There’s no doubt about it, A Matterport Showcase is a unique and versatile marketing tool. The focus is on their 3D model. It gives viewers the ability to feel as though they are inside the property and to move around and look around everywhere in high resolution. This provides a virtual open house that can be seen from anywhere in the world. In addition, you have an included VR show, simple picture capture and extraction, walk-throughs based on your viewpoint selections, floor plans, CAD mesh and point cloud files and more.

 

Traditionally the one essential for any property listing is a photo package. Photographs are the best way to quickly give potential buyers an idea of what the property is like, and virtually every listing has some photographs. New marketing tools like 3D models and walkthoughs have been proven to both widen the potential market and to sell properties more quickly and for a higher price than photographs alone.

 

Ideally any marketing campaign should include both a professional photo package and a 3D Showcase. But if the marketing budget doesn’t allow for both, our advice is to go with a Matterport Showcase instead of a photography package first.

 

This is because the 3D Showcase will give you an unlimited number of high-resolution photographs, as well as all of the other tools listed above. But how good are these photos and how do they compare with a those taken by a professional photographer?

The short answer is maybe good enough. The extracted photos can never be as good and professional shots but depending on the property’s value and current market conditions, they are often good enough.

 

So what’s the difference?

 

Below is a slide show which shows sets of pictures taken by a professional photographer compared to those extracted from a 3D Showcase from as close as possible the same position and zoom level.

 

Each set has the Showcase image first, then the professional image then a side by side comparison. Flicking back and forth between them give the best comparison. The last 11 slides show the types of photographs that cannot be extracted from a Showcase and are only available from a professional photo session.

 

For lower value properties or in fast markets, often Matterport images are good enough, so no need to invest in professional photography. Higher quality properties need higher quality photographs, so both a 3D Showcase and a professional photo package are needed. Only you can decide where the line is and when professional photos should be added.