Rocket Homes Real Estate in Detroit, a tech-based real estate service provider and part of Rocket Cos., announced its app is now available for use on the Apple Vision Pro, the company’s new spatial computer.
With the Rocket Homes app on Apple Vision Pro, people can use the computer system to view and tour properties they are interested in purchasing.
“At Rocket Homes, we know there are millions of people who are waiting for the right moment to buy a home,” says Sam Vida, president and chief product officer of Rocket Homes. “We also know that there are many ways to find and fall in love with your next house during the homebuying journey.
“We are constantly developing new ways to make the home search more convenient and effective. That’s exactly what we did when we created the Rocket Homes app for Apple Vision Pro, which will bring the home shopping experience to the game-changing world of spatial computing.”
When homebuyers launch the Rocket Homes app in Apple Vision Pro, a home search page and map of nearby listings based on the user’s current location will fill their field of vision.
From there, buyers can immerse themselves in the spaces they are considering, giving them a realistic sense of a home’s location and layout from miles away or even across the country.
The app also features a “Look Around” option, enabling the user to explore the home’s exterior and view the surrounding neighborhood. On listings that include 3-D tours, they can get a close-up look at every room in the home, helping consumers to picture what their life there could be like.
Beyond the home search, additional features include the ability to compare multiple listings and view them side-by-side in Apple Vision Pro by using hand gestures to move listings around the space in front of them and zoom in on the map.
The Rocket Homes app also supports Apple’s SharePlay, enabling users to show a friend or family member what they see in their Apple Vision Pro via FaceTime. A homebuyer can get a second opinion and virtually walk through the home together, from anywhere in the world.
Interaction on Apple Vision Pro is predominantly driven by the user’s hands, eyes, and voice, using machine learning to accurately predict what command is being given. Home shoppers can simply say the location they are looking for and are instantly presented with possible listings.
If the user is signed into their Rocket account, Rocket Homes’ AI and machine learning technology will show properties the homebuyer is likely to be interested in based on their previous browsing and saved favorites.
Virtual reality, the precursor to spatial computing, has proven to be vital to the real estate community, according to bank Goldman Sachs. It estimated that 130,000 real estate agents used virtual reality to show listings in 2020 during the height of COVID-19, giving buyers a close look at homes while social distancing.
Even though physical showings have returned, virtual reality has quickly grown in popularity – with the global market having been valued at $60 billion in 2022 and projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 27.5 percent through 2030.
“As an agent, I’ve had many buyers moving to another state who purchase a home sight unseen due to the cost and time it would take to travel to those properties,” says Matt Mesimer, real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty Smart 1 in Winter Haven, Fla. “It’s awesome that, with the Rocket Homes app now available for Apple Vision Pro, buyers will be able take a more immersive look at a property from anywhere in the country. This also helps agents like me by giving buyers a preview of the home before any physical walk-throughs are necessary, streamlining the overall process to get them into their new home faster than was previously possible.”
The Rocket Homes mobile app was recognized as one of the Best Apps for iOS 17 by Apple’s editorial board in 2023. Homebuyers can download the Rocket Homes app to use on their mobile device, in CarPlay or in the Vision Pro App Store today. To shop for or list a home, speak with a real estate agent or for more information, visit RocketHomes.com.
