A conceptual VirtuHome business model: transforming real estate with immersive technology for enhanced property experience and wellbeing

This paper introduces VirtuHome, a conceptual business model that leverages VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies to transform the real estate experience and wellbeing. VirtuHome offers a digital platform and mobile application that allows customer segment (CS) like home buyers and renters, real estate developers, and property investors to explore properties virtually, enhanced branding through technology and foresee the realtime market insight. The platform addresses the key challenges faced by these CS by providing features like immersive virtual tours, interactive AR home staging, and remote live consultations. The methodology applied in this project is the Design Thinking (DT), which involves understanding the CS needs through literature review, benchmarking similar business like iProperty, Property Guru, and interviews. This is followed by ideation, prototyping, and validation using business modeling tools such as the Business Model Canvas (BMC) and Value Proposition Canvas (VPC), Business Environmental Map (EM), and Strategy Canvas (SC) to establish the validated business model of VirtuHome. Key findings reveal the significant potential of VirtuHome in enhancing CS’s experiences and wellbeing to improve convenience; optimise costs, time, and energy; and support smarter property decision-makings. Future work includes expanding the platform's features with AI and analytics, and developing a comprehensive business plan based on the validated VirtuHome business model.