Windermere Realtor uses virtual reality program

As a homebuyer, scrolling through online photos of a property you’re interested in can be frustrating. You can’t see every room from every angle, and details in the photos sometimes get lost.

What if you could tour the entire property without ever leaving your living room?

A new software called Matterport, which has been praised by outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes and Silicon Valley Business Journal, allows real estate agents to create interactive 3D models of interior spaces. Anyone interested in a modeled home or business can see a 360-degree view and click their way through the space, without ever setting foot on the property.

Realtor Carol Faber is an agent for Keller

Williams Classic Realty and serves Bay Hill, Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Winter Garden and other communities in the Orlando area. She started Matterport in April 2015 and said she was the first person to use it in Central Florida.

“It’s the same as Google Earth, but for interior spaces,” she said. “It’s like you took the roof out and took a picture of it. …It amazes me every time I do it.”

Faber sets up a special camera designed by Matterport in the center of each room and corridor of a space. The camera records 360-degree images that are sent to Matterport, where algorithms are used to create a dollhouse-like model.

At first, Faber used Matterport just for her Keller Williams listings. But other agents started asking her to scan their properties as well, so she created a secondary business just for her work with

Matterport.

“Selling a house when you are occupying it is quite unpleasant. Having to keep it in showing order all the time with kids is impossible,” Faber said. “So with Matterport, if a buyer sees the 3D dollhouse and floorplan … and then wants to see it in person, you have a greater chance of closing.

“It creates a 24/7 open house—great for gated communities—and generates leads for both sellers and buyers.”

Faber said 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. 

To contact Faber about creating a 3D model of your home or business, call her at (407) 538-3831 or email [email protected].

Contact Catherine Kerr at [email protected].