Virtual showroom for off-plan sales: a subscription platform or custom-built?

A virtual showroom for pre-sales is a page that opens from a link and shows the finished building, its floors and units with availability. Several platforms offer it on a subscription, each with its own focus, and I built Recorrido 3D, which also has a floor and unit selector but focuses on walking through each apartment from the inside.

As a developer, the question I hear most is not "which one is best?" but "should I pay for a platform or build my own?". Here is what each model offers, what to ask before signing and when each one makes sense. Each provider's features change often, so confirm them with each one.

What does each model offer?

Each provider's features change often: check them in their demo before deciding.

What does each one do well?

Platforms with a sales suite stand out for how fast they launch and for shipping ready-made pieces like a CRM, messaging channels and broker modules.

Platforms with built-in sales management bring visuals and sales together: prices, financing and lead follow-up, plus 360 tours, flyovers and renders.

Showrooms from visualization studios have the advantage that the showroom and the images come from the same team.

Recorrido 3D focuses on the inside of the unit: the buyer does not look at a plan from above or jump between 360 points, but walks through the apartment continuously, photorealistic. And since one walkthrough per apartment type serves every floor where it repeats, a building with many units and few types needs one walkthrough per type, not one per unit.

What should you ask before hiring a showroom?

These are questions I would ask any software provider, myself included. There are no right or wrong answers: what matters is knowing them before you sign.

• What happens if I stop paying the subscription? If it is monthly, ask whether the showroom goes offline, whether you keep the images and plans, and what happens to links already sent.
• Who owns the domain? A link on the builder domain builds the builder brand; one on the provider domain builds the provider brand.
• Can it be embedded on my website? Ideally the showroom lives inside the project website, not only on a separate page.
• What does the unit look like inside? Ask for the demo and open a unit on your phone: floor plan, 360 views or walkthrough. That is what your buyer will see.
• Who updates availability? When a unit sells, do you mark it, does the provider, or does it sync automatically?
• What does the price include? Renders, 360 views, walkthroughs, changes, hosting. And what is billed separately.

When does a platform fit and when does a custom build?

• If what you lack is sales management (lead follow-up, brokers, on-screen financing, automatic replies), a platform with a sales suite ships those pieces ready and tested.
• If you already have renders and plans and want to organize them, a showroom with unit sheets solves that fast.
• If buyers hesitate because they cannot picture the apartment (it is off-plan, they live far away, or they are comparing with other projects in the area), they should be able to walk through it. That is the focus of Recorrido 3D.
• If you need something of your own (integrated with your system, your website or your current CRM), a custom build lets you decide what is shown and where it lives. Same reasoning as in custom website vs template.

Can they be combined?

Yes, and often that is the most sensible option. Each unit type walkthrough is a link: it goes on the unit page of any showroom, on the project website, or straight into WhatsApp. A showroom can organize stock and prices, and the walkthrough answers the underlying question: what is it like to live there.

To see what a 3D walkthrough is and how sales teams use it, read 3D virtual tours for real estate agencies and builders.

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