Buying a home is easily one of the biggest — and exciting — decisions most people make during their lifetime. But because it’s also one the priciest purchases they’ll ever make, the home buying process can be stressful.
For example, more than 56% of new homebuyers totally or somewhat agree that they’ve wasted time exploring houses they would’ve otherwise skipped if they had understood the floor plans ahead of time.
Here’s the good news: with the right tools, the experience of finding and designing a new home can be an enjoyable one.
So, it’s important that Builders offer a greater variety of remote options that help potential homebuyers experience and accurately visualize their properties.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some ways that virtual home design software takes the stress out of the home buying/selling process.
1. Makes Home Buying More Convenient for Potential Homeowners
One of the biggest benefits of using virtual house design software is that buyers have the flexibility of trying out as many different design options as they want — right from their Macs, PCs or iPads. Whether it’s colors, textures, finishes or alternate design elements, the software allows them to try out various combinations remotely in a matter of minutes.This makes the process much more coveneint; not to mention, it saves them time from having to travel or coordinate schedules, thus curtailing the overall duration of the home buying process.
2. Provides a Collaborative Environment
Traditionally, the home design and buying process would involve bringing together multiple parties — architects, engineers, interior designers, electricians, plumbers and clients — to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Needless to say, this was a monumental task involving endless back-and-forth that increased the likelihood of errors and the overall project duration.Virtual home design apps ensure that all parties are on the same page by enabling them to coordinate on a single easy-to-use virtual platform. It allows Builders to take their Design Center online, so they can easily track and update which finishes, elevations, fixtures, flooring and structural options they present to customers. Also, buyers can easily customize the designs and accurately communicate their choices which allows for better collaboration.
3. Enables Automation and Improved Selection Management
Another advantage of using virtual home design software is that it eliminates the need for paper documents or manual processes and makes selection management easy, efficient and accurate.
Hyphen HomeSight, for example, allows Builders to streamline the selection of communities, lots, floor plans, colors, etc. by bringing everything online, thus creating a more efficient sales process. Also, you can accurately represent colors, fixtures and finishes so that customers can benefit from a wider array of options that suits their budgets and preferences.
Our software also allows buyers to compare cost estimates of their selections and takes the guesswork out of the equation, so they can accurately budget for their new home. In addition, it integrates their selections and preferences with your back-office so you can streamline your operations easily.
4. Offers Better Visualization Capabilities
Home and interior design software can help Builders create designs that allow homebuyers to visualize their dream homes in richer detail, which boosts conversions. The biggest benefit of virtual models is that it allows buyers to see how their choice of textures, designs, finishes, appliances, etc. look in a space. These instant and interactive views of rooms and spaces increase their confidence in their interior design selections as they try out and visualize every option.
In fact, 74% of homebuyers believe that dynamic floor plans (with square footage information, etc.) can help them better decide if a house is right for them.
“The single biggest frustration for Home Builders of all sizes is the design and selection process,” said Dan Dempsey, VP of Visualization of Hyphen Solutions. “Bringing the technology to the homebuyer in a simple, intuitive application dramatically changes the experience between builder and buyer and alleviates the stress of the new home sales process.”
5. Saves Design Time
Traditionally, designers and architects would rely on 2D floor plans or drawings to share design ideas with potential homeowners. Naturally, this meant a lot of back-and-forth and even miscommunication at times.
Fortunately, virtual home design software like Hyphen HomeSight allows users to see professional 3D renderings of interiors and exteriors that take the guesswork out completely. It’s particularly useful for the average homebuyer who may not be an expert at reading mockups or blueprints, but can still customize designs in real-time according to their preferences.
So, if a buyer suddenly decides to change up the kitchen design or add any structural options and changes, they can do so with just a few clicks. There’s no need for the designer to go back to the drawing board. Builders can easily update and track which features are presented to customers, thus reducing the amount of time required to plan and design homes.
It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that virtual design and selection management technology can reduce design center time by 67%.
“We’re always looking for ways to drive down the cost of the home while accommodating the schedules of our busy homebuyers,” said Maurie Jones, Senior VP of Marketing for Wayne Homes. “Saving time for both our design studio staff and the homebuyer is a win-win for both the buyer and Wayne Homes.”
6. Allows for Remote Viewing
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of using virtual house design software is that buyers can access and view properties at any time and from anywhere, from any device. Hyphen HomeSight’s mobile-friendly design ensures that users can easily view the designs from their iOS or Android devices — even when they’re not on-site. This offers much greater flexibility and convenience for buyers.
7. Streamlines Administrative Tasks
When integrated with other apps or solutions (for appointment booking, contract signing, etc.), a digital home design center solution can help to streamline operations and admin processes for Home Builders. One way that Hyphen HomeSight makes the buying process less stressful for customers is by helping them book appointments online with your sales teams directly.
Also, by integrating buyer preferences and selections with your back-office, our software ensures that your team can easily access that info in their meetings with the customer. It also facilitates contract signing thus making the sales process much more efficient.
8. Offers a Quicker and More Efficient Sales Cycle
Digitizing home design means you no longer have to maintain an in-person design center. Virtual designs and floor plans can help to convey the complete picture to your customers who can easily visualize their dream homes without having to make multiple on-site visits or design changes. By streamlining the selection process and bringing the design center online, you can significantly shorten the sales process, thus allowing homebuyers to purchase their new homes faster.
The Hyphen HomeSight Solution
As discussed above, virtual design software can help Home Builders and homebuyers streamline the purchasing process in a number of ways. They can help Builders generate more quality leads and manage selections while helping the buyer envision the outcome and helping them to fall in love with and see more design options during the buying process.
Hyphen HomeSight has a user-friendly and super intuitive interface with practically no learning curve. Buyers can easily customize their design by point-and-click and even use drag-and-drop to customize plan features like the electrical plan — without needing any computer-aided design (CAD) knowledge. Plus, it can be easily accessed from any platform or operating system, so your prospects can explore professional, photorealistic exterior and interior renderings of your design projects on their own time. Contact us to learn what makes Hyphen HomeSight the best virtual home design software in the market today.
