What’s so great about virtual staging and why is it on the rise? Find out why more sellers are choosing virtual staging over traditional home staging.
If you’ve bought or sold a home in the last few years, you’ve felt the winds of change in the real estate market. It’s not only about fluctuations in home inventory, or ups and downs in interest rates.
Real estate is going virtual! And the transformation from traditional to virtual didn’t just begin yesterday.
We’ve exchanged print marketing for digital marketing. Most shoppers get their first look at homes for sale by clicking a mouse instead of poring over the real estate section in the Sunday newspaper. Sellers (and buyers) are even using virtual real estate brokers.
Many sellers love a popular marketing tool known as virtual staging.
If you haven’t heard of it, here’s your chance to learn about why sellers are choosing virtual over traditional home staging. Keep reading and see if you don’t get excited about this intriguing sales and marketing tool!
Virtual Staging
When a real estate agent suggests staging your home, what comes to mind?
Moving all the furniture around? Giving your home a deep clean? Maybe you grab your brush and go for the latest trendy paint colors.
It’s one thing to refresh a home with a coat of paint and professional cleaning. Then you can stage with your furniture and a few tasteful accents. Traditional staging works if you own a houseful of high-end furnishings.
But if your décor is a little blah, or if you’ve already moved out of your home, traditional staging isn’t as effective.
Empty homes offer little in the way of curb appeal. Remember, before most buyers ever see the yard and front entryway, they’ve seen inside through an online real estate website. Those empty rooms look like boring boxes.
A professional photographer takes real photos and then uses software to change the furnishings and other décor. Sellers like the way virtual home staging creates the wow factor.
And while virtual home staging may be new to you, it’s not new to the real estate field. Remember the last recession? People lost homes and many abandoned them altogether.
Back then, virtual staging helped both homeowners and banks make abandoned properties look better in one or two clicks.
Stand Out in the Crowd
Sellers also like this method of home staging because it can make a property stand out.
A well-staged listing shows a home with high-quality furniture and professionally decorated rooms. Stage virtually and help buyers fall in love with the home they want rather than the one they see in person.
Virtual staging can connect buyers emotionally to your home. No buyer can resist seeing a home in person when they’ve already formed a connection virtually.
Sellers also like the fact that a skilled photographer can showcase the most attractive features of a home. It’s like creating eye candy. Once a buyer sees that marble floor, they can’t wait to walk on it.
Help Prospective Buyers Dream
Buyers may “ooh” and “aah” over a beautifully decorated home. But at the end of the real estate tour, they won’t remember much about a seller’s taste in décor (unless it’s dreadful). A buyer does, however, remember what they see on a virtual tour.
When a designer creates a virtual room, they replace the existing furnishings and artwork. They virtually redecorate a room, or entire home, usually with neutral design choices. They do this with the goal of helping a prospective buyer visualize themselves in the home.
Show the Home to More Buyers
People can buy just about anything online, including homes. Yes, you can buy manufactured homes, tiny homes, and motorhomes online without ever physically seeing them first. With a few clicks, your new home is paid for and possibly, shipped right to you.
Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but home buyers do shop online first when looking for their dream home.
When a seller uses virtual home staging, they can get their listing in front of more prospective buyers. The key is catching the buyer’s interest.
Construct a listing with photos of rooms filled with worn furnishings, faded wall paint, and outdated kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Most buyers will click on through to the next listing.
Go virtual and help a buyer create the home they dream of living in, even if it’s partially within their mind.
Change A Home’s Look
The real beauty of virtual staging a home lies in the ability to change not only the look of a room, but its function as well.
For example, imagine the non-descript extra bedroom. Using traditional home staging, there’s not much a seller can do with the spare room.
Use a virtual tool and, voilà , the spare bedroom transforms into a nursery, study, or man cave.
Remember, not every prospective buyer has the same taste. Virtually redesign and redecorate a room or an entire home. Then a seller can reach a larger buyer audience, no matter what their design style.
It’s About Selling
No seller wants their home to sit and languish on the market. And all sellers hope to sell for their listing price—or at least as close to it as possible.
Real estate agents think staging a home has a positive effect on the length of time a home stays on the market. But whether virtual staging means more money in the bank isn’t as clear. Since a virtual home staging likely won’t cost as much as the traditional method of staging, the money saved could feasibly end up in the seller’s pocket.
One thing a seller can bank on, however, is the potential increase in buyers who look at their listing. They can also count on more buyers being able to imagine life in the seller’s home, which could lead to an offer.
Ready to Stage Your Home?
For the seller looking for the biggest bang for their buck, virtual staging can work as an asset when selling a home. Instead of the empty white box, prospective home buyers can dream a little when they view the home online.
If you’re the seller, you can appeal to a wide array of home buyers when staging a home virtually. While you may not necessarily see a huge increase in sales price, you may enjoy the benefit of your home selling relatively quickly.
Considering listing your home? Get in touch with us. We’d love to help you sell your home faster.
