3D apartment finder: how a project website sells apartments

A property developer sells apartments that often don't exist yet. Buyers can't walk through them. So the website has to do a large part of what a show apartment would otherwise do. Where is the apartment in the building, how is it laid out, how much light does it get, is it still available?

A PDF price list answers only one of those questions. An interactive apartment finder answers all of them, without a call to your sales team. This article explains how it works, what it requires and when a 2D version is enough.

Project website and company website

Your company website presents you as a developer: references, team, approach, past projects. A project website presents a single residential project: location, architecture, apartments and schedule. Mixing both on one site makes both unclear.

Portals like ImmoScout24 or Homegate bring buyers. But there, your apartments sit next to those of every competitor. The project website tells the story of the building and shows each unit in context. And the enquiry data stays with you.

How the finder works

1. The building appears as a model. Visitors rotate, tilt and zoom it right in the browser.
2. Every apartment is clickable. One click moves the camera to the unit.
3. The unit shows the facts: floor plan, area, rooms, outdoor space, position in the building and status.
4. Filters narrow it down, for example by rooms, area, floor or available units only.
5. A shortlist collects favorites. The link goes to everyone involved in the decision.
6. A form per apartment sends the enquiry with the unit number.

Where the project allows, the finder adds a sun-position slider, renderings or 360-degree tours. Label renderings clearly as visualizations. The finished building may differ in details.

The technology behind it

The browser draws the model itself, using WebGL and the open-source library three.js. Visitors need no plug-in, and the finder also runs on a phone. There, the controls are designed for touch. The model rotates with one finger without the page scrolling away. Filters and floor plans have their own mobile layout.

The finder is part of the project website, not a separate app. It uses the same domain, the same tracking and the same design. We build the site itself on Next.js. It loads fast and stays readable for search engines, and the model loads afterwards. From you we need floor plans as PDF or DWG, a list of units with area, rooms, outdoor space and price, and any existing renderings. If there is no architectural model, the 3D model is built from the plans.

What it brings a developer

We don't promise sales figures. But these effects follow directly from how it works:

• Fewer routine calls. Availability and plans are answered before anyone calls.
• Better prepared enquiries. The message arrives with the apartment number. Sales calls back with the plan in front of them.
• An up-to-date status. Status and price live in one place. Nobody quotes an apartment that has already been sold. Several sales teams and agents see the same data.
• Insight into interest. Clicks on units can be measured with consent. If an apartment gets few views after a few weeks, review the price or the floor plan.
• Reusable material. The same model produces renderings and camera flights for the brochure, ads and social media.

You change status and prices through a login in the browser. If your sales team uses agent software or a CRM with an interface, the finder can take the data from there. That way nobody maintains it twice.

Campaigns follow the same principle as enquiries. Send ads on Google or Meta straight to the finder or the matching unit, not to the home page. When the enquiry arrives with the apartment number, you see which units the advertising sells.

2D or 3D

Start from the project, not from the technology. For a small residential project, a tidy 2D finder often does the whole job. A 3D model pays off where the building itself is the argument.

Frequently asked questions