Dive Brief:

• Hover announced enhancements to its smartphone app, a tool that converts home images into 3-D models that contractors can use to show clients what exterior design elements will look like as well as take measurements. 

• The first new feature, Hover Connect, lets customers use the app to provide their own photos of the home, giving contractors access to exterior visuals and measurements without having to visit the property. This can speed up the bidding process or, for insurance adjusters, the claims process.

• Hover Prospect, also new, provides organization-wide storage, allowing team members to upload photos to a communal account for review and approval. The feature gives decision-makers more control over the sales process and helps companies stay on top of lead prospecting. 

Dive Insight:

Exterior visualization technologies have become a key tool for contractors and remodelers, and their customers, with several siding, roofing and decking manufacturers offering the option on their websites to view available products on actual or stock images.

Exteria Building Products, for example, allows homeowners to upload a picture of their house to see how the siding will look in application, or they can build off a stock image. Ply Gem, Azek and CertainTeed, among others, offer similar tools

By seeing design options and products on their homes, buyers can be more confident about their product decisions, and may even be more easily swayed to consider upgrades.

Eyes are also on virtual reality, which has promise to provide a new sales tool for showcasing homes and features in addition to traditional in-person models. The ability to see their homes and design choices prior to breaking ground may also help buyers avoid costly changes further into the process. In addition, contractors may be able to determine more efficient layouts of utilities and HVAC.

Virtual reality could eventually reduce the need for multiple models, The Washington Post speculated last month, while still providing a sense of how the interiors will feel in ways that a blueprint can’t.

Pulte, for example, launched virtual reality at communities in New York and Florida, where potential buyers can use a VR headset to take virtual tours of available homes. The benefits are expected to be particularly helpful at the builder’s condos at The Retreat at Carmel, in Putnam County, NY, where models have yet to be completed. 

For more housing news, sign up for our daily residential construction newsletter.