Great Property Marketing Idea, But Is It The Most Cost Effective?

In today's NY Times there is a story about property developers that are building out full-scale apartments as an exact replica of what a buyer is going to get after the property is built.

“To ask buyers to make the biggest investment of their life off just blueprints is too much,” said Dean Geibel of Metro Homes in Hoboken N.J.

While sales seem to benefitting from this approach, I cannot help but wonder why a detailed 3D Walkthrough, Interactive Floor Plan or 3D Floor Rendering would not preclude this expensive option. A sales office featuring a full-size unit can cost six times one with just select details. It can also be costly to build a space to house it, says Jason Schlesinger of the developer Ceebraid-Signal.

3Dwalkthroughs.com believes the use of 3D assets to promote new property developments will continue to explode as the number of 3D Walkthrough companies increases. We also believe there will be a steady decrease in the price of 3D assets and this will make it more affordable even for smaller property developers. Some of these factors include: A rise in the number of 3D animation studios and an increase in "Do It Yourself" 3D modelling tools.

It would be interesting to have a discussion with the property developers that are builing out full replica's of their apartments to understand their reasons for selecting this expensive marketing strategy.

Massive Slowdown in New Home Building in Long Island

Long Island's new-home-construction industry is approaching it's lowest level in the last 50 years as evidenced by the significant decrease in the amount of building permit applications.

In the face of the new construction slowdown many builders are changing their focus to renovation jobs, moving to more active states or strategizing different markets to go after.

Officials on Long Island point to several reasons for the slump in New Home Building Permit Applications. They include: Cost of housing, less available land, planning delays, changing consumer tastes, home-sales backlog and a changing population.

One former government official, Robert Gaffney, believes the slowdown in new home sales could be a good thing as Long Island developers might change the type of properties they are building to reflect the changing population. He said "the traditional suburbs have little to attract and keep the bright 20- and 30-year-olds who are key to creating new high-tech industries and new high-paying jobs".

3Dwalkthroughs.com is experiencing an increasing number of local architects utilizing our 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings as a means of demonstrating renovation plans. This is a stark contrast to a few years ago where they were used primarily for the sales and marketing of new home developments.

In spite of the mortgage crisis, the slowdown in new home building does not seem as evident in other parts of the country.

Please read today's Newsday for a Full Story on This Issue>>>

3D Virtual Worlds Are Here To Stay - Raise Over 1 Billion Dollars in the Last Year

A recent study released by Virtual Worlds Management reveals 33 companies have raised over 1 billion dollars towards virtual world platforms from October 2006-2007 . The announcement comes just prior to the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo taking place October 10-11, 2007, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California.

This number is expected to grow exponentially as virtual world technology improves, computer processing speed increase and virtual world platforms offer more specific applications for both business and recreational purposes.

The billion dollars worth of investments were made by the following groups: Technology Platform Companies, Virtual Worlds Developers, Service Providers and Tools Providers.

3Dwalkthroughs.com continues to explore various virtual world platforms to determine the best fit for our current technology. The goal of most of the virtual world companies we've had discussions with is to evolve towards as realistic of an environment as possible. The obstacle still seems to be limited computer processing speeds but with Intel focused on this issue it should be overcome shortly.

We are currently working with a Virtual Trade Show company to integrate our realistic 3D Renderings and 3D Walkthroughs. A demo will be posted shortly.

3D Walkthroughs Used As A Leasing Tool For Commercial Properties

Imagine you are a potential tennant in need of office space. You meet with a leasing agent or broker and they take you on a world tour of 10 properties. After the tour you are given the agents business card and perhaps some 2D Floor Plans. When you sit down to review the floor plans you forget the building the 2D Floor Plan corresponds to, or you are not familiar with reading a floor plan and cannot visualize how it would work for your organization.

3Dwalkthroughs.com has the answer. We are starting to see a large number of commercial landlords providing tenants with 3D Renderings and 3D Floor Plans as a way of closing the deal. They are also using 3D Renderings as a way of previewing capital improvement plans before construction starts.

Today's client demands Web 2.0 technology from their leasing agent. This includes the ability to view available space from a mobile device. We believe this trend will only continue to grow as 3D technology becomes more embraced by the mass market and compuer processing speed increases.

3D Virtual Stores Used For Consumer Behavior Testing

A new tool developed by Kimberly-Clark Corp., is being used to track consumer behavior in virtual 3D representations of big box retailers.

Using this new technology a consumer can walk through a very realistic version of a retail environment, simulate their progress down the aisle and reach forward to put a virtual item in their shopping cart. The new tool also incorporates retina tracking to follow the glance of a consumer as they make their way down the virtual aisle.

Procter & Gamble has also been said to be working on a virtual modeling product that will help bring innovations to market quicker and more cost effectively.

Kimberly-Clark says its studio allows researchers and designers to test new product designs and displays without having to stage real-life tests or tipping off competitors.

Without going into too much detail, 3Dwalkthroughs.com is currently working on a product that integrates our 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings with a technology that allows a consumer to select and purchase specific products in real time from any computer. This new product should be released in the next 4-6 weeks and we are very enthusiastic about it's potential.

The Full Article From The Wall Street Journal Online Can Be Found Here>>>

Blog For Google 3D Warehouse Part 4 (October Pick)

As many of you know, 3Dwalkthroughs.com selects our favorite 3D model each month from Greg Rose's blog which highlights new 3D building models as they are added to Google's 3D Warehouse.

Our monthly selection is based on impressive: architecture, level of detail, level of realism etc.

For the month of October we have chosen New Nou Camp. I chose this particular model as I was intrigued by the use of colors and curves.

Description
After 50 years of wonderful memories, the Camp Nou is looking to the future with optimism. The world-famous firm of architects, Foster + Partners, is to undertake the remodelling of the stadium based on the initial concepts of Francesc Mitjans. Home of FC Barcelona this new stadium will feature a glittering facade studded with colored polycarbonate and glass panels, creating a scaly skin of sorts, serving to shade, shelter, provide natural ventilation, and make a strong visual statement. The redesign will increase the Camp Nou's capacity from 98,000 to 106,000. The construction work will begin in 2009 and is due to be completed by the start of the 2011-2012 season. Total cost of the project is 250 million euro. Model made by Stefan Larsson, larstefan@gmail.com

NY Mets - At Least We Have a New Stadium To Look Forward To

I am sure that I speak for all NY Met Fans when I say...nothing, just stare at the TV in disbelief. What will go down in history as one of the biggest chokes in sports history has happened right in our backyard. Approximately 17 days ago the NY Mets had a 7 game lead in their division and were all but assured a playoff berth. Yesterday's loss assured them of the contrary as they were officially knocked out of the playoff's.

However, today is Monday and we must look on the bright side. In another year or so we will be moving into the new Citi Field Stadium. With the hard work of more than 400 skilled professionals, construction of Citi Field continues to progress at an accelerated pace this summer. I am blown as I witness the daily progress on my way to the 3Dwalkthroughs.com office every day. To see 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings of the new Citi Field stadium go Here>>>

Progress Update Taken From NY Mets Website.

Approximately 70% of Citi Field's structural steel frame has been installed.
More than 60% of the stadium concrete plank - the tiered concrete structures that will support the stadium seats - has been installed. This now includes the seating areas for the main concourse as well as portions of the Suite Level.

Out in center field, the main scoreboard steel supports have been set in place and the bridge at the Diamond Plaza that will one day overlook the bullpens has been constructed.

The brick façade, or architectural precast, is well on its way to totally enclosing the administration building, including the future retail/storefront space that fronts 126th Street. Fans traveling down Roosevelt Avenue can also see the rich brick exterior enveloping the south side of Citi Field continuing its march toward the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.