Having an online presence will not only help you reach out to customers, but will also walk them through their new home.

It has never been more affordable or easier to sell and market real estate properties over the Internet -- and that's good news for homebuyers and sellers alike. The Internet has been labeled the homebuilding industry's "it" marketing tool, and it's no wonder. An estimated seven in 10 homeowners last year used the Internet as part of their home search process. In fact, according to the 2003 National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers, more buyers used the Internet than the newspaper as their primary real estate information source. n The implication for homebuilders of all sizes is significant. To be competitive in today's marketplace, a homebuilder must take advantage of both traditional and digital sales channels.

Leveling the Playing Field

In virtually every industry it touches, technology levels the playing field by putting the same advanced tools and efficiency gains into the hands of companies large and small. As the technology catches on, demand builds, and the resulting purchasing and production volumes help drive the prices down. Products once considered high-end -- surround-sound home theaters and HDTV sets -- have become mainstream commodities.

This is happening in the homebuilding industry. Whereas the cost to build a professional Web site used to run into the six figures, today the same top-quality site can be designed and built for a sub five-figure budget. Consider the findings of a recent national consumer survey sponsored by Hostway Corp., a global leader in Web hosting and managed services. Three-quarters of online shoppers polled said the size of an online merchant doesn't matter: they are just as willing to buy from a small retailer as a large one.

Others factors fueling Internet usage are increasing speed, ease of use and reliability. Analyzing significant spikes in online shopping for the 2004 holiday season versus 2003, a comScore Networks senior analyst pointed to the skyrocketing use of broadband connections in homes. In terms of piping multimedia information into the home, the difference between broadband and dialup can be likened to a fire hose and a drinking straw.

A Virtual Presence

Erecting a Web site is like building a showcase window. What are you going to put in it? Fortunately for the homebuilding industry, the content and technical know-how is there. Architectural virtual reality and computer-generated sales tools have been under development since the early 1990s and have followed the historic price trajectory. The early virtual sales presentation systems and virtual reality (VR) tours of planned residential properties were out-of-reach to all but the nation's largest homebuilders and developers. Why? Every project was custom-built: every stick of furniture, appliance, tree and surface had to be designed and modeled individually in 3-D.

Today, leading solution providers have built large inventories of creative content and code. As a result, budget-conscious clients can take advantage of stock libraries of ready-made, three-dimensional furnishings and accessories, landscaping options, upholstery fabrics and wallpaper, just to name a few. Using this pre-existing content can bring the cost of a virtual model home now as low as $3,000.

The software to set up a hi-tech sales center and market online is available as comprehensive turnkey solutions, known through the homebuilding industry as virtual presentation system (VPS). The VPS solution converts a site's architectural blueprints and drawings into interactive, multimedia sales tools. The standard product would be electronic renderings of key sales documents such as floor plans, elevations and site maps, as well as photorealistic 3-D representations of the interiors and exteriors. More advanced options include virtual model homes that can be navigated via interactive floor plans and full-motion, stunningly realistic virtual reality tours. This material is organized and presented as self-guided, highly intuitive tours. In sales offices, the kiosk-like information is displayed on large viewing screens. The same materials can be made available to consumers over the Internet or distributed on digital media.

Going Digital

It may sound expensive to set up a digital display sales center, but consider the following examples:

• Plasma screens now retail for around $3,000.
• DVD replication costs have dropped to as little as $1 per disc.
• Color laser or inkjet printers support professional-quality office production using first-generation digital images for pennies on the dollar.

There are several advantages to "going digital." One is having a presence in the marketplace early in the project cycle to generate awareness and sales. Digital visualization tools enable homebuilders to accurately represent a property before it is built and show off its lifestyle amenities. Moreover, the cost of a virtual model home is a fraction of the cost to build a "brick-and-mortar" model unit. Not to mention that digital travels -- over the Web, on hard disc and on laptops.

A model home must be manned by sales staff and visited by the potential buyer during set hours -- an inconvenience for many working people and families. Finally, what about speed to market? It can take a homebuilder up to six months to build and decorate a model home, where a virtual model home may take only several weeks to produce. This allows greater potential pre-sales, which is the name of the game.

As any homebuilder knows, the real profit margin lies in up-selling the add-ons and extras. With digital content, a homebuilder can represent every floor plan, upgrade and value-added option. That's just not feasible with hard construction, where typically one model home is built, and buyers are asked to imagine the rest. In contrast, the virtual presentation system guides the user through the entire builder's architectural options and upgrades.

Navigating an interactive floor plan, users can click onto a room and see a 360-degree detailed rendition. Depending on the software, virtual models can get pretty sophisticated. With some, rooms can be viewed furnished or empty, and users can see their options such as a living room with and without a fireplace or French doors. Buyers can experiment with available color schemes and construction material selection in every conceivable combination -- shingles in natural wood or stucco painted red. Similarly, aerial views, site maps and landscape options aid lot selection. For high-rise buildings, virtual models can replicate actual window and terrace views. Some virtual model home solutions also give online users the choice of printing a personalized brochure to take to the sales office.

System Necessities

Here are some advanced features to look for in virtual model systems:

• A split screen function that enables homebuyers to compare and contrast different virtual home models simultaneously
• Large creative content libraries showing a variety of furniture, accessories and objects from a range of design styles
• Support for full range of screen types, including wide aspect monitors and plasma screens
• Integrated design tools so a prospective buyer can customize interiors using a list of upgrades and options provided by the builder
• Technical support for setting up and configuring the system

We are living in the digital age, and the building industry is transforming. In the past, all sales and marketing efforts were focused on the opening of the sales office. Today, a successful marketing strategy ramps up quickly, typically at the pre-construction stage, and leverages all consumer touch points: the Internet, email, outdoor signage (billboards, fences), marketing collateral (brochures, flyers), sales information centers and print media.

With high-resolution 3-D computer renderings and simulations, the same materials can be repurposed to meet the full gamut of needs. The digitally formatted information can be downloaded by customers from a Web site, printed and used as sales literature or attached to emails. Visualized images of future buildings and homes can be used in newspaper ads, placed on billboards, or burned onto a DVD or CD for qualified lead fulfillment. THB

Marc Lamoureux is president and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alpha Vision (www.alpha-vision.com).