Preview: Home Sellers in 3D

Selling a Malibu mansion with an asking price of $57.5 million? Real estate company REX has a 3D marketing campaign for you. The Westlake Village startup broke into the crowded residential real estate market in 2015 by offering to sell upscale homes through its website, charging a fee of 2 percent rather than the higher commissions of traditional real estate agents. Now it has partnered with a Hollywood production company specializing in virtual reality to bring high-quality home tours to potential buyers. REX plans to mail Google Cardboard goggles to hundreds of people that its team has first identified as potential buyers based on several factors, including income and the value of their current home. While virtual tours that enable viewers to see and move through a home’s interior aren’t brand new, REX believes its process will bring a quality level to the experience appropriate for the price of its property. Chief Executive Jack Ryan calls the strategy for the Malibu home proactive because his marketers are pursuing possible buyers rather than just posting a listing on the traditional listing services that most agents use. “We can create a virtual reality experience, and send them the tool they need to have a virtual reality experience,” Ryan said. “That’s a totally different mindset versus putting a listing up on a website and crossing your fingers that someone shows up.” Read the full story in the March 6 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.