Welcome to the PropMedia podcast. In this episode, your hosts, Matty and Moses, the co-founders of Pixlmob and Propmedia.com, are recording from the third day of PMRE in Las Vegas. They are joined by Aaron Smith, the Director of Sales for CubiCasa, a company that has revolutionized how floor plans are taken.
Aaron shares his journey from being a local real estate photographer in Michigan to becoming the Director of Sales at Cubicasa. He recounts his early days as a photographer, including joining a joint venture model called Next Door Photos and the challenges of learning to take photos.
Learn about Cubicasa:
- What it is: A mobile app that allows you to scan a home in about five minutes for the average U.S. home size and get a floor plan.
- Its impact: Cubicasa was founded in Finland, where floor plans are ubiquitous. While only 6% of U.S. listings had a floor plan when Aaron started, 34% of U.S. listings now have a Cubicasa floor plan.
- Its goal: The internal goal is "FP Pole," which stands for "Floor Plan on Every Listing".
- Its technology: The process relies on a proprietary model that runs the scan through a system, outputs the floor plan, and includes a QA feature. It was AI and machine learning before those became buzzwords.
- Photographer programs: Cubicasa has programs for photographers to help them be more successful.
- Value of floor plans: Floor plans combine images with spatial recognition, helping potential buyers determine if their belongings, like a couch or a piano, will fit.
Aaron also discusses the important role of real estate photographers in the industry, noting that between 70% and 80% of Cubicasa's scans come from real estate photographers. They are the first provider in the house outside of the realtor.
