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Virtual staging for real estate is a powerful marketing and visualization tool that can help home sellers and agents sell listings faster and for top dollar.

In this post, we’ll share how virtual staging can help you boost real estate sales. We’ll also explain what virtual staging is, list some of this technology’s main benefits, and answer the question of whether it’s a legal or unethical practice. 

With no further delay, let’s dive in!

What Is Virtual Staging?

Virtual Staging by PhotoUp

Virtual staging is a process of using CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to digitally furnish and decorate a vacant or outdated space.

It creates highly realistic images of a given space by changing such things as:

  • Flooring and carpeting
  • Paint colors and wallpaper
  • Window treatments
  • Furniture, decor, and wall hangings 

Virtual staging is often used by real estate agents to help potential buyers visualize what a property could look like with different furnishings and decor.

It’s an excellent way of making vacant rooms look homey, warm and inviting, and showcasing a home’s full potential.

How Effective Is Virtual Staging for Real Estate Sales?

Virtual staging is definitely a helpful tool for real estate sales that can lead to more buyer interest, faster sales, and higher offers!

Firstly, it can help buyers to visualize what a space could look like with different furnishings and decor, and it can be a great way to show off a property’s potential.

You can even present a room using different interior design styles, ensuring that one of the styles will appeal to the buyer.

There’s more!

Consider this…

…vacant homes sell for an average of $11,306 less and spend 6 more days on market compared to staged and virtually staged homes. And in 2021, 85% of staged homes sold for 5% to 23% percent over the list price. 

That should give you an idea of the effectiveness of virtual staging for real estate. Not only can it help you sell your home faster, but it can also help you sell it for a higher price!

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that not everyone will respond to virtual staging in the same way. Some people may find it helpful, while others may prefer to see a property in its “natural” state.

Ultimately, it’s a great way of capturing homebuyers’ attention and making them enticed to go and visit the property for a physical showing. In that sense, virtual staging is a great marketing and selling tool.

This may rise the question of whether virtual staging is legal, which we’ll answer next.

Fast & Affordable

Virtual Staging Service

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

But Is Virtual Staging Legal?

Virtual staging may be considered misleading or deceptive if it’s used to misrepresent a property’s features or condition.

However, as long as you disclose that the images are virtually staged or show clear before and after images, you won’t mislead buyers and it’s then perfectly ethical and legal. 

Today, virtually staged real estate photos look incredibly photo-realistic. While this is good from a marketing perspective, people may not realize that the space has been digitally altered.

So as a result, presenting before and after photos and labeling them as “virtually staged” is a good best practice. 

With this in mind, the purpose of virtual staging isn’t to mislead or trick buyers. But to make them imagine updates and remodeling options, as well as show them design and decorating possibilities. 

Benefits of Virtual Staging for Real Estate

There are many benefits of virtual staging for real estate sales. Just to mention an example… 

…when a potential buyer is attending a physical showing, physically staged furniture may have been placed to cover stains and scratches. 

This can never be the case for vacant homes since they have nothing to hide and potential flaws are easily discovered. 

At the same time, virtually staged photos allow buyers to see how the property could look when presented in its best possible light, which can help them imagine themselves living in the home. 

More Advantages of Virtual Staging

In addition, virtual staging has more benefits such as:

  • Speed to market: Physical staging takes time for furniture delivery, renovations, and setting it all up while virtual staging has a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours.
  • Added flexibility: Virtual staging allows for added flexibility that simply isn’t possible when physically staging a property.
  • Cost-effective staging: Usually, the price for virtual staging is about 97% cheaper than traditional staging. 
  • Capture homebuyers’ attention: Digital staging creates the most captivating, appealing, and professional online presence for any property. 
  • Allows sellers to cater to any market: Whether you’re listing high-end luxury properties or residential homes, you can choose different interior design styles that will cater to your market.
  • Quick and easy decluttering and depersonalization: Virtual staging is a perfect tool to quickly and easily declutter and depersonalize messy and outdated rooms, full of personal belongings that can off-put potential buyers. 
  • Improve landscaping and curb appeal: It’s also great for virtually improving the landscaping and digital curb appeal, which will get buyers in the door and can boost the overall value of a property.
  • Make virtual renovations or redecorations: You can use this digital form of design to make renovations and redecorations. For example, it can help potential buyers imagine how an unfinished construction will look when fully finished and furnished.
  • Accelerates real estate sales: Lastly, virtual staging can make buyers feel more comfortable with the property because they can visualize what it might be like to live there. Buyers will have an idea of what each room can look like, which can help them make a quicker buying decision. They may even be tempted to offer a higher price on the property. 

Still, this is only the tip of the iceberg of the enormous potential of virtual staging.

Hopefully, it gave you an idea of what this powerful marketing and visualization tool can do for your real estate marketing.

Fast & Affordable

Virtual Staging Service

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Boost Real Estate Sales With PhotoUp’s Virtual Staging

With over a decade in the industry, PhotoUp’s team of expert designers can help you transform any vacant or outdated space and turn it into a beautiful, warm, and inviting home.

Our professional virtual staging services include:

  • Virtually staging of vacant, outdated, or furnished rooms
  • Digital decluttering, repairs, and redecoration
  • Color changes for walls, furnishings, and flooring
  • Also, virtual landscaping in form of sky replacements and green grass enhancements, staging of patio and pool areas, balconies, and more.

Additionally, you can choose between 11 interior design styles, 18 room types, and 21 accessory types from our professional library.

We can ensure you’ll find a design that will cater to your client or market. And unlike some other services, our virtual staging service is extremely easy to use.

PhotoUp’s user-friendly software allows you to upload your images, choose furniture sets, add instructions, and then access your high-resolution images in just a day or two. 

PhotoUp Virtual Staging Demo

Check out our brief virtual staging demo to see how easy it is to get started:

It’s really that easy!

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account today, and let our professional designers help you create captivating images that will boost your real estate sales! 

We hope this blog post helped you realize that virtual staging is extremely effective for real estate sales. If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out the following related resources as well:

Stina Pettersson

Professional Blogger

Stina is an entrepreneur, digital marketer, and professional blogger who's passionate about real estate photo editing, being outdoors with her pup, and sweaty gym sessions. She loves the written word and has been writing for publications like Forbes and Thrive Global. Originally from Sweden, she's called South Florida her home since 2013.

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