A first-of-its-kind tech feature is set to help home buyers find their must-have rooms quickly and efficiently without the headache of scrolling through dozens of listing photos.
Realtor.com has just released Photo First, a feature which will automatically recognise characteristics of a room and organise photos into categories with more than 97 percent accuracy.
Photo First allows buyers to quickly home in on the photos that are most important to them by simply selecting a feature category: exterior, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room or dining room.
realtor.com Chief Product Officer Chung Meng Cheong said that thanks to the feature’s deep learning-based algorithm, there is no additional work required for the seller or listing agent to optimise photos.
“Imagine a home search that’s completely customisable. One where you can choose all the features that are important to you, and not only find those homes quickly, but view those photos first,” he said.
“The Photo First feature uses deep learning to optimise and categorise listing photos for each home to simplify the home journey. So, if you’re particular about features in your kitchen or bathroom, you can view those photos right away.”
Developed by realtor.com’s mobile and data science teams, the Photo First feature is powered by a proprietary deep learning model for image classification, which enables it to recognise different aspects and automatically associate each photo with the coinciding room.
They claim that 100 percent of test users preferred the Photo First interface and more than 60 percent engaged with photo categories during testing. The new functionality led to more consumers viewing the home’s details and taking the next step to connect with an agent and learn more.
Photo First is now available on Android and iOS, and will be coming soon to web and mobile web.
