P ROPER T Y M A N AGEMEN T
A 360-camera used to capture explorable footage for a virtual tour of a property.
Riaan Huysamen (far left) from SkyPixels preparing to record footage with a drone.
V irtual Reality irtual tours, in our new normal, are fast becoming commonplace V to sell property. By JAMES FRANCIS
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e’re taking a stroll through a house. The estate agent points out various features, gesturing and moving about. But we’re not at the property, and the agent’s presentation is not specifically for us. Instead, we’re watching a tour on YouTube, moving our phone to look around an impressive 360-degree scene. “In the international market, people are quite accustomed to virtual tours,” says Brendan Louw, CEO of Forj, a producer of virtual photo and video tours. “And three years ago, we started seeing this trickle into South Africa. There’s definitely momentum in the property market and we’ve even seen a higher increase since the pandemic.” At its most basic, you can imagine a virtual tour being similar to Google Street View: static photos stitched together so you can explore a 3D space using your mouse or fingers. The next stage is a virtual video tour, using 360-degree footage edited into an interactive video. At the top of the heap,
at least in terms of expense and complexity, are rendered tours: 3D rendered examples of properties or interior designs - popular among architects and those pre-selling properties. But regardless of the method, the result is the same: the ability to scrutinise a property without physically being there. Drones are also a modern way to capture property on video. According to Riaan Huysamen, an aerial photographer and drone pilot at SkyPixels, drones are great for location shots and bird’s-eye views of property layouts. Small drones can record interiors, so a video can swoop elegantly inside and outside of a property. Drones are used to capture 360-degree footage or photos, in ways other techniques cannot. “The drone is always going to give you a view that no camera can, unless
Education and training As the need increases for property managers to be upskilled, JAMES FRANCIS looks at the ways they can do so
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he role of a property manager has become more intense since the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting managers to be more formally qualified, says Samuel Azasu, associate professor (Real Estate) at Wits Enterprise. “The current pandemic has already complicated the demands for the job.
The pandemic has, in many cases, amplified the impact of a lack of formal training as people are forced to respond to situations they have not been trained for. Being able to understand the drivers of the economic outcomes for the property you manage and the changing
you had a very expensive camera on a long stick. You can take those kinds of shots that you would battle to do if you just had a normal camera,” says Huysamen. Uptake of these technologies has jumped, particularly among younger estate agents. Costs are also coming down - a standard virtual tour can cost less than R3 000 and these are very popular for sole mandates and private sellers - not least because they are secured from snooping visitors.
“In the international market, people are quite accustomed to virtual tours.” – Brendan Louw, CEO, Forj But there is also an influx of underqualified and amateur producers. Equipped with a basic 360-degree camera or unlicensed drone, these individuals frequently flaunt laws and produce poor quality content, undermining the rest of the industry. If you want a virtual tour of a property, consult the professionals. Cutting corners only leads to lacklustre results and legal complications.
needs of your tenants does not come naturally. Even if on-the-job learning is possible, formal training accelerates this learning and contextualises experience people already have,” says Azasu. There are numerous channels through which to train as a property manager. The University of the Witwatersrand’s Wits Enterprise is one of several local universities that offer a formal qualification. Others include the › Samuel Azasu
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