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360° virtual tours: How they changed apartment hunting without stepping inside
🇦🇷 Argentina /Technology

360° virtual tours: How they changed apartment hunting without stepping inside

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Virtual tours are transforming how people search for apartments, especially for properties under construction, by offering immersive experiences beyond traditional photos and plans.
  • Patricio Navarro, CEO of YUPIX, distinguishes between informational tools like renders and knowledge-generating "presence-based experiences" that allow buyers to virtually inhabit a space.
  • These advanced virtual experiences, which can include sensory details like sounds and aromas, aim to create a genuine sense of "knowing" a property before it's built, though traditional renders remain an industry standard for initial sales.

Choosing a home is likely the most significant financial decision in a person's life, making in-person visits crucial for properties with potential. However, for projects still under construction, the process has evolved dramatically. For years, the real estate market relied almost exclusively on photos, floor plans, and renders to sell unbuilt projects.

Renders, animations, and films provide information; through them, one can see what a place will be like, but from the outset, the user knows it's not real. In contrast, presence-based experiences generate genuine knowledge because the visitor stops observing and starts living the space.

— Patricio NavarroPatricio Navarro explaining the difference between informational tools and knowledge-generating virtual experiences.

Technology now offers new alternatives, with immersive tours and advanced viewer experiences allowing buyers to "live" in a space before it is constructed. Patricio Navarro, CEO of YUPIX, emphasizes that "virtual tours" is a broad term encompassing distinct tools. His company, ARX, produces over half the images for Miami's real estate projects.

Navarro differentiates between informational tools like renders, animations, and films, which users know are not real, and "presence-based experiences." These latter tools generate genuine knowledge, enabling the visitor to stop observing and start inhabiting the space. He likens this to riding a roller coaster: no amount of video can replace the actual experience.

No matter how many videos someone has seen, they will never know [the experience] until they do it.

— Patricio NavarroPatricio Navarro comparing virtual information to real-life experience, using a roller coaster analogy.

Navarro stresses the importance of designing presence experiences where clients can freely navigate a yet-to-be-built apartment, complete with sounds, aromas, and sensory details. He notes that the technology must be seamless, as any flaw breaks the illusion. YUPIX created such an experience for Miami's Waldorf Astoria, even replicating the building's specific aroma to enhance the feeling of being there. While these advanced tools are available in dedicated spaces within developments, Navarro acknowledges that renders still serve as the industry standard for initial sales.

In these experiences, the technology must be invisible because any detail that fails breaks the illusion.

— Patricio NavarroPatricio Navarro on the importance of seamless technology in virtual property tours.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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