VHT Studios closed. What now?

What happened

CoStar Group acquired Matterport, which owned VHT Studios. On CoStar's second-quarter 2025 earnings call, the company said it had begun winding down VHT, Matterport's photography business; TipRanks' summary of the call describes VHT as being wound down as a loss-making service. A WeGetAround Network post quoting VHT's customer notice gives the timeline: the wind-down began July 21, 2025; new media orders stopped after August 5; final shoots were completed by August 15; operations ceased August 31, 2025; and Matterport 3D tours hosted by VHT were to stay publicly viewable through December 31, 2025.

What it means for media you already have

• Downloaded photos: files you downloaded stay on your computer, but your rights to use them depend on the license you had. If you're relisting a home with old VHT photos, check the license terms you agreed to before reusing them.
• Hosted tours: per the notice, VHT-hosted tours were to remain viewable only through the end of 2025. Any listing or website still linking to one should be checked; a dead tour link looks careless.
• Platform access: the notice said customer platform access would end with operations. If you didn't download your media in time, it may not be recoverable.

The lesson applies to every provider: download your files, know where your tours are hosted and for how long, and keep a copy of your license.

What to look for in a replacement

1. Local crews who know the airspace. Around Washington, aerials depend on authorization planning. Ask who files it and how much lead time they need.
2. Turnaround. Next-day or 24-hour photo delivery is common now.
3. One place for everything. Photos, video, tours, floor plans, websites and flyers in one order and one library.
4. Clear licensing. In writing: what you can do with the media, for how long, and whether sellers can use it.
5. Tour hosting terms. How long tours stay live and who controls them.
6. Transparent pricing. Posted prices or an instant quote, and no surprises on travel.

National platform or local company?

National platforms offer consistency across many markets and are convenient for teams that list in several states. Local companies usually know the area's airspace, neighborhoods, HOAs and MLS habits, and can be more flexible on timing. For agents who list mostly within the DMV, a local company with a strong platform tends to fit; for multi-state teams, a mix can work. Whatever you choose, judge by full delivered galleries of homes like yours, not highlight reels.

Moving your workflow over

• List your active and upcoming listings and what media each needs.
• Download anything still in old accounts while you can.
• Replace any dead tour links on active listings and your website.
• Set up your branding once (logo, headshot, colors, license line) with the new provider.
• Book one listing as a trial and judge the whole experience, from booking to delivery.

How KONAH fits

KONAH Media Group is a Woodbridge-based company covering 100 miles from Woodbridge, Virginia: Northern Virginia, DC, Maryland and beyond. Photos arrive within 24 hours, drone pilots are Part 107 certified and every drone address is checked for airspace when you book. We shoot Matterport 3D tours with floor plans, video and reels, and deliver everything into one client portal with an MLS ZIP, a property website and a flyer. Prices are live on our pricing page, and the media license is written into our terms.

Questions to ask any new provider

1. Can I see three full delivered galleries from my area?
2. When do photos, video and tours arrive?
3. Who handles drone authorization near DC, Quantico and the airports?
4. How long do 3D tours stay hosted, and what does it cost to keep them?
5. What exactly does the license let me and my seller do?
6. Can I download everything, any time?
7. What happens if the weather cancels a shoot?

A note on the bigger picture

Platforms consolidate, get acquired and change direction. That's not a reason to avoid them, but it is a reason to keep control of your own media: download finals, keep your licenses, and prefer providers whose terms you understand. Your listing history is part of your business; don't let it live only in someone else's account.

Tours that outlive the provider

One specific lesson from VHT's closure is about 3D tours. A tour isn't a file you download and keep like a photo; it's a hosted experience that exists only while someone pays to keep it online. When choosing a new provider, ask whether you can move a tour to your own account if the provider stops operating, and what the hosting costs after the listing sells. For listings that stay relevant for a long time, such as builder models, luxury homes and rental units, that matters more than the price of the scan.

Teams and brokerages switching together

When a whole team or office used one provider, switching is a good moment to standardize. Agree on what every listing gets as a minimum (for example photos with drone and a floor plan), set up team billing so the office can see one invoice, and make sure each agent's branding is saved for flyers and social kits. Brokerages that onboard new agents regularly can also set up headshot days with the new provider, so the whole roster looks consistent on the website. KONAH's brokerage accounts and headshot days are built for that.

Keep your own archive

Whatever provider you pick, keep a simple archive of your own: a folder per listing with the final MLS photos, the license or terms in force when you ordered, and the tour and video links. It takes a minute per listing and it means the next platform change, acquisition or shutdown is an inconvenience, not a loss.

If you work with a transaction coordinator or an assistant, give them the same habit: when a listing goes live, save the finals and the tour links to the listing folder before anything else. When a seller asks two years later for the photos of the home they sold, or a new listing of the same house needs to know what was shown before, you will have the answer in seconds rather than searching an old account that no longer exists.