realestateVR

The VR portal we dragged into boardrooms

This is how we took the Australian property experience into Oculus DK1 demos, HTC Vive show booths, and finally Google Daydream headsets.

realestateVR portal UI
realestateVR Daydream interface – price overlays, agent cards, and navigation cues.
VR user testing feedback board
User testing wall organised by experience type (Matterport, Gear VR, browser, photospheres).
DK1 demo at REA
DK1 hallway demos at 511 Church Street – the earliest “put agents in VR” moments.

Timeline

From hallway demos to Daydream launches

  • 2014: DK1 prototypes shown to anyone who would sit still long enough. The goal was pure empathy—get agents talking about immersive tours.
  • 2015: Zero Latency and Matterport mash-ups at AREC proved VR could move beyond gimmicks.
  • 2016: realestateVR branded portal launched on Google Daydream with Cogent + DiUS help.
  • 2017: Continuous user testing across Gear VR, browsers, and mobile viewers to decide where to double down.

What we learned

VR only lands when it feels familiar, informative, and lightweight. We mirrored the portal, exposed agent data, and gave people multiple hardware options so they could test without nausea.

Return to lab timeline

User research wall

Sticky notes → product decisions

Every square on that board translated to a backlog item—here are the big themes we carried forward.

Gear VR vs Browser

Agents loved the immersion of Gear VR but wanted the reliability of simple browser viewers. We built both, letting them swap instantly.

Photosphere fatigue

Users hated being dropped into low-res spheres. That feedback led us to prioritise Matterport-quality scans and better loading states.

Portal expectations

People wanted the same context they had on realestate.com.au – price, agent, and inspection info – so the VR portal mirrored the site UI.