Rocket Homes search app is now on Apple Vision Pro

Fresh off the launch of Apple Vision Pro last week, Rocket Cos. announced it had made its home-search app available for the new mixed-reality tool, adding spatial computing capabilities to its technology.

Rocket Homes, the real estate marketplace subsidiary of the Detroit-based enterprise, unveiled the Vision Pro app, which incorporates both physical and virtual environments as well as artificial intelligence, to give buyers using the headset 3D looks at properties and neighborhoods from afar. 

With the app integration, users can conduct a home search by telling the device what they are looking for or looking at a map of nearby listings based on their physical location. Upon finding a property of interest, buyers are able to home in to take a close view at the specific site and layout. With the app's Look Around feature, they also can see details of the home's exterior and the surrounding neighborhood.

"We are constantly developing new ways to make the home search more convenient and effective. That's exactly what we did when we created the Rocket Homes app for Apple Vision Pro, which will bring the home shopping experience to the game-changing world of spatial computing," said Sam Vida, president and chief product officer of the subsidiary, in a press release.  

Within available homes offering 3D tours, Apple Pro Vision users can also get a close-up at every room, Rocket said. Interaction through the device, which resembles ski goggles, is driven by a wearer's hands, voice and eyes, making use of machine learning to predict the user's intentions.

Outside of searching and touring, additional features on Rocket's app include the ability for users to share what they are seeing with others in real time through Apple's Facetime tool and an opportunity to compare multiple listings side by side within the Vision Pro device. 

The interest in virtually viewing and touring properties heightened over the past few years due to restrictions for in-person showings during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ultra low mortgage interest rates that created record demand for homes. 

"As an agent, I've had many buyers moving to another state who purchase a home sight unseen due to the cost and time it would take to travel to those properties," said Matt Mesimer, a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty Smart 1 in Winter Haven, Florida, in a press release.

The Rocket Homes' app on Apple Vision Pro will give buyers "a more immersive look" at a property from anywhere in the country, Mesimer added. "This also helps agents like me by giving buyers a preview of the home before any physical walkthroughs are necessary." 

Still, home buyers wishing to take advantage of the additional details provided by augmented and virtual reality will need to shell out a hefty sum for Apple's newest product. Launched on Friday after an initial sneak peak last summer, the Apple Vision Pro sells for $3,499, and is largely expected to initially be a niche product due to the price tag. 

The Apple Vision Pro integration marks the second tie-in with the tech giant in recent months. At the end of 2023, Rocket Homes made its property-search tool, which uses AI to assist potential buyers, available on Apple Carplay to allow for house hunting while on the road. 

Late last year, Rocket Mortgage also launched an internal AI-backed assistant to address frequently asked loan-officer questions. Upon its introduction, company officials said the tool was part of a broader aim to incorporate artificial intelligence across its lines of business. 

Rocket Cos.' recent leadership decisions also point to their expectations of the future impact of artificial intelligence and technology within real estate and lending industries. Last summer, the company hired a former executive from Intuit, Varun Krishna, as CEO. He was subsequently elected to Rocket's board of directors at the end of 2023, expanding the body with his appointment and last week, Rocket added artificial intelligence expert and entrepreneur Alex Rampell to the board.