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UX Consultancy Guide for Clients

7 best real estate and architecture augmented reality apps

Augmented Reality
Category
Published:
March 1, 2019
Updated:
December 28, 2020
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Mario Stipetic

Product design lead

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Nina Juretic

Senior UX and UI designer

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UX Consultancy Guide for Clients

By reading this article, you will get a perfect overview of some of most interesting augmented reality (AR) concepts in the real estate industry.

If you are a team member of a real estate company that builds augmented reality app, you will see how competition solves various AR challenges.

Here is the list of following chapters:

  • A AR real estate use case for architects, property managers, and property owners
  • Three ways augmented reality can help
  • Current AR platforms
  • In which segments do augmented reality have solutions for the real estate industry?
  • 7 best Real estate AR apps list
  • Conclusion

If you or your team has intentions to build an AR app please check our Mobile app design checklist guide.

An AR real estate use case for architects, property managers, and property owners

My friend, a building design architect, told an interesting story.  He had a meeting where he was supposed to present his project in front of very important, serious and business-like clients. They were reserved from the start. An hour later and the clients were happy and smiling like children.
So, what happened in that hour?

The clients expected an old school presentation. They were expecting a real model of the building but what they got was an augmented reality presentation and they went from serious to ecstatic.

For professionals like designers and architects, it can be easily forgotten that many of the clients are not used to the latest technology advances and giving them a presentation like this can look like magic.

The clients loved the presentation and they got the project. But even besides that, the result of using augmented reality was there:

  • The studio saved hundreds of hours in building a real model of the building
  • the client was able to see the future building layer -by - layer with ease

Three ways augmented reality can help

Augmented reality in the real estate industry can help in three different ways:

  • information overlay of real-life objects
  • digital objects creation
  • enhancements of a real-life object

Current AR platforms

AR kit by Apple

AR kit is a software that allows the iOS developers to include AR into iPhone apps. One of the first apps that included widespread use of this kit is Pokemon Go and Ikea AR app.

ARCore by Google

ARCore is a new kit that can bring similar features as an AR kit but to Android phones. From the very start, ARCore has been widely used for all sorts of apps.

AR platform by Facebook

AR is considered as one of the two main technologies for the upcoming 10 years developed by Facebook as they presented at F8.

The platform is basically intended to support multiple app directions in Games, Art, Fun, Information rendering etc.

In which segments do augmented reality have solutions for the real estate industry?

1. Architecture mockup visualization

A story from the beginning of this article is just one of the examples of architect mockup visualization. The real benefits of showing the mockup in real life situation come even better with one app described here that can show the mockup at the concrete construction site and even walk through real size future house.

2. Construction assistant

The construction industry can use augmented reality to visualize the elements that are usually hidden. For example, the city construction worker can visualize the exact plan of city electricity and sewage pipes plan.

Also, construction workers can visualize electricity plans for the room that they are refurbishing. This way they avoid unnecessary drilling and save time. The biggest challenge here would be to propose some kind of general format for future use.

3. Apartment rent or sell visualization

As renting market is huge, it did not progress much in the past 10 years. Local renting is handled by hundreds of local apps that make your life a living hell when you are trying to rent an apartment or house.

AR can ease this problem by marking the exact spot of the apartment or house while you are near for certain neighborhood. This way the app would show you the exact house while you are walking NYC SOHO for example and offer you a natural solution in the neighborhood that you are usually hanging around.

Here is one concept that our agency produced did to illustrate this exact solution:

If you or your team has intentions to build an similar augmented reality mobile app please check our Mobile app design checklist guide.

Our agency is offering AR mobile app design service, for any questions please contact us here

7 best Real estate AR apps list


AirMeasure

AirMeasure is an interesting app, just looking at its demo is mesmerizing. It is essentially a digital ruler, but a really fancy one. AirMeasure is used by pointing your device and following the simple guidance you start measuring. The best part of Measure Kit is that it doesn’t just measure straight lines but tricky parts as well, like corners and edges.  

  • fun
  • easy to use
  • provides you clear information

The app is free and is currently in version 1.8. The user feedback is very positive with a 4.5 rating.

http://armeasure.com/

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Magicplan

An amazing app with raving reviews on iTunes. Magic plan is used to create and edit floor plans, complete job estimates, view space in 3D, plan DIY projects, or furnish a home. Their users are can be everyone, from real estate agents, architects, home inspectors, interior designers, small businesses, furniture retailers or do-it-yourselfers.

  • scan the room
  • assemble and furnish floor plan
  • award-winning app

http://www.magic-plan.com/

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Street Peak Realtor App

How do you use this app? When you point your phone towards a real estate it pulls information about it. Simple. You can find out the number of rooms and bathrooms it has, estimated value and other listing information. It is mostly used for quickly finding out the price.

  • snap a picture
  • get the information
  • pending patenting

This app was brought to us by Realtor, a major real estate agency. It is available only for Android.

https://www.realtor.com/homemade/streek-peek-and-sign-snap-use-augmented-reality-and-image-recognition-to-find-your-home/

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Astralink

The app is still in the demo phase but showing a lot of potential in the construction industry. It is intended to help construction workers in visualizing exactly how should a finished piece look like. Its usage is very practical, showing everything from how the finished floors will look to where all the different pipes will go.

  • visualize the upcoming construction works
  • reduce errors

http://astralink.io/

RealAR

Created for real estate, RealAR helps buyers/clients visualize the work of architects. It is intended to help you see how your dream home would look in real environments. You can stand on your plot of land and by simply using your smartphone or tablet you can get a very good representation of how your home will look.

  • visualize your house
  • fast and simple
  • creating, selling and marketing real estate

There are many competing apps but RealAR definitely has its use in business.

https://www.realar.com/

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Safety Compass

Safety Compass enables workers to receive safety information and visualizes it with AR.  It offers critical site information well before they enter a hazardous area and it is marketed as “Real Time Safety Through Augmented Reality”.

  • live data
  • notifications if hazardous
  • In-Depth Safety Information

http://www.thesafetycompass.com.au/

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ARKi

With a 5-star rating, ARki is making its users very satisfied. ARKi is an augmented reality app that showcases architectural projects in augmented reality. The app is currently for bespoke projects only but user uploads are coming soon.  

  • Clear Design Communication
  • Spatial Exploration
  • Portable Model Distribution

https://www.darfdesign.com/arki-info.html

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Conclusion

The future of augmented reality is bright, already it's the focus of biggest companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook and it found a real use case for a wide range of audiences. Currently, it is mostly used for fun, in apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook filters but in future, it will be regularly used for various niche markets such as real estate, medicine, tourism etc.  

Stay tuned for our new augmented reality blog posts here or send us an email to get a quote if you want augmented reality design or development help.

Our agency is offering AR mobile app design service, for any questions please contact us here

If you or your team has intentions to build an AR app please check our Mobile app design checklist guide.

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Authors

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Mario Stipetic

Product design lead

Mario has worked for New York and San Francisco-based startups and large corporate companies such as ZTE. He specialize in product design solutions.

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Nina Juretic

Senior UX and UI designer

Nina acquired experience in advanced design fields such as AI, UX, UI, prototyping and wireframing.

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