Gaussian Splatting for Real Estate: Virtual Tours & Property Marketing
Updated Mar 2026
Real estate is one of the first industries to adopt 3D Gaussian Splatting at scale. Zillow, Apartments.com, and dozens of proptech startups now use 3DGS to create photorealistic virtual tours that load instantly in the browser — no app download, no VR headset. Unlike traditional 360-degree photos or video walkthroughs, Gaussian Splatting captures the full 3D geometry and lighting of a space, letting buyers freely orbit, zoom, and explore every corner at their own pace. This guide covers the complete workflow from property capture to web-hosted virtual tour, with practical recommendations from real-world deployments.
Tools used in this guide
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1 — Capture the Property
The best results come from a systematic scan: walk through every room, capturing from multiple angles, with consistent lighting. Use Scaniverse (free, iPhone/Android) or Polycam ($12/mo) for phone-based 3DGS capture. For professional results, use a DSLR or mirrorless camera shooting 100-300 photos per room with 60-70% overlap between frames. Key tips from real deployments: avoid mirrors and windows (they create floater artifacts), turn on all lights (consistent lighting reduces color banding), capture from standing height + crouching height (covers walls and floor details), and move slowly (motion blur ruins Gaussian quality).
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Step 2 — Process and Train
If using Scaniverse, processing happens on-device — the app generates a .spz file automatically. If using photos from a camera, you need a training pipeline: COLMAP for structure-from-motion (camera pose estimation), then gsplat or the original 3DGS code for Gaussian training. Cloud services (Polycam, Luma AI) handle this automatically but charge per scene. Local training on a GPU (NVIDIA RTX 3060 or better) takes 20-45 minutes per room. Expect 500K-2M Gaussians per room depending on detail level.
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Step 3 — Clean Up the Scan
Every property scan needs cleanup: floating artifacts near windows, noise from moving objects (curtains, pets), and unwanted exterior views bleeding in through doorways. Use our Floater Removal tool (polyvia3d.com/splat-cleanup) for automatic cleanup — it removes 3-8% of Gaussians with no visible quality loss. For manual cleanup, import into Blender with the KIRI addon and use box select to crop unwanted areas. Pro tip: clean from the outside in — exterior floaters are the most visible and easiest to remove.
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Step 4 — Compress for Web
A raw PLY file for a single room is typically 100-300 MB — too large for web delivery. Compress to SPZ (90% reduction) or SOG (95% reduction) using our compression tools. For real estate tours, SPZ is recommended because it preserves spherical harmonics (the lighting effects that make the space look photorealistic from all angles). A 3-bedroom apartment typically compresses to 30-80 MB in SPZ — acceptable for broadband but tight for mobile. For mobile-first listings, consider compressing to 50% Gaussian count first, then SPZ — this brings it under 20 MB.
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Step 5 — Host and Embed
Host your compressed files on Cloudflare R2 (free tier: 10 GB, zero egress fees) or AWS S3 + CloudFront. Generate an embed code using our Embed tool (polyvia3d.com/splat-embed) and paste it into your listing page. Most real estate platforms (Zillow, Redfin, custom MLS sites) support iframe embeds. For WordPress real estate themes, use the Custom HTML block. The embed should include a loading indicator — buyers expect instant page loads and will bounce if the 3D viewer takes more than 5 seconds to appear.
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Step 6 — Optimize for Buyer Experience
Real estate buyers are not 3D professionals — the viewer needs to be intuitive. Best practices: set the initial camera position to show the room's best angle (usually from the entrance looking in), enable auto-rotation on load (slowly orbit to show the space is 3D), add a "Click and drag to explore" tooltip for first-time users, and provide a floor plan overlay or room labels so buyers can orient themselves. For multi-room tours, create separate 3DGS files per room and link them with a floor plan navigation UI. Each room loads independently, keeping load times fast.