Time Equities Inc. is a New York City–based luxury real estate firm, which deals in high-end properties all over the U.S., as well as Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the British Virgin Islands. And while you could easily go on the company’s website and browse page after page of residential and commercial properties for sale—or do an in-person walkthrough of the ones you like—Time Equities is now offering customers a much more convenient option.
Virtual Xperience (or VX) is a forward-thinking service that allows would-be customers the ability to view luxe properties before they’re even built through virtual reality tours. VX was founded on the notion that the ultra-wealthy often don’t have time to physically view properties they’re looking to purchase—or are foreign investors who don’t have the luxury of flying back and forth over a period of time to watch as a property is built. Co-founder Jeff Maurer told Vice‘s Motherboard that the idea came about when he and his wife were searching for a home but didn’t have the means online to view what they needed to see to actually seal the deal. “It’s a time and convenience factor,” explained Maurer.
How does it work? VX takes about 2-3 weeks to produce its 3-D luxury environments, building a property from the inside out in CGI. Compatible with virtual reality headsets such as Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, and Samsung GearVR, users can literally do “walk throughs” of properties—which have cool nuances like pieces of faux modern art hanging on the walls and books on shelves.
To get a better idea of what the VR experience might be like for a potential buyer, watch a virtual walkthrough of iconic 157 West 57th street in New York City below.
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