ERA Singapore Partners with Global 3D Virtual Tour Leader Matterport to Drive Home Demand for more than 17,300 Agents

Survey shows 74% of agents using Matterport win more listings and 95% of people are more likely to enquire about properties with 3D virtual tours.

L to R: Bruce Wells, Matterport’s Managing Director of Asia Pacific and Jack Chua, ERA Asia Pacific’s Chief Executive Officer

SINGAPORE, 26 October 2020 – ERA Singapore (ERA) today announced a partnership with global 3D virtual leader Matterport to enable real estate agents easy and low-cost access to 3D capabilities and AI technology in marketing their properties virtually. This partnership will give Singapore’s largest international real estate agency with over 17,300 agents a competitive edge in securing exclusive listings and accelerating the marketing of their clients’ properties.

Since its inception in 1982, ERA has been the leading PropTech agency in Singapore, equipping its agents with the most advanced technologies in the industry. Virtual home viewings have become an increasingly important tool for agents who want to continue helping home buyers find their next home safely.

Matterport creates “digital twins” of properties that give prospective home buyers access to comprehensive, round-the-clock property viewings virtually. Clients will be able to enjoy an immersive walkthrough experience via features such as 3D Dollhouse, high-resolution 2D photography and floor plan views. They will get a true understanding of the flow of the space, and be able to digitally measure anything within the model. See sample here.

“The current global situation has shown how important and impactful 3D capture technology is. During the initial Circuit Breaker period, many real estate agents were affected by the restrictions of physical property viewing due to the lack of technology support. This partnership has greatly safe-guarded the future of our agents as they have everything they need to promote their listings virtually now,” said Jack Chua, CEO of ERA Asia Pacific.

The Future of real estate marketing

During its recent 10.10 weekend, more than 168,000 online viewers turned up for the ERA Property Weekend 2020 – Singapore’s largest virtual real estate gallery – giving home buyers access to a multitude of projects island-wide with over 140 virtual tours and exclusive property market insights from 14 of its top industry experts.

There was a 1,600 per cent increase in landing page visits after the ERA Property Weekend 2020 was launched – signalling an increasing interest in virtual events and normalising of viewing new launches and sales galleries online instead of physically. Millennials and Generation X with age groups between 25-44 hold the majority viewership (62%); they are also the most tech-savvy having grown up in the cusp of technological transformations.

According to a recent Matterport survey1, which polled 1,000 property buyers and 1,000 property sellers, consumers are no longer satisfied with static photos and would overwhelmingly opt for a more immersive experience. Nearly 80 percent of all respondents would switch to a real estate agent offering immersive 3D tours of listed properties.

Younger generations were overwhelmingly in favour of more immersive listings with 83 percent of Millennials and 94 percent of Gen Zs saying they would switch to an agent offering 3D tours, compared to only 63 percent of Gen Xers. Not only would younger generations switch, but around 86 percent would recommend these agents to their friends.

The benefits of this partnership

ERA agents can enjoy the full capabilities of the service portal, making properties virtually accessible to home buyers. The Starter Plan includes a dedicated three-month free subscription for unlimited Matterport model creation with 5 active spaces using any compatible 360 camera or iOS devices. Special rates have also been offered for the rest of the plans.

ERA agents can also choose to schedule a Matterport professional to capture the property and have the 3D model in their account within 24 hours of completing the scan. Agents who want to capture virtual tours themselves can also purchase Matterport cameras at discounted rates..

In addition, a series of Matterport webinars will equip ERA agents with up-to-date knowledge, training materials and best practices of virtual technology pertaining to real estate marketing. They will learn how to add descriptive multimedia Mattertags, create highlight reels that provide home buyers with a guided tour of the property, and share auto-generated photos and videos on social media.

“During Circuit Breaker, I could not conduct any property-related activity until I was introduced to ERA’s range of webinars and tech tools that totally changed the way I think about real estate business. Technology can really open up new opportunities for real estate agents; but unfortunately, smaller agencies don’t have this kind of tech support like this partnership,” says Division Director Yap Chin Chuan, who recently joined ERA after his real estate career was badly affected during the pandemic as he had no means to go digital due to the lack of PropTech resources in his previous agency.

“We’re excited to be partnering with ERA as a key part of their virtual strategy. Matterport technology will open up new levels of engagement for clients anywhere in the world at any time. The current situation globally has shown how important and impactful 3D capture technology is, and with forward thinking real estate companies like ERA leading the charge, digital twins are quickly becoming a standard in real estate,” says Bruce Wells, Managing Director of Matterport APAC. “By streamlining the capture process into our professional network, agents are able to extend their reach, attracting potential clients faster and improving conversion rates. The combination of market leading real estate expertise and cutting-edge technology is proving to be an incredibly powerful combination,” Mr. Wells adds.

About Matterport

Matterport is the industry leader in 3D capture and spatial data with a mission to digitize and index the built world, and advance the way people interact with the places they inhabit and explore. Matterport’s all-in-one 3D data platform enables anyone to turn a physical space into an immersive digital twin and share it with others to connect and collaborate in 3D. In less than a decade, customers such as Redfin, HH Angus, Sotheby’s, Arup and Marriott, have captured billions of square feet of space in over 80 countries.

Learn more at matterport.com, browse a gallery of digital twins, or explore a curated global collection of 3D spaces at Destination : Everywhere. Follow Matterport on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Matterport Media Contact
Nikki Dance
FortyThree for Matterport
+831.401.3175
[email protected]

Source: https://matterport.com/blog/property-buyers-and-sellers-want-listings-3d-tours
For actual experience, please visit: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=15vBnSfkJzz

News Coverage:

PropertyGuru –Asia’s largest online property portal group

https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2020/10/193970/era-singapore-in-partnership-to-help-agents-capture-3d-virtual-tours-of-property

Singapore Business Review – Singapore’s best-selling business magazine that is published by Charlton Media Group

https://sbr.com.sg/residential-property/news/era-bolsters-its-virtual-property-marketing-3d-ai

SQFeed Journal – Singapore professional community

https://www.sqfeed.com/2020/10/27/over-17300-real-estate-agents-will-get-easy-low-cost-access-to-3d-capabilities-and-ai-technology-in-marketing-properties-virtually-as-era-singapore-teams-up-with-global-3d-virtual-tour-leader-matter

And other micro-websites:

https://teeco.sg/2020/10/28/era-singapore-in-partnership-to-help-agents-capture-3d-virtual-tours-of-property/