Residential Renderings: 3 Reasons They're More Than a Construction Tool

Residential renderings have long proven to be a valuable tool in development projects, especially for architects. Not only do renderings help mitigate errors and misunderstandings in the design, but they also help owners and developers reject poor design ideas and envision the end result.

In multifamily, residential renderings serve the same purpose. They certainly help dispel bad design and help architects create photorealistic representations, but apartment renderings offer so much more beyond the construction stage — residential renderings are the ultimate marketing tool for multifamily developments.

Apartment renderings get future residents excited about a new community. They can also help real estate investors see the end result early on. Ultimately, photorealistic renderings help build rapport with your prospects. Let’s find out how.

1. You can generate buzz around your new community

How will prospects know that your new construction site will become a beautiful high-rise in only a matter of months? Use your residential renderings to your advantage during pre-leasing to excite prospects. Converting basic construction signs into beautiful signage with photorealistic renderings can hype up your new development, not to mention increase word-of-mouth marketing efforts.

In addition to signage, 3D renderings work well for print materials you might hand out during a hard hat tour or send in a direct mail campaign. Perhaps you want to pass out some flyers to nearby shops and local restaurants for them to advertise to their clientele. Or, you can leverage these renderings on social media ads to target renters in the market for a new apartment. Renderings give you so much more to work with on the marketing front when it seems you have little to work with during construction.

2. Meet Those Aggressive Pre-Leasing Goals

Generating leases is what every multifamily company wants to do. And when you can do that during development, you’re a step ahead of the game.

Most multifamily marketers have aggressive pre-leasing goals. If you need to lease space before it’s built, lean on your 3D renderings. Renderings will become your main source of marketing power during a lease-up, so be sure to use them wisely.

Take it from an apartment community that has plenty of experience with renderings. The Collins, an apartment community managed by RAM Partners, could pre-lease 53% of its units simply by pre-marketing with renderings. This community continues to use its renderings long after the building has been established simply because of its photorealistic qualities.

3. Give a Virtual Alternative to Hard Hat Tours

The biggest challenge with pre-leasing is that there is no building or perhaps only part of a building to show. While hard hat tours continue to be a common method to show renters the grounds and finished areas of a new community, there are a few caveats:

1. The building may not be completely finished, so renters (or owners looking to buy the new property) only see part of the finished result.
2. Depending on the construction status, hard hat tours are not always the safest or most effective.
3. Lastly, in-person tours don’t hold the same weight as once. With the ongoing concerns about public health, alternatives might be needed to show off a property virtually.

Thanks to 3D residential renderings, you have the ultimate tool for sight-unseen leases. 3D virtual tours are an all-around better solution for developments wanting to show off an unfinished property for the above-mentioned reasons. Moreover, 88% of homebuyers say they would rather do a virtual walk-through of a property anyway rather than see it in person.

Whether you’re showing off the development to an interested real estate investor or you work for a management company trying to meet pre-leasing goals, 3D tours offer an impressive list of benefits for the end user:

• You can easily share all of your 3D assets with your prospects online
• The end user can control their touring experience from any location
• Virtual tours are perfect for top-of-funnel sales and marketing

Here are some examples of rendered virtual tours in action (click each image to take the tour):