How to Get a Leg Up on Your Listing with Virtual Home Staging
Quality photos for real estate listings are more important than ever. The National Association of Realtors tells us that more than half of home buyers are starting their home search online. This means the images that represent a listing must be high-quality, compelling and to help the potential buyer envision themselves living in each room. In some sellers’ situations, they have to move and completely vacate a home before listing photos can even be taken – enter virtual home staging.
What is Virtual Home Staging?
Virtual home staging is pretty much exactly what it sounds like – staging your home virtually.
In a “normal” staging situation, a home seller would have a home stager come in and utilize their own furniture (with the potential addition of a few of the stager’s props or own furniture pieces) to get the home ready for listing photos. These photos are then placed on the MLS site and used throughout any marketing avenues your real estate agent will use to assist in selling your home.
With virtual home staging, your agent is taking a completely vacant room and creating an ideal layout for the room, in order for the potential buyers to connect with the space, and more importantly, envision themselves in it. Essentially, interior design meets graphic design.
Why Virtual Home Staging?
There are a variety of reasons why a seller or real estate agent would choose the virtual home staging route.
- A Vacant Home. We already touched on this reason a little earlier in the blog, but there are scenarios in which a seller has to move quickly, before listing photos can be taken. Contrary to what one might think, an empty room photo doesn’t help a home’s appeal. Most people need help envisioning a space – seeing where the bed would best fit or where a sitting area could be in a bedroom. When it’s vacant, it doesn’t help a buyer connect or see the potential.
- Cost-Effective. Virtual staging can cost as little as $23 per image. You can imagine an edited photo from a professional photographer runs much higher than this. In addition, you have the cost of the home stager coming in for a consultation and potentially moving furnishings in and out of the home which can include rental and labor costs. If a client has a low-budget, this is a cost-effective option for them.
- No Style Limitations. When a home has a very specific or custom design style, it can be difficult for buyers to envision their own style in the home. Virtual staging can solve this problem (and, again, cost much less than having a professional home stager bring in props for an entire house). Virtual home staging offers an endless amount of design styles, furniture pieces, home decor, etc. Don’t like that end table? Let’s swap it out. Not digging that coffee table? No prob, Bob. We’ve got options
It Has to be Authentic
This solution is only a good solution when the quality of the virtual design is believable. If a virtually staged photo isn’t realistic, it can be distracting and weird and do more harm than good. So stay away from oddly proportioned furniture for the room, or design that doesn’t compliment the room or style of home.
The Dani Beyer Real Estate Difference
The good news for a seller working with Dani Beyer Real Estate is that all staging consultations and photography is included. So you don’t need to worry about that cost being applied to you. However, we also have experience in virtual home staging and will know which route is best for you as the home seller.
