As of Monday, Zillow surfing 2.0 is now nationwide.
Home shoppers across the U.S. can now get a deeper sense of a home without actually stepping inside, using Zillow's free, AI-generated floor-plan tool, the company said.
Zillow's AI-generated floor plan, powered by Zillow tech but available for use for free on listings anywhere, serves as a dynamic guide to give shoppers digital insight and detail so they can more quickly and easily narrow their home searches, saving buyers time while shopping, the company said.
Zillow uses machine learning to not only generate floor plans, but also to import each listing photo and place it on the floor plan, giving shoppers an in-person perspective of a home's shape and flow. The AI program uses panoramic photos captured by an agent or photographer with the free 3D Home app and a 360-degree camera, and then applies the company's computer vision and machine-learning models to generate a 3D Home tour and interactive floor plan.
The program includes AI-predicted room dimensions, square footage, and the location of the listing photos relative to the other media.
"Zillow surfing has always been about imagining all the possibilities a move could bring, and Zillow surfing 2.0 is bringing those possibilities to life in a much more interactive, realistic way," said Josh Weisberg, vice president of Zillow's Rich Media Experience team. "Now shoppers can act more quickly and confidently, whether they're searching in their own neighborhood or hundreds or thousands of miles away. We're pushing the boundaries of what homebuyers and renters can expect when shopping for a home online."
For buyers and renters, Zillow's AI-generated floor plan means they will get a remarkably accurate sense of a home's flow and space compared to viewing two-dimensional pictures, the company said.
More than half (56%) of buyers agree they wasted time on their home search by viewing properties that they would have skipped if they had understood the floor plan before their visit, according to Zillow’s 2021 Housing Trends Report. From the same report, 74% agree that a dynamic floor plan helps them determine if a home is right for them.
For agents and landlords, the new and expanded technology means bringing a listing to life and showing homes to more serious and interested shoppers: 81% of buyers and 71% of renters said they were more likely to visit a home if the listing included a floor plan they liked.
“Immersive floor plans give agents the ability to build a connection between potential buyers and listings prior to any showings," said George Laughton, founder of the Laughton Team in the Phoenix area. "They give buyers a sense of familiarity and make them feel as though they've been in the home before, helping them establish a stronger emotional connection with the home."
