Is AR the new reality for resi?
Will the use of augmented reality change fortunes for the residential property industry?
By Dominic Zammit

In 2016, the use of augmented reality became a household phenomenon when mobile AR game, Pokemon Go hit our smartphones. Since then, the search for novel uses of AR hasn’t slowed down.
But can the power of AR be harnessed for business? Or is its application limited to short-life fads only? I think not. Here are a few future-gazing products I predict will be hitting the residential property market in the not too distant future.
1. View 2.0
Combining 360° camera view with real-time data, key property facts, design tools and a nifty interface, this augmented reality app could become the estate agent’s must-have for property viewings.
Picture this…
Having checked your viewings for the day, you grab a couple of the office iPads and load up View 2.0. You select the five addresses you will be attending today from the real-time stream of current properties on your books, scheduling them in to your calendar, then you head out for your first appointment.
You greet Mr & Mrs Smith at the door of Flat 2b. After completing the pleasantries, you hand them both an iPad which, recognising the address through your GPS location, has preloaded the relevant property details in View 2.0. Mr Smith heads straight into the kitchen, holding his iPad before him. He points it at the integrated range cooker. View 2.0 overlays the live camera image on-screen with the following details “RangeMaster K1273, 2 years old, under guarantee”. Satisfied, he points the iPad towards the ceiling. View 2.0 hones in on the flush chrome spotlights and displays the following information “Lightcraft Recessed Downlight, long-life LED”. With a smile, he moves on to the bathroom.
You find Mrs Smith in the living room. She has activated the View 2.0 design feature and is applying feature wallpaper to the recesses behind the fireplace. She settles on a large floral print and swipes to save the layout to her design archive. Mrs Smith then scrolls through the in-built furniture library, choosing a two-person snuggler from John Lewis and tests its position in every corner of the room. Once happy, she adds the snuggler to her wish list and moves on to the bedroom.
After 30 minutes, you see Mr & Mrs Smith to their car, and take back the iPads. As they pull away, you access their design archive and furniture wish list and select “send to client”. View 2.0 then sends a personalised email to Mr & Smith, attaching the property details, virtual tour, design preferences and wish list with purchase links. It saves a duplicate record to your integrated CRM and makes a note for you to follow-up on Monday. You then clear their details ready for the next appointment.
2. HomeHunt
A next generation Right Move or Zoopla, HomeHunt uses augmented reality to provide homebuyers instant access to property information right from the curb-side. It combines GPS location data and image recognition to pull up and overlay property details on live camera imagery. Think Pokemon Go for homes — gotta catch ’em all.
Picture this…
Miss Jones is walking her dog along her favourite, tree-lined street in Cambridge. She is reliving her favourite daydream about moving into that little house on the corner. The one with the Wisteria growing around the front door.
As she edges closer to THE house she spots the “For sale” sign sitting serendipitously outside. She quickly fumbles for her phone and hits the HomeHunt icon on her homescreen. The app launches and her camera springs into action. She holds the phone up to the house and it instantly overlays the image with the house name, agent and most importantly the sale price. She can scroll through EPC ratings, council tax information and key stats, displayed sleekly around the live image of the house. She can also see how many other people have viewed the house on HomeHunt and how many of them have “liked” it.
The app overlays floorplans against the two stories, which she explores in more detail, swiping through interior photos for each room. The app then suggests Miss Jones might like a closer look inside — naturally she agrees and is taken on a virtual tour around the house. Once complete, HomeHunt brings up a list of other similar properties in the area, with distance and AR directions for each. But no need, Miss Jones is in love. She promptly disregards the other properties and selects “Contact agent” from the bottom of the screen, and choosing “email” from the list of contact options.
As Miss Jones carries on down the street, the property is stored in her favourites, and the viewing record for the house is updated.
3. Smart-Inventory
Smart-Inventory harnesses the power of augmented reality to help landlords, tenants and agents conduct detailed check-ins and outs, cutting out ambiguity or conflict by relying on AR and AI to record property details, measure change over time, and calculate deposit deductions.
Picture this…
You meet your new tenant at their property to hand them the keys, welcome them to their new home, and importantly to complete the inventory.
You pull out your office iPad and open the Smart-Inventory app. Identifying your location, it automatically pulls up the property details from your property management system and asks you to confirm that you want to start the inventory. You select “yes” and choose “Living room” from the on-screen list and make your way into the room.
You start with the carpets. Standing in the doorway you hold up your device and ensure that the whole of the floor is within the frame, you then select “capture”. This stores a photo of the floor as a whole. You notice a bit of wear in the corner of the room and record this using SmartInventory, which identifies and highlights the specific area of concern on screen. The landlord has informed you that the sofa is brand new. You also capture this on SmartInventory..
You run through the rest of the property, recording all standard information, new items and current faults on the system. You ask the tenant to sign the inventory using your iPad pen. This is then stored in your property management system and a copy is automatically emailed to both the landlord and tenant.
12 months later… The tenant has been near-perfect but is moving on to a flat closer to work. You arrange to complete the moving-out check and bring SmartInventory with you. Loading up the original record, you move through the flat. Holding your iPad up to the sofa, it overlays the real-time image with the original capture and performs a detailed analysis on wear, tear, staining and shape to assess the condition of the furniture. Concluding a reasonable state, SmartInventory records a “pass” and you move on to the carpet.
You note that the previously-worn section has become substantially frayed and now looks a little stained. You hold the device over this area. Assessing the existing damage against the previous record, SmartInventory calculates that the wear exceeds what would reasonably be expected in this type of situation, highlighting the areas on-screen that are the main cause for concern. It records a “fail”.
You move through the rest of the flat. All other items are recorded as a “pass” and a report is generated. SmartInventory calculates a reasonable reduction in deposit for the cost of replacing the carpet, balanced against the existing damage. This is presented to the tenant, who agrees the amount and signs the exit inventory. A copy is automatically emailed to the landlord and tenant and the return of the deposit, minus the agreed amount, is prompted.
Final thoughts
Anecdotally, the property market is known for somewhat lagging behind comparable industries in terms of digital adoption. And yet, with such a captive audience, it is one of the sectors with the most potential for digital enablement. Residential agencies looking to position themselves for future success should be looking to embrace digital as a means of providing a more personalised, thorough and efficient service to their clients, whether landlord, tenant, homebuyer or seller.
As consumers continue to push the demand for new tech in other aspects of their lives, including augmented reality, those businesses that rest on the laurels will fail to make the cut in tomorrow’s world. The property market, like retail banking, rests on a precipice of change. Outmoded and cumbersome processes are being challenged, from zero-commission to branchless agents, and it will be the bold, the brave and the tech-savvy that ride the wave.
Originally published on Industry Innovations
