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ATLANTA, Sept. 19, 2017 -- Selling a home to millennials is hard and selling a home that doesn’t yet exist is even harder. Working to enhance the overall buying experience on terms millennials are familiar with, national homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) is using virtual reality to better connect with one of the fastest growing consumer groups in housing.
“Effectively visualizing a home just by looking at a 2-dimensional floor plan is really challenging for most potential homebuyers,” says Manish Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer for PulteGroup. “Virtual reality is an engaging way to interact with a new home design. It’s better than a static video tour and really helps the buyer to see and experience a home.”
Early in 2017, PulteGroup consumer tested different virtual reality platforms, including full virtual reality immersion to better understand consumers’ comfort level with the technology, their ability to perform tasks, and their preferred method of interacting with home designs.
Building on its successes, PulteGroup has recently deployed a virtual sales center at one of its highly-anticipated communities in Atlanta, Parkside at Mason Mill, a 341 urban infill development near Decatur with a blend of luxury single-family homes, townhomes and condos. This community operates under the Pulte Homes brand.
According to Brent Landry, vice president of operations for the Georgia Division, “Many of us have become familiar with virtual reality on HGTV and other home improvement shows. This technology has come a long way in recent years and can help our customers visualize their new Pulte home like never before. There is also a coolness factor that helps to drive traffic and create excitement, plus the power of the technology itself has led to sales at a number of communities throughout the country.”
Upon visiting the sales center at Parkside, consumers can take themselves through a self-guided tour using a gaming controller to view the floor plan on a large screen TV. The virtual reality imaging gives the homebuyer a lifelike feel for the flow of the house and how the individual spaces work together within a plan. Sales people are always on hand to assist the buyers in using the technology and to answer any questions they may have.
While Parkside buyers have only seen the virtual home designs or the renderings, the community has already sold more than 20 homes in the initial pre-selling efforts.
“PulteGroup continues to be at the forefront of innovation as it explores opportunities to effectively integrate technology in the home and related sales process, including its efforts around smart home technology, sustainability, and its new product development process,” adds Shrivastava. “Virtual reality technology is just another way for us to be responsive in meeting the demands of today’s tech-savvy consumers.”
To experience the virtual reality gaming technology, you can visit the Parkside community or get a sense of the experience here.
For more information about how PulteGroup using virtual reality, visit bit.ly/PulteGroupVirtualReality.
About PulteGroup, Inc.
PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of America’s largest homebuilding companies with operations in approximately 50 markets throughout the country. Through its brand portfolio that includes Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, the company is one of the industry’s most versatile homebuilders able to meet the needs of multiple buyer groups and respond to changing consumer demand. PulteGroup conducts extensive research to provide homebuyers with innovative solutions and consumer inspired homes and communities to make lives better.
For more information about PulteGroup, Inc. and PulteGroup brands, go to pultegroupinc.com; www.pulte.com; www.centex.com; www.delwebb.com; www.divosta.com and www.jwhomes.com. Follow PulteGroup, Inc. on Twitter: @PulteGroupNews.
For Media Inquiries
Valerie Dolenga
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