In the Wake of the COVID-19 Epidemic, Matterport Virtual Tours Enable a New Age of Real Estate

As an office manager tours a potential new space, they take a spin through the light-filled conference room, noting how well the attached video screen would serve their weekly meetings.

Stepping out, they view the open layout, perfect for their creative team but with enough social distancing space for safety in these perilous times. With easy-to-use online tools, they rearrange the layout in minutes, comparing different furniture arrangements to ensure the perfect fit. After a ten-minute tour, they’ve seen what they need to see, as one of the layouts will clearly serve their needs. The lease signing is set. And they did it all from the comfort of their couch at home, avoiding any COVID risk but taking in every nuance of the space they’ll inhabit once their state enters Phase II of re-entry.

3D virtual tours have been gaining in popularity in recent years. But the onset of COVID-19, and the massive disruption it caused in the business world, have turned them from an appealing extra to a necessity in commercial real estate.

Matterport helps CRE professionals create 3D virtual tours for any type of space, allowing them to navigate every step of the digital property life cycle – from the leasing/acquisition phase, to facilities management, to safety and COVID-compliance.

From a free iPhone app to some of the most sophisticated 3D cameras on the market, Matterport’s platform can turn any property into a dimensionally accurate and photorealistic representation of the space – what the company refers to as a digital twin – for home buyers, office seekers, facility managers, architects, and engineers.

Experience a digital twin of the Microsoft Business Center in Brussels here.

Just last month, Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), one of the world’s largest real estate firms, signed a global agreement with Matterport to be able to offer their clients a fully-managed solution to scan commercial properties in 3D across its footprint. Cushman & Wakefield brokers will work with Matterport Capture Technicians  to capture and digitize their portfolio.

“Our clients are increasingly relying on us to provide data and insights to help drive decision making and solve complex business challenges,” said Adam Stanley, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Cushman & Wakefield. “This collaboration is a textbook example of how we’re moving the real estate process forward for property owners and users, enabling our professionals to deliver exceptional service to our clients through a virtual solution that is imperative in the current environment.”

For office brokers, the advantages of an in-depth Matterport 3D tour are apparent for both pre- and post-COVID priorities. In recent years, many building owners have done extensive renovations in order to make offices more inviting for top Millennial and Gen Z talent who seek well-lit, roomy, and generally welcoming spaces in which to spend their many working hours. And with the social distancing requirements of COVID-19 now a priority, a Matterport 3D tour allows office managers to get a feel for not just the overall look of a prospective office, but the depth and spatial capabilities, details that matter now more than ever.

In May, Matterport announced a new partnership with Colliers (CIGI) International, a leading global real estate services and investment management company, that will allow over 6,000 Colliers brokers to work with Matterport to establish 3D digital twins of their properties.

“The Matterport platform will seamlessly integrate into our brokers’ existing workflow, allowing them to easily request a Matterport 3D scan of a property from a local service provider,” said Jake Edens, SVP of Technology and Innovation at Colliers International. “Not only do Matterport 3D digital twins help us to better promote properties, but clients can virtually assess floor plans to see how they flow, or measure rooms and entry points for facilities planning.”

Matterport’s 3D digital twins have also proven to be a boon to facilities managers, who use the technology to reduce the time and cost they spend creating building layouts and site surveys, planning remodels and upgrades, optimizing emergency planning, and tracking inventory and maintenance. Matterport digital twins can even assist in employee training, helping new employees learn the ins and outs of a facility with ease.

In normal times, the advancements offered by Matterport have enabled commercial real estate professionals to enhance their business offerings, streamlining their work throughout every stage of the digital property life cycle. But with COVID-19 making personal contacts potentially dangerous, having Matterport’s 3D technology gives CRE professionals a business-enhancing, profit-generating, and even life-saving advantage.