Google Streetview now taking pics of building interiors

Currently, when you visit Google Maps, you have the option of dragging the little orange man onto most any street and getting what’s called Streetview that allows you to see what your surroundings look like as if you’re standing in that very street. It is an attractive tool for any Realtor working with a client who is relocating.

Google Streetview is offered on many real estate search sites and IDX provider feeds, and this spring, Google announced that they would be taking Streetview indoors and sending their photographers into retail and other business establishments.

When the announcement was released, we didn’t cover it because Google has a lot of pie in the sky projects that they take to market then kill, but business photos looks to be soon a reality, as they were even spotted this week in Austin, TX (where AG is headquartered).

How this impacts real estate

Google has no plans to enter peoples’ homes or even high end listings, so the current project has no direct bearing in the industry but people relocating can get an idea of the surrounding retail and venues with the business photos.

What is of note, however is that Google tends to dream up the unthinkable and make it a reality. Is this their way of photographically documenting the entire globe? You can already use their Google Googles mobile app to take a picture of anything and Google Search it and augmented reality apps are rapidly expanding in capabilities, what’s to stop Google from taking pictures of a listing on Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia or your very own real estate website and impose them as interior shots? Is it too far out to think that Google may be dreaming up a way to get inside every house in the world?

Bonus: if you have a brick and mortar location and live in one of their selected business photo cities, you can apply to have your business features in this project, just click here to see what cities are eligible, and click here to apply.