Virtual View raises $500K to serve up virtual-reality views of real estate

U.K. startup Virtual View just raised $500,000 to make those luxurious condo apartment pictures jump off the pages of real estate glossies.

The company’s augmented reality app, Virtual View App, launched for iOS and Android this month. The app lets commercial property vendors construct 3D models of their properties simply by using the app on their mobile device to scan a photo of the property. According to a promo video, the app can make 3D models jump off the page, opening up buildings and homes floor by floor.

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The young augmented reality space already has a host of companies vying for users, including fellow London-based startup Blippar, along with Aurasma, and Taggar, which let users tag pictures to display virtual content when a user views the page through their smartphone. While many general-purpose apps are springing up, Virtual View has a more specific, professional market in mind.

Beyond the novelty of making virtual buildings grow out of the page, the app makers’ other big selling points for real estate agents are analytics and cost-effectiveness: You can track each marketing campaign individually, and Virtual View’s point-and-scan model of building a 3D model would cost less than building a traditional computer-generated model. Each piece of augmented reality content can also feature on-screen links to a company’s own social media channels.

Headed by estate agent Domenic Versace, the startup has already partnered up with multiple U.K. real estate agencies like Jackson Stops and Staff, Harrods, and Fine & Country.

Virtual View plans to use the money to expand the team of augmented reality experts, 3D artists, and app developers working out of its London offices. The funds come from unnamed individuals with a “finance and professional services background,” according to Versace.

Versace said that the company is also planning to open a new round of funding to finance expansion into the U.S., Australia, and the Middle East.

According to a press release, the app has already attracted international interest. The company is also currently working on a couple of products to complement its app, one of which will use the concept of street view to show the inside of a property.