Home staging has always been one of the tenets of real estate and is a traditional method of enticing buyers to purchase a property. Creating an inviting atmosphere and aesthetically rich interior layout gives prospective buyers a look at what their home could look like should they decide to make a bid. Virtual staging is still a relatively new concept, but it’s been on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To overcome the challenges of in-person meetings during this challenging time, more realtors have turned to digital and virtual accommodations to show houses. Virtual staging has become increasingly popular and could completely overtake the old methods within the next few years.
Put simply, virtual staging and the increased access to new technology is a game-changer for the real estate business. It creates a limitless field of options for buyers, sellers, and clients. The following list highlights a few of the reasons why virtual staging is the way of the future.
It's Cost-Effective
Virtual staging is comparatively cheap compared to hiring someone to stage your house in-person. While it might cost a few hundred dollars to create a beautiful digital layout, it’s easy to spend several thousand dollars to build a luxurious physical space in real life, complete with furniture, decor, and all the trappings.
Physical home staging typically demands multiple professionals and, obviously, physical furniture. All of this can be a challenge, especially when you consider how many people need to be involved in moving things around and setting up the overall layout. Typically, only one person is required to set up a virtual staging space. A single professional might have experience in architecture, real estate, and interior design. Even if more than one person is involved, it's still an overall cheaper option. Not only can it be done with fewer people, but it also takes much less time and therefore drastically reduces the price of the service.
It's also frustrating to invest more money into a house you intend to sell, especially if it is already in excellent condition. Why go out of your way to shell out thousands to change the furniture and set-up when you don't have to? Selling is already a stressful and expensive process. There's no reason to make it more of a financial burden on yourself with physical staging when virtual staging is an entirely viable option.
Sometimes homes stay on the market for an extended period, which makes physical staging even pricier. You might need to pay fees to keep your online domain in virtual reality, but they won't be nearly as prohibitive as the alternative.
Buyers Can See The Space
If you choose to stage your home in a virtual space, it will leave the physical property blank. In the past, that might have been considered a disadvantage. In reality, it gives potential buyers a multifaceted look at the house. If they want to see what the house will look like with all the adornments, they can check out the virtual space online. If a client later wants to see the actual area in-person, they can set up a future visit.
Seeing the house in its natural state isn’t a bad thing — it allows visitors to imagine what it could look like with their own furnishings and decor. Plus, it gives them a better idea of the home's definition, layout, and available space without being distracted by furniture that might not even be to their liking.
Allows for Customization
Even though physical staging might let prospective buyers see the way certain furniture items look in a space, one thing they can't do is test out different paint colors. Many paint companies and real estate groups now have tools implemented on their virtual staging website that allows clients to experiment with customization.
This process allows clients to test out paint colors in the house's virtual rendering to see what it might look like in reality. Some services even show you what the paint looks like under different lighting compositions to get an idea of how the color will appear in real life.
Paint samples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to virtual customization. Experiment with all the options to see your dream home's exterior or different interior design styles and more with just the click of a button.
â—¾ Test out different interior themes like modern or contemporary
â—¾ See what your house might look like at various times of day or night
â—¾ Change the weather to see how your property looks during sunshine, snow, or rain, or even change the season
â—¾ Everything from the carpets to the lighting fixtures can be altered by the person controlling the space
â—¾ Declutter the house with ease and ensure there aren't any uncontrollable distractions, like nosy neighbors or lousy weather
It’s a Faster Process
Setting up a physical staging can take weeks to finish. With virtual staging, your home can be ready to go on the market within a matter of days. The housing market is fiercely competitive at times, so a quick turnaround time is ideal. That's nearly impossible to accomplish with physical staging, but it’s one of the major benefits of going virtual.
As technology has evolved, more customers are spending significant time online searching for homes and offers before they schedule visits. But if they can visualize a property without having to go out of their way to see it in person, they can "visit" multiple locations in the amount of time it would take them to see one house in person. Not only does virtual staging make the entire process faster for sellers, but it benefits buyers, too.
Ultimately, if a client can see what the house will look like with their specific preferences in mind, they will likely be motivated to purchase the house faster. Agents and sellers want to sell homes as quickly as possible, and virtual staging can substantially cut down on the length of time a property will spend on the market.
Flexibility
Sellers no longer have to rush to get out of their house or rearrange everything to create a specific setting. By using the most cutting-edge software, professionals can alter or remove just about anything from the inside or outside of most homes. For sellers concerned with privacy, virtual staging can eliminate anything that might have revealing or personal information on it.
Let's face it — there is something a little invasive about strangers traipsing through your house. Instead of fretting about what people will see, sellers can simply focus on this transitional phase with their families, knowing that prospective buyers can see everything they need online.
Excellent Marketing Tool
Virtual staging is one of the best marketing strategies available to realtors. Buyers can skim through brochures, flyers, newspaper ads, and even online listings to get an idea of the housing market, but having a top-notch virtual staging experience set-up trumps all of the above. The property needs to be memorable, and what better way to do that than by creating a customizable online space that allows the buyer to see all of the house's best features in any theme or style they want?
Not only that, but virtual staging is easily accessible to clients and real estate professionals. The market is brimming with easy-to-use software programs that listing agents can buy or rent to stage properties at a moment's notice. If they can't, they can choose from an abundance of respected and capable virtual staging professionals available for hire. And for prospective buyers, what could be simpler than logging onto a website?
We've already mentioned that clients can customize their homes, but agents can take advantage of virtual tools to craft a home that appeals directly to the demographic they are marketing to. If they target a younger age group, they can tweak the house to look more modern and chic. Families might want to see the kitchen or a cozier interior with homey touches.
The best part is that if the market changes, you can update the staging space within a few hours to keep up to date with trends, which is almost impossible to do with physical staging unless you have ample time and resources.
If you hope to sell soon and are looking for a Dallas real estate agent with virtual staging expertise, contact us today. With years of experience working with Dallas luxury homes, our team is well-equipped to help you start the next chapter in your life.
