Why Spatial Understanding is SO Important When Selling a Home

 

The purpose of this webpage is to address the importance of floor plans and spatial understanding when marketing your listings. Some of the information included may be a bit technical for some readers, which is why we have included links to other webpages and videos that discuss a deeper technical understanding.

We spend more time at home than anywhere else

On average, Americans spend 62% of their time in their home. In Arizona, that number substantially escalates to 76.6% (18:39 hours) of our time at home. (Sources: 1, 2) This is why the flow or spatial understanding is so important for homebuyers.

What homebuyers want to see

A multitude of surveys by the National Association of Realtors, Zillow and others, also verify the importance of spatial understanding of a home’s flow. Most homebuyers begin their search on the Internet. The driving source for online mouse clicks on a listing are professional photos. However, listings that include a floor plan or a virtual tour have 87% more clicks, 95% more calls and typically have a 9% higher sales price.

While the price per square foot of a home is important for pricing and appraisals, it is not the driving force for understanding the spatial feel of a home. I am pretty sure that none of you have had a homebuyer show up with a laser measuring device to verify the measurements. Instead, they are looking to make relatively quick assumptions about how the home’s flow meets their requirements.

Snap2Close Solution

Snap2Close offers three different services that provide you with floor plans, and all three provide you with different room measurements. However, all three transfer the spatial flow of the home.

It is important for you to know that actual measuring accuracy depends on the technique used. Zillow’s 3D tours exclusively use image based measurements using a technology called Photogrammetry (video, article). CubiCasa’s floor plan software uses both Photogrammetry and/or LiDAR (article), and Matterport 3D tours use Photogrammetry, infrared and/or LiDAR. The data collected from all three systems are sent to AI enhanced computer systems which draw the floor plans and provide measurement data.

Of course you are probably wondering about which system is the most accurate. The answer is a bit confusing due to the AI computer processing system deployed. Technically, Photogrammetry is the least accurate at approximately 90%, infrared is probably 96-98% accurate and LiDAR about 99%.

It is also important to note, that even the best laser measuring devices in the world, will provide different measurements based upon the points the measurements were taken. Home construction techniques will never provide exact parallel walls. The distance from one end of the room will always be different from the other end of the wall. That is why exact measuring accuracy will always vary. Plus, every appraiser will provide different results. That is just human nature. Every real estate agent should know this.

Your goal, as a real estate agent, is provide potential homebuyers the best way to understand the flow of a home. That flow of the home is valuable marketing information and what you should be trying to share..That is why Snap2Close provides you with three different options. All of which produce excellent marketing floor plans.

Floor Plans, created with CubiCasa technology, are an ideal solution for letting homeowners know the basic flow. That is why Snap2Close provides the floor plans at no additional cost. When the measurements are made with an iPhone Pro, which includes a simple LiDAR system then the accuracy is about 97-98%.

Zillow 3D tours seem to be the least accurate, particularly when measuring large rooms where the accuracy appears to be about 90%. While Photogrammetry is a great technology, it simply does not compare to infrared or LiDAR. However, their tours most definitely communicate the flow of the home and that is your goal.

Standard Matterport 3D tours are similar to Zillow 3D in that it too uses Photogrammetry for measuring distance. However, Matterport’s AI Cortex software seems to have a better edge in accuracy.

The Architectural Matterport scans are by far the most accurate and use the most expensive equipment to capture the tours. Plus,the time to capture the 3D tour and floor plan is substantially longer than the other methods. Additionally, Matterport’s measurements also include ceiling height, which is also very valuable to a potential homebuyer.

 

While this webpage has discussed measurement accuracies, the most important information described here is that the homebuyer is most interested in the flow of the home and whether it meets their requirements. All three of the services offered by Snap2Close fulfill those needs.