Stroll around your dream home without ever leaving the couch

THE way you buy a home could change forever thanks to ground-breaking new virtual reality technology.

Buyers will now be able to stroll around a new property without ever having to leave the comfort of their couch.

As the property market heats up again, eight of Ireland’s major estate agents have signed up for the technology to help sell to the next generation of house hunters.

The Virtual View App, which can be downloaded for free onto a mobile phone, allows house buyers and sellers to scan a ‘trigger’ image on the flat picture of the property.

The user will then see a 3D image of the house come to life on their screen, which will enable them to take a ‘walk’ around the house and give them a virtual tour, floor by floor.

“Until now, people have been making their decisions about seeing and buying property based on flat pictures,” says app developer Conrad Jones.

“Seeing is believing. You can lift the roof of a house and virtually walk into every room. This will change the goalposts forever.”

Sellers can also track how many times their property has been viewed, and from what region the interest is coming.

The technology has already been snapped up by a number of leading estate agents, including Sherry Fitz-Gerald and Savills.

Sunday Independent readers can view the 3D image to the left. On a smartphone or tablet, go to your App Store and search for Virtual View App. Download it, open it, hold your phone or tablet over the full picture and pause for a few seconds. You must have 3G coverage or wifi.