Virtual staging...
"...has proven excellent results in us being able to achieve maximum interest levels and numbers attending our open for inspections, with the subsequent leasing of that property quickly, at the highest rental return possible."SARAH LATHAM, OWNER AND DIRECTOR OF LATHAM CUSACK PROPERTY SERVICES' NORTH SHORE OFFICE
The above quote is from a blog post at Residential Property Manager called "Turning to the virtual world for real life success." If you're not familiar with it, virtual staging is a service offered by a lot of real estate photographers where they use specialized software to add furniture and accessories to an empty room or property.
As Sarah noted in her article, incorporating virtual staging into her rentals has helped to attract more tenants, resulting in less time that a property is vacant. Virtual staging also dresses up a property, meaning that property management companies are able to get the highest possible fee for their available rentals.
And, as noted in the Daily Mail article, "The latest real estate trick to lure buyers" -
"Sellers are saving 'thousands' of dollars by paying photography companies like High Shots to add virtual furniture to their photos instead of hiring the real thing, and this is also pushing the value of the properties up."
How do potential buyers and tenants feel about this? Are they disappointed when they see photos of a furnished home and arrive to find that it's empty when they visit it? According to real estate agent Graham Green that hasn't been a problem for him, and he's used virtual furniture a lot:
"At the end of the day the better looking it is the more people who will fall in love with it."
Or as a virtual furniture provider mentioned in this article, "Virtual reality technology transforms real estate":
"We say it is for illustration only; if people come through and say, "where's the furniture?", be honest and tell them it is digitally staged."
Most buyers understand and accept that, as long as the features of the home they are considering purchasing aren't changed. In other words, when altering images for real estate sales, placing a dining table in a room that was empty when the photographer took the photo is acceptable, but "fixing" a large hole in a wall is not. In real estate marketing it all boils down to the things which are permanent and the things which are temporary, and virtual furniture is very temporary.
Using virtual staging also removes additional work for real estate agents as there is no need to hire a stager, rent furniture, or coordinate setup and removal. As a result, there is a substantial cost savings to the agent.
Virtual Staging is a service provided by Charm City Virtual Tours as an affordable alternative to traditional staging. The placement of digital furniture and accessories creates a more appealing photo and allows potential buyers the ability to envision the space while providing a sense of room size(s) and scale. If you'd like to experience the difference this service can make it your marketing, feel free to give us a call at 410-707-3306.
Here are a few examples of virtually staged spaces so you can see what's possible:
