MANILA, Philippines – Property search portal PropertyAsia.ph and Google Maps-approved spherical camera Ricoh Theta S have made the creation of 360-degree virtual tours a lot easier and more affordable for Filipino property brokers and agents.
Virtual tours in 360 degrees create an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience of an actual location such as house and lots, condominiums, and office spaces, among others.
“If you know how to make selfies, you know how to make 360 photos,” Joeri Stegeman or Yuri, managing director at PropertyAsia.ph, said in a statement. “Simply place the Ricoh Theta S in the center of the room, and take the shot in one click.”
Rico Theta S is just 22.99 mm thick and weighs 125 grams only. Its main features include high-resolution display (full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels), HD live streaming capability, 8 GB internal memory and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Ricoh Theta S is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by CameraHaus Concept Stores.
“Even though some property developers have been using VR technology for a while now, only a few property brokers and agents, due mainly to a prohibitively expensive camera equipment and software, have had the privilege of experiencing it as a selling tool,” he added.
Prior to the arrival of the compact, lightweight Ricoh Theta S in the Philippines earlier this year, producing 360-degree virtual tours used to be laborious and cost a fortune—a DSLR professional camera costs around P70,000 to start with.
The whole process involved taking several photographs of the property and then stitching them together, which is time-consuming, to showcase a full 360-degree view of the premises.
“The Ricoh Theta S is a device with a friendly price tag (P19,990 less 10 percent for PropertyAsia.ph member brokers and agents), and is indeed incredibly easy to use,” Stegeman said.
“Once you have this camera, we can revolutionize the local property market and make property shopping a true VR experience. Imagine every property you see online has a 360-degree photo. There’s no need to personally visit the property anymore until it truly grabs your attention.
“We understand that not every property broker or agent is aware or has access to this device yet. Together with CameraHaus, we will give discounts on the Ricoh Theta S among our member brokers and agents. If you’re still not ready to buy one, we offer a 360-degree photography service for an even friendlier price,” he said.
For more online tools for property brokers and agents, visit www.propertyasia.ph.