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China’s US$2.3 trillion property sector tries out VR amid coronavirus scare, online food deliveries, health care set for long-term boost
- VR is unlikely to become a long-term trend, but online health care services could
- Online food delivery services experience unprecedented bounce in demand
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How do you keep a 15.97 trillion yuan (US$2.3 trillion) industry ticking in the middle of an outbreak that has got 46 million people on lockdown?
Mainland Chinese property dealers – banned from opening their sales offices in at least 60 jurisdictions amid an outbreak that has claimed 425 lives and infected more than 20,000 people – are turning to virtual reality (VR) technology as well as social-media platforms such as WeChat, in addition to websites, to sell homes.
Last week, companies including Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese property developer and integrated living services provider Greentown China Holdings and Beijing-based China Fortune Land Development launched WeChat mini programs that will let their customers undertake VR tours of properties for sale. LeJu, a New-York listed, Chinese real-estate services platform has created a section for virtual tours following the outbreak. It already offers free hotlines and WeChat groups for buyers.
But even if VR – a new buying method unavailable during the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 – might attract some potential homeowners, it is unlikely to become a long-term trend, analysts said.
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