A successful sale typically starts with attracting potential buyers. This means impressing them with a home's aesthetic appeal and showcasing the lifestyle it can offer.
That's precisely why home staging is highly recommended. It provides sellers with a chance to boost the visual appeal of a home, both inside and out. As well, it helps buyers better envision themselves living in the home and calling it their own.
READ: Trurealism: The Future Of Home Staging
But while traditional home staging is a well-known concept, there's a relatively new player in the game: virtual home staging. It sounds high tech, but what exactly is virtual home staging? And is it something that you should try out when selling your home?
Virtual Home Staging - Defined
As the name implies, virtual home staging involves "virtually" staging a home. That means the images that are shown on an online listing have been enhanced with added furniture and accessories. Plus, you can change the paint colour on the walls, and even the addition of certain types of flooring.
READ: Ask An Agent: Where Do I Start When It Comes To Home Staging?
With virtual home staging, sellers literally don't have to lift a finger - it's all done for them! The virtual staging software is used to create the exact space for which buyers in the area are looking.
Why Choose Home Staging?
There are a few reasons why virtual home staging may be a chosen tactic as part of an overall selling strategy.
New home construction -
Some builders may virtually stage properties that are still under construction. They may want to start the listing process sooner rather than later, and may virtually stage their properties before the homes are actually finished.
In this case, stagers will try to mimic the exact finishes that will be present in the home after it's fully completed. That way, buyers can see exactly what the home will look like when it's finished, and builders don't have to waste any time waiting for construction to end before listing.
Renovations -
Perhaps sellers are renovating their homes themselves and want to be able to showcase what the properties will look like, once all the work is complete. Again, this allows sellers to help buyers visualize the finished product and the home's potential before the work is complete, saving sellers plenty of time in getting the selling process underway.
Vacant homes -
Virtual staging is especially helpful when it comes to selling vacant homes. A property that's completely empty requires a great deal of time, work, effort, and money to fill with the necessary furniture and accessories. Virtual staging helps to show buyers what an empty place can look like when it's properly finished.
Sellers can save quite a bit of money with virtual staging without the furniture rental costs that continue to add up week after week as long as the home is still on the market.
READ: 6 Home Staging Mistakes That Could Sink Your Selling Price
Of course, sellers who don't fall under any of these categories can still use virtual staging to showcase their homes to buyers online. That said, it's important for sellers to fully disclose the fact that the home is virtually staged in order to avoid any unnecessary surprises.
Should You Use Virtual Home Staging to Help Sell Your Home?
If cost is an issue for you, then virtual home staging can be a great alternative to traditional home staging. But again, it's important to disclose which images have been virtually staged in order to keep buyers informed and in the loop.
If cost is not an issue, virtual home staging may still be a great supplement to conventional staging. The latter has proven time and again to be an effective marketing tool for selling real estate. Regardless of which route you take, be sure to work with a seasoned home stager to ensure your home is ready to 'wow' prospective buyers.
