Relevant or Redundant: Will Tech Kill Display Suites?

Once the undisputed centrepiece for off-the-plan sales, display suites are in a period of reinvention. With build costs ranging from $1 million to more than $5 million and digital tools advancing, developers are pairing reimagined touchpoints with immersive tech to sell beyond the showroom. The shift is turning display suites from static, site-bound sales rooms into versatile brand platforms and interactive experiences. For some, it’s about reducing physical build-outs in favour of tech but for others, like national developer Fortis, it’s about elevating the suite into a high-touch brand statement. From novelty to necessity Proptech firm Immersiv co-founder and chief executive Christian Schwerdtfeger says buyer expectations have evolved, making immersive tech a core part of the sales process. ▲ Immersiv’s Christian Schwerdtfeger: Buyers want to see more. The company produces photo-real renders, real-time interactive walk-throughs and 3D animations for display suites, online platforms and remote sales. After two years of due diligence, REA Group invested in Immersiv in September last year and “doubled down again last month”. Schwerdtfeger says the move reflects shifting buyer expectations. “Buyers and the money is shifting. Buyers want to see more. With the Immersiv tour we average six minutes per user on the tour,” he said Immersiv’s work spans boutique developments through to large-scale highrise and house-and-land projects. Smaller projects may take a lighter package, he says, where big towers often take “everything we have”—renders, real-time interactive and 3D animation. Immersiv’s 3D visualisations bring unbuilt projects to life Delete Less physical build, more digital immersion Cost pressure is changing what gets physically built, Schwerdtfeger says. Instead of large mock apartments “that are going to be torn down and cost a lot of money”, developers are investing in “an actual walkable experience” powered by real-time 3D. Schwerdtfeger has seen projects shift from “almost a whole [physical] apartment” to “maybe a kitchen … a transportable showroom”, and now towards “experience centres where you move through different touchpoints and [are] removing the whole actual fixtures and fitouts altogether”. Scale models are also being reconsidered. “You can pay $30,000 to $100,000 for a scale model, which really don’t give you a lot,” he says. With immersive tech “you can actually have a digital twin of Bondi and have your apartment in situ as if it’s already built”. In suites, the tech is presented “on a big 65 to 80-inch TV” or “touchscreen table”, with sales agents steering the walkthrough from an iPad. Crucially, “whatever we have in the showroom is mirrored online as well”, aligning with how buyers research. Demand has flipped Where projects once launched with 25 renders, Schwerdtfeger says developers now commission six hero images and make the real-time walkthrough the main sales tool. “It’s not about cutting costs … we’re not the cheapest solution out there,” he says. Savings come from “reducing scale model costs and actual display build … and redeploying [that] into the technology”. The payoff is in the experience. “In the end, they get a better customer experience anyway.” Schwerdtfeger has seen buyers commit after experiencing live demos. At a recent launch for a land lease community for over-55s sales launch for Ingenia at Morisset near Newcastle buyers were “literally walking through their homes” and customising in real time—down to the tapware. “With this technology there’s no guesswork … it’s a really confidence-inspiring … decision-making process for the buyer.” Looking ahead, Schwerdtfeger sees “full immersion rooms … with curved displays and interactive technology” in suites, and an online path allowing buyers to click through to EoI, sign contracts, and pay deposits without setting foot in a showroom. Orchestrating the pitch If Immersiv is about making the unbuilt tangible, AD Group’s Showcase platform redefines how those projects are presented and sold—onsite, remotely and across the full sales campaign. “Showcase is sales presentation software,” says co-founder and managing director Tom Hywood. “It’s mainly used in a display suite … however, it’s not limited to being used in a display suite.” ▲ AD Group co-founder and managing director Tom Hywood. It complements physical fitouts by taking “the buyer on the end-to-end journey of the project”, but can also be deployed from an iPad in a boardroom or by offshore agents. Everyone taps “the same one source of truth … and [has] live visibility on the actual stock availability”. Showcase grew out of AD Group’s Development ID platform, evolving over three years into a fully rebuilt tool with use cases from LED wall-enhanced in-suite experiences to remote iPad appointments. The platform integrates with client customer relationship management systems to update availability in real time, and its new Agent Dashboard creates a personalised buyer portal with shortlisted apartments and documents. “Once they leave the display suite, they will always have access to their unique buyer portal,” Hywood says. Delete Engagement data—such as which floor plans are viewed and how often—allows sales teams to prioritise follow-up. Pricing is fixed for the project’s entire shelf life, avoiding budget blowouts when a 12-month sell-down stretches to three years. Fortis: A tactile brand statement For Fortis—a developer with projects across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and now Adelaide—display suites are far from obsolete. In fact, Fortis general manager of development for Victoria Sarah Vaughan says they’ve grown in strategic value, although their role has shifted. ▲ Fortis sees display suites as brand spaces, using tactile details and design to engage buyers before presenting project specifics. The downsizer-focused developer is placing suites in aspirational suburbs as brand environments first, individual projects second. Vaughan says their buyers remain “highly tactile in their decision-making” and it is unlikely to see physical touchpoints made redundant anytime soon. The goal is to build brand confidence in delivery and attention to detail before showing the specifics of a project. A downsizer who has already expressed interest in a project doesn’t just need to see a kitchen or bathroom mock-up, Vaughan says, they need confidence in the developer’s attention to detail, delivery record and design ethos. “Our strategy is really around emphasising the care that we take in detailing and reinforcing brand confidence and delivery assurance, which is becoming a real topic of contention,” she says. “And maybe that’s even a reason why purchasers aren’t buying [in the broader market] at the moment, is around that surety about delivery.” Suites are designed to convey the Fortis ethos—curated, design-driven and rooted in placemaking—often featuring references to the group’s partnerships with hospitality and retail names such as chef Neil Perry and artisan baker Baker Bleu. ▲ Fortis display suites feature scaled models and material boards to help buyers visualise projects before construction. Technology plays a supporting role, with VR and large-format plans used to illustrate view lines and layouts, but tactile cues remain central. “We don’t rely on technology to sell. I do feel like that need for a touchpoint will always be there for us. It’s in our DNA,” she says. Fortis is now trialling a more homely, holistic model, less overtly sales-driven, designed to encourage longer visits and more relaxed conversations. “We don’t want it to feel like a selling tool … we want it to feel like an extension of the investment they’re about to make into their next home,” Vaughan says. Physical or digital, high-touch or hi-tech, the display suite is still where buyers imagine their future—and where developers earn their trust.

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