Sherry FitzGerald said “We are hugely excited to be leading the field in this exciting cutting edge technology''.

Sherry FitzGerald, Ireland’s largest privately owned estate agents approached Samsung to work with them on the project as part of a wider business initiative to monitor global technology developments. The Samsung Gear VR headsets, were chosen because of their ability to provide a comfortable, easy to use, high quality 360 degree experiences of new properties for interested house hunters.

The Virtual Reality platform has been tested on two fully functioning VR walk troughs of new client home schemes as well as completed extensive user testing and feedback. One of the tests was part of the marketing campaign for a fourth-coming high-end residential housing development – Rokeby Park in Lucan Village, West Dublin. Working with a local environment artist, they created a virtual reality walkthrough of one of the properties letting potential purchasers experience a more lifelike view of the properties in the development than could be offered by simple floor plans or small scale models.  

Speaking at the launch, Ivan Gaine, Head of New Homes at Sherry FitzGerald said “We are hugely excited to be leading the field in this exciting cutting edge technology. The freedom it gives our viewers to go on a virtual walk through of an unbuilt property and appreciate the proportions of the rooms, see the views from the window and experience the expected finish of a show house all by simply putting on a headset, is very futuristic. The Samsung VR walkthrough is now one of the suite of marketing tools available to our developer clients and initial reaction from our clients and our ultimate buyer customers is overwhelmingly positive. We have also developed 3D printed models and touch screen technology at many of our launches and marketing suites.”
 Adrian McInerney, general manager – Samsung Business Ireland, Samsung Ireland commented: “Buying a new home is one of the biggest purchases you will ever make so we’re really excited to be able to bring this to life for people who are hoping to buy a property off plan. We are already working with a number of companies in other regions and industries to create similar user experiences. For example, Audi used the Gear VR headset to create the first digital car showroom and offer customers the ability to test drive new cars.