Online real estate platform CommonFloor.com recently launched what it calls “the world’s first virtual reality innovation in real estate for the masses”. The innovation christened CommonFloor Retina offers property seekers a virtual walkthrough of 2/3/4 BHK flats and studio flats, including the exteriors of the apartment complex, the gardens, public spaces, and view from top of the buildings; allowing them to view, review and assess multiple properties from the comfort of their homes.

While virtual walkthroughs have been offered to property buyers in India since 2004-05 by builders and developers, it required property seekers to visit the site to experience it. With CommonFloor Retina, a property seeker has to install the app on Android phone, launch the app and insert the phone inside the headgear to experience the virtual tour of the property.

While the headgear costs ₹1,000 and is available for sale on the CommonFloor website and on Flipkart, the app at present works on high-end Android phones like the Nexus 4 and above, MotoG 2{+n}{+d} Generation, Samsung Galaxy 4 and above, MotoX and Mi3.

“Property discovery is one of the biggest problems in India. Typically, property buyers travel 300 km and spend 720 hours before buying a home. With CommonFloor Retina, we are not only sparing them the hassle of travelling from one location to the other but also precious time by giving them the choice to view and review multiple properties within a few minutes,” said Sumit Jain, co-founder & CEO, CommonFloor.com.

“To start with, we have tied up with 20 developers offering 500 new projects in Bengaluru and will roll it out pan-India within the next two weeks. By the year end, we will have 1,000 new projects that can be experienced virtually,” added Jain.