{"id":1795,"date":"2024-07-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xome.com\/blog\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2024-11-26T23:14:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T23:14:41","slug":"leveraging-augmented-reality-in-real-estate-with-xome-zoom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloud-prod.xome.com\/blog\/leveraging-augmented-reality-in-real-estate-with-xome-zoom\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Augmented Reality in Real Estate with Xome Zoom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Augmented reality (AR) has become a popular real estate tool in recent years. Through AR applications, potential buyers and sellers can use their smartphones to see virtual property overlays on top of their physical surroundings. This gives them an interactive and informative way to explore property information using just the camera on their device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR is particularly useful for users to assess the suitability of a property for their needs. The technology has provided visual experiences such as neighborhood exploration, property tours, and furniture placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the reasons Xome\u00ae was named one of the 10 most helpful house hunting apps<\/a> by U.S. News is how we have used AR with Xome Zoom\u00ae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom is a feature in the Xome Real Estate mobile application that allows users to virtually discover new properties in their current location. With Xome Zoom, buyers and sellers can use the Xome Real Estate application for quick access to property information, enhancing their overall property research within seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Xome Zoom works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom uses location and camera services in the mobile app to mark properties in the AR world through the real-time camera view. This feature allows users to point their phone\u2019s camera at any property, and view property details, along with the Xome Value estimate of the listing, as an extra layer on top of the camera view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Xome Zoom includes a circular map at the bottom of the screen to display property listing pins along with the user’s current location marker. By providing the user’s current location and a radius of 50 meters, Xome Zoom pulls listings from the back end so users can view information regarding multiple properties at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple\u2019s ARKit<\/a> framework was used for the iOS application and makes it possible to overlay Xome Zoom property information by placing a scene view using the ARSKView class. This places an anchor using the ARAnchor class on top of a house based on the listing’s coordinates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Android application, the ARCore<\/a> framework and the Sceneform<\/a> plugin by Google were implemented when developing the Xome Zoom feature. ARCore provides fundamental tools for building AR applications including motion tracking, anchors, environmental and depth understanding, and light estimation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Use Xome Zoom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom can be used for a variety of purposes, such as looking at the Xome Value Estimate of a user\u2019s home and nearby homes, as well as comparing estimates to for-sale prices. It is especially useful for touring properties with a real estate agent and quickly viewing property information on the go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom users can use the feature by opening the application and navigating to the Xome Zoom tab. By pointing their phone camera directly in front of them, they can see property information for one or more properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Xome Zoom can be used for a variety of purposes, such as looking at the Xome Value Estimate of a user\u2019s home and nearby homes, as well as comparing estimates to for-sale prices. It is especially useful for touring properties with a real estate agent and quickly viewing property information on the go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom users can use the feature by opening the application and navigating to the Xome Zoom tab. By pointing their phone camera directly in front of them, they can see property information for one or more properties.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The feature requires users to turn on their camera and GPS\/location permissions mandatorily to work. While the application is in use, it continuously monitors any changes in the user’s location permissions and stops updating location, direction, and zoom functionality if the user turns off or restricts the permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xome Zoom also checks for multiple error and failure cases while in use and notifies the user of issues or the need to enable certain functionalities (if not already enabled), including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n