In this article we will give you an overview of the benefits of virtual staging services.
The housing market is becoming a sellers’ market. There are so many reasons why that is, but the main one is that inventory is low and demand is high. This has made it harder for sellers to list their homes because buyers can be very picky about what needs to be done before they’ll make an offer.
In addition, with more people preferring to live in cities or walkable communities, houses that have the potential for a lot of value are in short supply. But with virtual staging services, you can make your home stand out from the competition and sell faster than you thought possible.
Let’s first try to understand more about this service.
What is Virtual Staging in Real Estate?
Virtual staging is a process that improves the appeal of a property through pictures. A virtual stager does this specifically by placing relevant furniture into empty spaces.
If you look through the MLS listings, you will notice that the best properties are almost always the ones that have been staged. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a staged picture will sell a house. National Association of Realtors found some interesting insights on staged homes.
When you employ a virtual staging company, they will come to your home, take pictures of the rooms, edit them, and use computer-generated imagery (CGI) to transform your home into a beautiful, magazine-worthy space, even if it isn’t.
Better yet, real estate photographers nowadays can directly provide virtual staging services. All you need is the quality image of the empty space and with just a few google searches you can find a provider yourself. We offer virtual staging as well.
Virtual staging is a huge time saver, and saves sellers money by allowing them to do most of the work themselves.
Is Virtual Staging Worth it?
If you are a seller, attention is the most valuable thing. As a photographer, this will give you a huge leg up compared to your competition. When you shoot an empty home, you know the pictures no matter how great will get less social shares online than those staged home that you have shot.
A study by the National Association of Realtors found that virtual staging can add nearly $9,000 to your home’s sale price. It also found that staging results in a 24% higher profit. Another study showed that staged properties sell faster. On average, staged homes sell in 34 days, while un-staged properties take 50 days.
Virtual staging is definitely worth the investment, if only for the fact that it can significantly shorten the time it takes to sell your property. But thanks to increased profit, it can also be worth the investment from a purely financial standpoint.
You can stage a room in multiple style and give a wider options for your marketing efforts. More styles can appeal to more audiences and capture more attention from potential buyers. The best part is, it is all digital so it will cost you a fraction of the price of actual staging, all while being done in 24-48 hours.
What does Virtual Staging Cost?
That’s a great question and one that many sellers are afraid to ask. The good news is that the cost of hiring a virtual staging company isn’t that high. Depending on your location and the company you choose, you might pay anywhere from $300 to $600. If you’re thinking that’s a lot of money, consider this: it costs nothing to try it. The worst-case scenario is that you’re out a few hundred dollars and you have an extra photo shoot to deal with. But the best-case scenario is that you make thousands of dollars more than you would have otherwise.
If you are able to find a decent vendors, virtual staging can be very affordable, starting at just $25 per staged image. You can charge your clients accordingly as you offer them these services and choose which service provider best for your budget.
What are the benefits of Virtual Staging?
As mentioned above, one benefit of virtual staging is that it can shorten the time your client’s property sits on the market. That extra time is worth a lot, especially if you’re dealing with a limited-time sale. This is a very convincing argument you can make as a photographer.
If agents trying to get a higher price for your property, having a more appeal staged showcase online can garner more offers. If one were to stage a home, you may be able to get that higher price. Virtual staging can also help you sell for more. A staged home can sell for up to $9,000 more than a non-staged property, as mentioned above. That money is pure profit for you, which can help alleviate some of the financial pressures of selling a home.
Additionally, we found that when photography company makes social media post, the before and after posts of virtually staged images do really well. Check out our page to see for yourself. We even have a video editing service specifically for this before and after video transformation.
How Can You Get Virtual Staging?
If you’re thinking of staging your home consider hiring a virtual staging company. A good company will come to your home, take pictures of the rooms, edit them, and use CGI to transform your home into a beautiful, magazine-worthy space, even if it isn’t. This is a much easier process than traditional staging, and it can also be done with fewer people. Instead of having a crew of people coming in and moving furniture around, you will just have to have a photographer come in and take pictures.
As a photographer, try to ask your editing company if they offer add-on service of virtual staging when you shoot an empty homes. You can also search on google for editing companies that offer only virtual staging. However, we believe at Havah, it is best to have everything in one roof. Everything that a RE photography company needs, we have optimized not only the quality but also the timing so you can stay organized and competitive in your market.
When you shoot an empty homes with HDR brackets, we will edit the empty images and stage those rooms upon request. Our regular editing turnaround is 12 hours, but we can add on the virtual staging and deliver everything within 24 hours upon your uploads. You will be able to get your clients images, including the staged images, the day after.
Where Can You Find A Virtual Stager?
If you’re thinking of hiring a virtual staging company, one of the first things you should do is Google “virtual staging company [your city].” You can also go to the National Association of Realtor’s website and click on “Find a Staging Professional.” This will take you to a search engine where you can find a virtual staging company near you. That’s all there is to it.
If you want to be a bit more adventurous, search online for a virtual stager. Outsourcing things like this has been working for many companies and professionals in the past decade. We also offer a 24 hours turn-around virtual staging service upon demand for our photography clients.
Once you’ve found a few companies, you can use the tips above to determine which one is right for you. Hire a virtual staging company to transform your home into the dream space it was meant to be.
