The Impact of Property CGI for House Builders
Why did a traditional 89-year old house builder switch from traditional to digital sales tools?
In today’s climate, many home buyers seek a greater level of information and the ability to explore properties before they are built, making the reliance on outdated marketing methods a barrier to sales.
Housebuilders who continue to operate solely within traditional frameworks risk losing potential buyers to competitors who have embraced digital sales tools.
As seen with William Davis Homes, transitioning to digital sales methods not only accelerates off-plan sales but also drives customer engagement and satisfaction.
House Builder Strategically Switches to Digital
With nearly 90 years of experience, William Davis Homes recognised the need to evolve with the demands of modern homebuyers. This strategic decision to move from traditional to digital wasn’t just about modernisation, it was driven by the need to engage home buyers earlier in their journey and facilitate more off-plan sales.
Up until their switch to digital, William Davis was launching developments similar to many other traditional developers, which looked a little like this:
- Development landing page with a Streetscene CGI
- Brochure to download/register home buyer interest
- Static 2D site plan
- Housetypes CGI’s with floor plans
While this formula is fairly typical across the industry for a pre/post-site launch, developers across the country are now offering greater exploration and information off-plan to their homebuyers through the use of CGI and digital sales tools.
With the industry standard evolving, William Davis revised their strategy to:
- Drive off-plan engagement/enquiries.
- Provide home buyers with a greater understanding of their development and individual house types.
- Enable the ability to launch off-plan with digital exploration.
- Equip their team with digital sales tools that could translate seamlessly from buyers’ online journey to the sales centre.
The Result for House Builders & Home Buyers
“The EyeSiteView tech is precisely the injection of digital-first thinking our marketing approach needed. With the Virtual Tour and Virtual Showhome, we’re getting customers engaging with a property that hasn’t even been built yet!
It’s an essential tool for any modern housebuilder. Highly recommend Tony and the team.” – William Davis Homes
The results of this digital overhaul were overwhelmingly positive for both William Davis and their home buyers.
According to feedback from home buyers at the Skylarks development, 55% of respondents purchased their homes off-plan – well before construction was completed.
This early engagement was largely driven by the ability to visualise the properties and the overall development through the digital tools provided.
A staggering 90% of respondents reported that the 360 Virtual Tour helped them visualise the home and imagine themselves living there. This not only increased their confidence in purchasing but also played a critical role in their decision to buy off-plan. The immersive experience provided by virtual tours and virtual showhomes fostered an emotional connection to the properties, which is often challenging to achieve through traditional marketing methods, such as a static 2D site map, floorplans and single-house type CGI imagery alone.
Furthermore, 60% of home buyers used the Active Siteplan to find their desired house type, while 80% agreed that the interactive resources enhanced their overall buying journey.
The integration of these digital tools into the sales process allowed William Davis Homes to create a seamless experience that bridged the gap between online exploration and in-person visits to the sales centre.
The Future of Housebuilding: Digitial is Here to Stay
The feedback from the Skylarks development highlights a growing preference among home buyers for a more interactive and personalised buying experience.
Many respondents expressed interest in additional online functionalities, such as a Housetype Configurator to visualise home upgrades.
As the market and home buyers continue to evolve, it is clear that digital tools are becoming essential for housebuilders. They not only facilitate earlier sales but also provide home buyers with a more informed and confident purchasing experience.
The success of William Davis Homes’ digital transformation stands as a powerful testament to how even the most seasoned housebuilders can revolutionise their marketing and sales strategy by embracing digital innovation.
This example exemplifies the potential for established developers to not only adapt to the changing landscape but also to thrive by harnessing tech that meets the evolving needs of today’s home buyers.
