Rehoboth Beach real estate firm integrates new technologies
The Oldfather Group, with offices in Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Lewes, announced that its parent company, Sotheby’s International Realty, has become one of the first real estate entities in the United States to fully support 3D tours online.
The tours also feature a virtual reality tour experience that can be viewed through compatible devices such as Android phones or VR headsets. “We have a growing number of out of state buyers who are interested in purchasing homes in coastal Delaware, and this technology allows them to essentially view those homes without actually having to drive here to do so,” says Dustin Oldfather, chief executive of the Oldfather Group. “We really feel that virtual reality is the future of real estate, and we’re happy to be on the cutting edge of that technology here at the Delaware beaches,” he says.
The Oldfather Group has been utilizing 3D and VR technology for several months on many of its listings, using new equipment and technology to showcase select homes in the coastal Delaware market. What the announcement from Sotheby’s International means is another significant outlet is available to market local homes, allowing for greater exposure of the coastal Delaware real estate market.
Virtual reality and 3D technology are used by strategically placing specialized cameras throughout properties to create results that transform the traditional way people view homes online. It allows a prospective homebuyer to virtually walk through a property using only a keyboard, adding an additional layer of content to online real estate listings. “We currently have an effective team of people who focus on marketing our properties using this latest technology that’s available in the marketplace,” says Oldfather, whose firm is ranked as one of the top five in Sussex County in most sales categories. “Our 3D models are based on photographs taken on-site by our chief photographer, as well as on readings from infrared sensors. Those models are then posted online and marketed via social media, by utilizing blogging and other traditional methods and via our online portals,” he says.
“And now, with this latest announcement from Sotheby’s, we’ll have yet another outlet for promoting our clients’ homes in this new and exciting way,” says Oldfather. Thus far, the Oldfather Group has marketed nearly 50 of its homes using virtual reality, and Sotheby’s has announced it will have 3D tours available on more than 1,000 of its properties at launch.
Sotheby’s International Realty has more than 19,000 affiliated independent sales associates in 850 offices spread out over 65 countries and territories, including the Ocean Atlantic Co., located in Rehoboth Beach.
The Oldfather Group has been affiliated with Ocean Atlantic and Sotheby’s for more than 10 years and today specializes in real estate sales throughout coastal Delaware, including Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island. For more information, go to www.extraordinarydelawarerealestate.com.
