Congratulations Alex Vincent, March 2024 PFRE Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "Kitchen". Alex Vincent - #906 Yvonne Raaijmakers - #909 Peter Wingfield - #902 Here's what Alex has to say: Thank you for the award of Photographer of th ...
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Real estate marketing in the modern-day world has moved almost completely online and virtual staging is leading the way. In fact, recent research by ZillowGroup shows that more than 36% of Americans are more likweely to try to buy a home entirely online during the coronavirus pandemic, and 30% would do the same even after the current outbreak ends.
When it comes to real estate marketing, there’s nothing more important than the quality of your listing photos. Virtual staging will help real estate photographers enhance their
In this article, we’ll discuss what virtual staging is, how it compares to traditional home staging, and how to easily sell this incredible marketing tool to your real estate agents.
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Virtual staging is a special computer-assisted design (CAD) process wherein virtually designed furniture is added to a photo of an empty room or space, much like traditional home staging.
Like the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words…
Virtual staging allows real estate agents to present a listing in its best possible light, and enhancing listings with virtually staged photos ensures that buyers take notice. Best of all, it can transform an empty space into an inviting home that potential home buyers can imagine themselves living in.
With the help of professional virtual staging designers, agents can clean up outdated, cluttered rooms, or add tasteful furniture and decor to empty spaces to make them look more appealing, livable, and marketable.
Any agent will tell you that selling an empty house is more difficult than selling a beautifully furnished home. There’s no denying that home staging is crucial to help sell a home faster and for top dollar.
However, traditional home staging is becoming more and more expensive. According to Orchard, a full-service staging — requiring furniture rentals and a hefty redesign of the home — can cost as much as $10,000.
But here is the good news…
Virtual staging can reduce the cost of staging by up to 97%! This digital form of home staging saves a lot of money compared to traditional staging.
In addition, physically decorating a space is also more time-consuming compared to its virtual counterpart. Every property will require a different design composition of the furniture and decor because of the different layouts and styles of each home.
Agents have to look for professional home staging companies in the area, request quotes, wait on them to deliver furniture and decor, and make the home ready to market. Typically, traditional home staging takes between 7-14 days to plan and set up, which is time you often don’t have in a highly competitive real estate market.
On the other hand, virtual staging is done by specialist designers who take photos of empty or outdated homes and transform them into beautiful, fully-furnished rooms using photo-realistic furniture and décor.
Did I mention that the turnaround of virtual staging is only 24-48 hours? That will save agents a lot of time, effort, and money!
If you’re looking to sell virtual staging services to your clients, here are 4 arguments that will help real estate agents to see the value of using virtually staged listing photos.
97% of potential home buyers start their property search online, and 85% of buyers acknowledge that listing photos are the most important factor when viewing a home online. This means that compelling real estate photography is one of the most powerful marketing tools real estate agents have to work with.
Low-quality real estate
On the other hand, utilizing virtual staging to enhance real estate photography will help agents present captivating listing photos and sell a home faster and for more money.
Virtually staging a home is essential as it allows any real estate agent to increase the value of a home and accelerate sales. As mentioned, it’s difficult to convince a buyer to purchase a home if they can’t see the home’s potential.
Additionally, virtual staging allows agents to highlight special features of various parts of a property. It can create an attention-grabbing home that can significantly improve its overall value.
By virtually staging a home, real estate agents can cater to any market and give potential home buyers a preview of what their life could look like in their new home. Besides, the agent will benefit financially from the sale since homes with high-quality photos generally receive 47% higher asking prices per square foot.
Real estate agents can save a lot of time, effort, and money using virtual staging. For instance, think of the extra time and effort it takes to find and hire a professional staging company, followed by the additional time it takes to deliver the furniture and get everything set up and photographed.
Not to mention the cost of hiring the actual staging company and the real estate photographer (as I touched on earlier).
In contrast to traditional home staging, virtual staging enables you to photograph vacant rooms one day and have the staged images delivered back to you within 24 to 48 hours. More importantly, if an agent is about to sell an empty or cluttered home and the time is against them, going the virtual route will give a competitive edge over other traditional sellers.
Another advantage of virtual staging is that real estate agents can customize the space depending on the style and preference of the home or buyer demographic. From Mid Century Modern to Hamptons Beach House – the virtual staging editor can wave a magic wand and adjust the look of the room.
As a result, if the agent works with high-wealth individuals, the designer can fill the space with luxurious furniture and decor to help convey a feeling of luxury.
Depending on the buyer’s taste and what type of home they’re looking for, they can get an idea of the home’s potential and if they could see themselves living in the home. In other words, virtual staging helps real estate agents provide exactly what their clients are looking for.
It is safe to say that virtual staging is one of the most powerful marketing tools in today’s Internet era. Potential homebuyers can safely browse thousands of listing photos from the comfort of their home and not even have to attend a physical showing to purchase a property.
Not only is virtual staging more cost-effective than regular home staging, but it can also help agents sell a listing faster and for more money. Try using some of the stats found in this article to help you offer virtual staging to your clients on their next listing!
