THE days of having to frantically tidy before potential buyers view your home may be coming to an end.

The York-based Hunters Property Group has launched 3D viewing, which provides buyers with a chance to visualise a property without the owner's furniture, fixtures and even clutter in the picture.

Special software marries blueprints of the property to a glass-walled see-everything graphic and the result can be seen at its head office in Colliergate, as well as three other local offices, in South Bank, Acomb and Haxby, plus its six other offices in Manchester, Leeds, Harrogate, Wetherby, Easingwold and Ripon.

A range of colour schemes and styles can be superimposed on the image to visualise how it might look.

The computer-generated property service gives the viewer a digital guided tour of a property, moving from room to room as if the viewer was holding a video camera.

Martin Robinson, residential sales director of Hunters Property Group, in York, said: "The power of the system to bring a property to life on screen is phenomenal.

"Our buyers love the tours, as they can view the house time and time again, getting advice from friends and family.

"We are selling many homes this way, especially those buying from abroad or wanting to relocate from other areas of the country, and it also helps the buyer to shortlist those they might want to view."

But he warned: "Although this is truly cutting edge technology, it still cannot replace the feeling you get when you walk into the house that says: 'This is the one for me'." Mr Robinson said: "We're delighted to be one of the first to use the system and, best of all, the new technology is so cost-effective that we intend to provide it for every home we market."

The new technology is bound to give an extra boost to Hunters' franchising programme, which will see 20 new Hunters in the North and Midlands and 250 operations by the year 2011.

It will all be administered from a brand new four-storey headquarters, being built as part of Hunters' £5 million expansion plans on land by the River Foss at Heworth Green.

The building will be ready for occupation in October 2007, and is expected to generate 150 new jobs for York over the next five years.

Mr Robinson said: "This system works well alongside newspaper advertising.

"In the next few weeks, we will place a little helicopter icon alongside all our advertisements in the Evening Press, where a 3D viewing is available."

Updated: 10:40 Wednesday, April 19, 2006