Mattertags as they explore within the tour.

When prospects do come in for a visit, they will be more knowledgeable and better prepared to make a confident decision that day.

How do you create a virtual tour with Matterport?

Brokers have two options for providing virtual 3D tours: they can scan properties in-house by purchasing a 3D camera like the Matterport Pro2, or a compatible 360 camera, or they can contract a professional capture technician from Matterport’s network.

These scans enable us to create a 3D model or “digital twin” of the property, from which we can generate the complete visual asset package for any home listing, including 4K photos, short videos and schematic floor plans.

From this digital twin, brokers will have everything they need to promote their properties – an inclusive package of high-resolution photos, video assets, floor plans and the market’s most immersive and accurate 3D tour.

From Matterport real estate gallery

A unique web link is generated so that the broker can simply post the 3D virtual tour to their own brokerage website or other sites, email it to prospects and stakeholders, and easily share on social channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Who needs to be involved in the project?

The property owner or manager, along with the broker will be involved in the project. A capture technician would also be involved if the owners or broker chooses to contract a professional from Matterport’s network.

From Matterport real estate gallery

Do you need to hire a professional photographer?

The all-in-one Matterport 3D platform can be easily managed by brokers who want to capture properties themselves.

Otherwise, they can quickly and easily contract property scans through Matterport’s national network of local capture technicians.

How do you prepare/stage the property?

It’s best if the property is clean, organized and arranged to make the space appear exactly as the broker or manager would want it to look for an in-person viewing.

From Matterport real estate gallery

The property will be immersive and photorealistic in the Matterport 3D viewer, which is accessible on any device.

How much does a Matterport virtual tour cost?

Cost varies depending on the size of the property, location, and other factors.

What’s the best way to showcase a Matterport virtual tour?

You can always share a link to a Matterport virtual 3D tour and even customize the link.

Another option is to directly embed it onto your property website. This way your Matterport 3D virtual tour will appear in the middle of your webpage, just like a YouTube video does. You can also share your Matterport 3D virtual tour on social channels.

How do you add your virtual tour on a SharpLaunch website?

SharpLaunch clients can display Matterport virtual tours directly on their property website.

The SharpLaunch CMS includes a field in the Availabilities (Floor Plans) module to include a virtual tour for each available space or embed the entire 3D space for the entire property in the Video module.

The 3D walkthrough is opened in a modal window directly on the property page, keeping visitors engaged with the property website content.

Here’s a step by step process on how to embed the Matterport virtual tour on your website and some live examples below.

Matterport example 1: Courtyard Lofts

Matterport example 2: Ivanhoe – La Jolla