Stand inside an Edge 28 apartment before completion

Property marketer Laing + Simmons prepared a progressive real estate VR marketing plan for an off-plan property development in St Leonards, Sydney called the Edge 28. A unique selling point for the apartments were the unobstructed eastern views and the marketing focus was to bring these stunning views to life.

Working collaboratively with Electric Art and Darling Brands, Start Beyond developed a stunning Real Estate VR solution that allows potential buyers to stand inside the apartment to better visualise how their home and their new lives will look, and in the process, reduced their fear of the unknown and enhance their desire to purchase. 

Real Estate VR

Customers were invited into a display suite, and after viewing the floor plans and physical finishes, were invited to a dedicated virtual reality viewing area where they could visit the property using the Samsung Gear VR headset. Once inside VR, customers were presented with a 3D menu of the available rooms, views and the opportunity to view a 2D photo gallery.

Using an elegant "on-look' interface mechanic, customers were free to move around the apartment through the use of linked hot spots - a system that was immediately intuitive and allowed the real estate virtual reality experience to shine. A dedicated salesperson was on hand to guide the user through the property and to highlight the unique selling points of the apartment.

At the end of the demonstration, customers were given a custom-branded Google Cardboard VR viewer where they could re-view the experience by downloading the Edge 28 to their Apple or Android phone.

Design Choices

We wanted to create an experience that allows people to feel like they are living in a finished apartment, to feel the true dimensions and space and enjoy the actual views they would see from either the rooftop, 8th or 11th floor. This was achieved by using drones to capture the actual 360° views from each floor, which were then blended with the photo realistic CGI renders developed by Electric Art, who then brought the images to life using the world-class photo retouching techniques. Our combined goal was to make this VR experience as believable as possible, and based on the reaction from customers and industry peers, it is something we have delivered in spades.  We invite you to download the Edge 28 project for Google Cardboard, or to contact us if you would like to see it on the Samsung Gear VR.