A picture needs to be worth a lot more than 1,000 words when it comes to real estate, especially now that technology has literally changed the face of the industry.

Buyers are relying more on previewing properties online, especially in a resort market like Steamboat where most prospective buyers are previewing homes remotely. Many times you hear people say “the photos don’t do it justice”. Or worse, that a property was not represented well by the photos.
Well, those days are over.
Say goodbye to any ambiguity over online images with the launch of 3D Listing Tours, a new partnership between Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty and Matterport.
“Websites, Virtual Reality and 3D Virtual Tours are creating more informed home buyers,” says SSIR Broker/Owner Cam Boyd. “We see 3D as another tool we can offer to our clients to differentiate their individual listings and create meaningful, visual, and emotional tours of their spaces” he said.
The 3D Virtual Experience is literally just as good as being there. A camera made by Matterport scans each room and takes photos with nine lenses pointing in all directions. Proprietary software then uses those images to create a virtual house tour. Using the arrow keys or a mouse pad, you can navigate as though you are walking through the house, similar to Google Street View.  You can also check out the “dollhouse view” and floor plan to see the layout of the house from a wider point of view.
It’s always difficult for people to be able to visualize the layout of a house. Even when there are a ton of photos, until they can personally view the property. With 3D imaging, it’s literally like walking through the house, only virtually. Being able to control what part of the house you want to see really does make it feel like being there. And the quality of the images is sharp so you can see every detail like flooring, counter tops and stonework.
“This technology is expected to transform the real estate industry and make house-hunting more efficient and more effective,” Boyd continues. “This is true immersion into the home and the length of digital interaction proves it. People stay on a page with a 3D walk-through 10 times longer than those without.”
Boyd says Matterport is always looking for ways to enhance its product, and virtual reality glasses could soon allow users to be fully immersed in a remote interior space.
See examples of listings with our 3D photography below:
29855 Bear Trail, Steamboat Springs
27382 Winchester Court, Steamboat Springs