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In 2024, 52% of all home buyers surveyed by NAR used the internet to purchase a home. Of these, 66% stated that photos were "very useful" in influencing their decision. It's no surprise that today's buyers value convenience—they want to understand the property before even setting foot inside it. Most buyers scroll through photos and imagine themselves living in the space, which is why sellers prioritize a well-staged property.
Real estate virtual staging is an effective and increasingly popular solution to make properties more appealing. It allows sellers to enhance their listings by adding furniture and decor digitally so that buyers can imagine the property the way they like. The best part? Sellers have no hassle of renting furniture or organizing physical staging setups. Interested to know more about it? Read this blog and find out how virtual staging helps realtors sell properties faster.
Why is Traditional Staging Becoming a Thing of the Past for Sellers?
While many buyers may like traditional staging, it comes with significant drawbacks for sellers today, especially in comparison to digital staging for real estate listings. Here’s how:
Cost
Traditional staging can roughly cost a seller $1,000-3,000, with a monthly furniture rental fee of around $500. Virtual staging, on the other hand, costs only a fraction of this amount, offering significant savings while still enhancing property appeal.
Time and Convenience
In traditional staging, sellers inspect the property, decide on the furniture and decor, and then place the order. Once the furniture is delivered and arranged, the property is put up for sale. All this can take roughly 1-2 weeks of the seller’s time. With virtual staging, the process is simple — Take photos and use 3D rendering software to add furniture and decor digitally in just a few hours. This allows sellers to list the property and close deals much faster.
Flexibility and Customization
In traditional staging, once the furniture is set, it's hard to appeal to different buyer segments without restaging with a new set of furniture & decor and repeating the whole process. Conversely, with virtual staging, sellers can easily experiment with various styles—modern, traditional, and minimalist by adding different design layouts and elements to the same image.
To summarize what we have said so far, take a look below:
Traditional Staging vs. Virtual Staging for Real Estate
The Advantage of Virtual Staging for Realtors in Today’s Market
To sell properties as fast as possible, standing out with virtual staging is the key. Below are some of the benefits that you cannot ignore:
Increased Online Engagement
Over 76% of buyers have an idea about what they want from their ideal home even before beginning the buying process. Most of these buyers are naturally drawn to well-furnished homes because they can easily imagine themselves in the space. By adding lifelike and trendy furniture, artwork, and decor to rooms, virtual staging helps buyers understand the functionality, making the property feel like a home.
How Realtors Can Benefit: The professional, high-quality staged images gain buyer attention and increase engagement on social media and listing platforms. Realtors receive more inquiries and viewings, often resulting in quick offers and even faster closings.
Broader Market Reach
Buyers have different preferences when it comes to designing their properties – what might appeal to one buyer may not necessarily attract another. For example, buyers who live with their families might prefer multi-purpose furniture and a kid’s room in the design. In contrast, single buyers might prefer more open space and minimalist decor. By creating multiple variations (adding different furniture styles, color schemes, and decor elements) of the same image, virtual staging adapts the property’s design for each group.
How Realtors Can Benefit: This wider appeal increases the chances of attracting multiple parties. The higher competition among the buyers prompts them to place higher bids to secure the property that fits their needs. For realtors, this increases the final selling price.
Faster Market Readiness
For buyers who need quick purchase decisions—such as first-time homebuyers, investors, and relocating families—well-staged listings play a crucial role in engagement. However, traditional staging involves logistical delays, furniture deliveries, last-minute adjustments, and setup time, slowing down the listing process.
However, with virtual staging, realtors can showcase fully furnished interiors instantly, eliminating scheduling conflicts and cutting down weeks of preparation into just a few days. This ensures that high-quality, market-ready images are available without waiting for physical staging setups.
How Realtors Can Benefit: Virtual staging ensures that properties hit the market quickly, allowing realtors to capitalize on peak selling seasons without delays.
Improved Perceived Value of Old Properties
Older or outdated properties may struggle to attract buyers due to their ancient and worn-out interiors. Virtual staging digitally changes the look of these spaces by adding modern furniture and décor. This makes an older property feel more appealing without the need for expensive renovations or upgrades.
How Realtors Can Benefit: Realtors can highlight key features of the property without investing in physical upgrades. Due to this, some buyers might see potential in old residential and commercial spaces, prompting realtors to ask for a higher price or negotiate better offers and close deals.
Preparing for Marketing Real Estate with Virtual Staging
Before you actually start the process, make sure that the property is ready for the same. Here is the breakdown of the steps that you need to follow:
Step 1 - Remove Clutter: Get rid of all personal belongings, old furniture, and damaged or worn-out decor.
Step 2 - Repair Damages: Take care of any obvious damage, such as broken tiles, chipped paint, holes in the walls, or worn-out fixtures.
Step 3 - Enhance Lighting: Before shooting pictures, make sure the house is well-lit. If necessary, add more lamps and open the blinds/drapes to let in natural light.
Step 4 - Take High-Quality Photos: Use a high-resolution camera or hire a photographer to click clear and high-quality pictures of the property from multiple angles. The focus should be on capturing the layout and key features of each room.
Step 5 - Provide Property Details to the Virtual Staging Team: Share the room dimensions and any specific style preferences with the virtual staging team. This allows them to place digital furniture and décor that fits the scale and layout of the property.
Optional: If Steps 1 to 3 are taking too much of your time or draining your pockets, you can skip them completely. Instead, you can use photo editing tools to adjust lighting, remove unnecessary furniture, and edit damages in photos. Alternatively, you can outsource virtual staging services so that their team can take care of the entire process once the images are clicked.
Virtual Staging in Real Estate: Debunking Common Myths
There are several myths surrounding real estate virtual staging that property sellers commonly believe. Let’s clear up each one of them:
Myth #1: Overly Digital or Computer-Generated Feel of ImagesSome sellers worry that virtually staged properties may appear too artificial or digitally enhanced, which might not attract as many buyers as claimed.
However, virtual staging is done by professionals using sophisticated image editing techniques to match furniture, lighting, and shadows to the property’s existing layout. They make sure the final images look natural and realistic, much like an actual staged property.
Myth #2: Limited to Unfurnished PropertiesMany realtors believe virtual staging is only useful for vacant properties as only then can furniture and decor be added.
But, it's untrue! Virtual staging is also effective for semi-furnished or fully furnished properties with outdated decor. This can be as a retouching technique that replaces mismatched furniture with trendy ones and adds final touches to the existing interiors (like plants and artwork) to improve the flow of the property.
Myth #3: Misrepresentation of the PropertyThere’s always a concern that virtual staging could mislead buyers about the size or layout of a property.
However, such a situation is easily avoidable if sellers provide precise measurements to the virtual staging teams and ensure that the same is mentioned in the final staged image with scale indicators for the buyer’s reference.
Myth #4: Expensive for Sellers on a Budget
The expense and effort needed for in-house staging can occasionally cause sellers with tight finances to omit the step.
That’s partly untrue as many service providers offer flexible engagement models and bundled packages. As a result, outsourcing virtual staging services can deliver high-quality results without financial strain.
Conclusion
With virtual staging, realtors may connect with more potential buyers and speed up the selling process. They must, however, stay updated with emerging trends like augmented reality, 3D virtual tours, and seasonal or themed staging in order to be ahead of the shifting market. Without this, real estate marketing with virtual staging might not give the expected results.
If you are wondering how to make the most of these trends, hiring experienced virtual staging service providers is the greatest way. They have the required expertise, tools, and resources to handle your custom virtual staging requirements at scale while complying with privacy regulations. So, what are you waiting for? Partner with experts to give potential buyers a more realistic experience of your property to maximize conversions.
Author Bio -
Lara McDaniel is an accomplished blogger with 8+ years of experience. Her love for reading on a wide range of subjects fuels her insightful writing on a variety of topics, from cutting-edge tech developments and eCommerce trends to creative niches like fashion photo editing and real estate photo editing services. She also attends webinars and follows industry leaders to enrich her knowledge about what’s happening in different sectors.
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