Realtors use new eyeglasses to show what catches, misses the eye in home tours

Taking a home tour in the future may mean taking off your shoes and putting on eyeglasses.

“This viewing tech helps us really confirm what people are looking at and focusing in on,” said Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla.

In London, realtors are using eye-tracking technology to see what potential buyers really pay attention to in a home.

“I enjoyed the experience, I really did. And the fact that it made me more aware to be aware, and I think that’s a good thing,” said one potential buyer who toured a home while wearing the glasses.

The glasses track the focus of a homebuyer’s eye in real-time. There are 4-cameras in the lenses.

A red dot pinpoints what items or rooms attract the homebuyer’s attention and which spaces are neglected.

The results?

“They’re spending lots of time on more superficial things, perhaps the art on the walls, we’ve even seen buyers inspect the food in the fridge,” said Daniel Copley with Zoopla.

The trial also showed how homebuyers often overlook structural elements of a home like ceilings, floors, chimneys, and radiators. Those factors took 38% of their attention, but 54% of their focus was on cosmetic features like furniture.

“The average consumer moves every 10 or 20 years. So this isn’t like buying a car every three years. And it’s a complicated process and there’s more everyone can do. And technology like this helps us and others work out how to help consumers fill in those gaps and have a better experience,” said Donnell.