Matterport Acquires VHT Studios in Bid to Expand Marketing Services
“When we looked at VHT Studios and the work they do, it was a natural fit to unite our efforts to reimagine the fragmented process that was in place for brokers and agents to list properties and prospective buyers to view them,” says Matterport CEO RJ Pittman. “We are not only excited for how we can transform the customer experience in the real estate industry but also how we can apply VHT Studios’ expertise to our growing enterprise business as demand for digital twin technology continues to surge.”
Smart. Zillow was ordered to pay VHT Studios 2 million dollars for copyright infringement. Much less than VHT was originally asking for. I wonder if VHT (now Matterport) will appeal that ruling.
Interesting purchase into the retail market, adding another revenue stream. I always thought matter ports boat anchor camera business model is doomed to fail. Who put something like that out in an age of miniaturization?? It’ll be interesting to see what their quarterly report says next month. I’ve never tracked virtual tour statistics in the MLS. However I did take a look today at the number of listings with an unbranded “virtual tour”. Out of 3877 active listings in Orange County, there are 1187 listings with an unbranded virtual tour link.
A fair number of the VT links were Matterport links. But a lot of them were links to to video. Post Covid, I don’t know that the number of 360° virtual tour links expands beyond where it is now.
To be upfront, I’ve always thought 360° virtual tours are tedious to navigate. How much time is the average person really willing to spend navigating through a bunch of tours. I’m much more of a proponent of beautiful and thoughtful photography. And of course video is and will be king.