Metropix in The Times today

The Times' Property Editor, Catherine Riley, writes about Metropix in her column today. "...with the price for a walkthrough starting from just £9 the temptation to have a go yourself is almost overwhelming. Users simply create a floorplan on the website, www.metropix.com, and in 24 hours this can be magically transformed into an electronic trip around your house." The article discusses the use of 3D walkthroughs to visualise proposed building work, as well as their established use for marketing purposes by estate agents.

There's even a cartoon inspired by Metropix! A woman approaches her husband, who is unhappy about something on the computer: "I thought you were looking at the virtual builder?", she says. He replies, "I was. But he's gone to look at another virtual job and will be back later!". Well, place your order today and we guarantee our virtual builders will give you their full attention!

The full article (sadly minus the cartoon!) is on the Times' website.

Two staircases?

A small update to our floor plan drawing today: the Add Stairs button will now allow you to add two separate staircases between the same two floors. (Previously, it was necessary to use the drag-and-drop stair icon to achieve this.)

There are also lots of new room names available to choose from, including "Porch" and "Wardrobe".

Just today's two enhancements -- lots more in the pipeline, of which more news as we have it.

2005 Property Computer Show

Those that attended this years Property Computer Show in Islington may have spotted that we created quite a stir with the official launch of the 3D Walkthrough service! Large plasma screens displayed our latest 3D Walkthroughs, and a floor plan demo which allowed everyone to see at a glance just how easy it is draw plans using Metropix.

Some of the country's leading estate agents are already using Walkthroughs on all new instructions. The feedback is that they have been helping win new business and increase fees. Not only that but it's clear they provide a great opportunity to obtain free editorials in the local press (we've put some examples on this blog).

Getting back to PCS, the response from agents was quite literally overwhelming at times, and it was also great to see so many new and familiar faces from the industry. We'll be back, same location in 2006 -- hope to see you then!

Essex letting agents using 3Ds

3D Walkthroughs may be the very latest technology, but their affordability makes them ideal for the lettings market as well as sales. cmRENT, based in Braintree, have been making full use of Walkthroughs, and that has earned them this well-placed article in the Essex Chronicle:

October newsletter

It's fantastic - since its introduction just last year Metropix has already become the floor plan service of choice for property professionals far and wide. Why? Well that's simple – its really easy to use, it costs far less than the alternatives, and, of course, any floor plan can be converted directly into a 3D Walkthrough.

3D Walkthroughs are being "officially" launched at the Property Computer Show this week and it seemed like an opportune moment to update you on a few things we thought you might appreciate:

3D Walkthroughs – A number of high profile estate agents have already embraced this new technology and are using Walkthroughs on nearly every property. Using computer generated videos not only allows the viewer to experience the size and layout in a way only comparable to viewing in person, but to also visualise the property without the owners' belongings and with several different living styles. Metropix only needs the floor plan to create a Walkthrough – nothing else! They’re usually ready within 24 hours and as a special launch offer, UK prices are £9 or £17 each, depending on the size of the property. Click here for more details.

Choose Your Own Exterior – We had requests to provide a facility whereby when ordering a Walkthrough the type of brickwork (or wood for log cabins!) could be specified and was then used in the Walkthrough. Well, now you can!

Show 3D Walkthroughs on your Mobile Phone – Any Walkthrough can be downloaded to a PC or mobile phone but if you just want a demo version to impress, then visit this page.

Free PR – Local papers are always on the look out for interesting new stories (especially from advertising clients!). If you are using Walkthroughs then you are one of the first in the world to do so and it makes for a great story in your local area. If you’d like us to help with text or images to send to your local paper just let us know.

Passwords - Please remember to change your password regularly, to keep your account safe from prying eyes. After logging in, click Your Account and then Edit Account Details.

As always your feedback is key to ensuring we provide you with the service you want. You can make suggestions using the Suggestion Box on the login page, or visit the contact us page.

Free publicity made easy

Here's another good example of how to use Metropix to get some free advertising in the local press:


Robinsons were pleased to get nearly half of the Dunstable on Sunday property section's front page. We'll be adding press resources to our website soon, but in the meantime why not contact us to obtain a press release and high resolution 3D images?

Tip of the month - Stairs

Here at Metropix we want everyone to find it really easy to draw floor plans and the team have volunteered me (Brian) to provide a “tip of the month”. My task is to get everyone drawing a 3 (or even 4 or 5!) bedroom house within 10 minutes. Easy for some already I know, but for those that wish to speed up, here's my first tip to help you along you along the way:

When creating an additional level, draw the room where the stairs go to first and then immediately add the stairs using the "add stairs button". This allows you to easily position the stairs before there are any other adjoining walls from other rooms.