Photosynth: The Next Step in Virtual Real Estate Tours?

Live Labs, a division of Microsoft, released Photosynth today, generating lots of industry hoopla and buzz. There’s been so much buzz, in fact, the Photosynth site is temporarily unavailable, brought down by untold numbers of interested folks.

Photosynth lets you create a virtual representation of a given locale by uploading numerous photos that it processes into a seamless experience. According to the Live Labs Website:

You can share or relive a vacation destination or explore a distant museum or landmark. With a nothing more than digital camera and some inspiration, you can use Photosynth to transform regular digital photos into a three-dimensional, 360-degree experience.

The Photosynth technology seems perfectly suited to real estate and home tours. Prospective buyers can tour homes from the comfort of their easy chair, saving time, energy and gas costs.

Galer, over at Raincityguide.com seems particularly enamored of the possibilities. To hear him tell it, “Photo Synth will change real estate.”

I’m dubious if it’s that far-reaching a technology. Though I do agree it adds another high-tech tool to the real estate professional’s arsenal.

But as with all things Web, content is the key. Only time will tell if folks actually produce Synths regularly. If the interface is intuitive and the results easily achieved, Photosynth may make more headway into the consumer market than previous 360-technologies have (like Apple’s QuickTime VR.)

As someone who spends way too much time trolling real estate via the Web, I’m already a fan–and I haven’t even actually made it to the Website.