Why Home Staging is Important? and How Virtual Method Contributes Positively

Home staging is a home sales process that has been around for a long time. But the big question remains – is virtual home staging important? Does it add any value to the home on sale or contribute positively to real estate agent sales?

The direct answer to this question is Yes.  One of the noticeable benefits of a staged home is the amount of time it spends on the market. While the staged home sells faster, advertising an empty house do take longer to sell, even with a reduced price.

If you are still finding it difficult to decide using this approach, read on as we will provide great insight into why home staging is important.

What is Virtual Home Staging?

The concept of virtual home staging involves placing valuable things like furniture in an empty space with the help of a computer.

This idea is different from the traditional home staging, where things are set up physically. Instead, this is done digitally using superior photo editing apps or software.  This process is easier as it requires just tact and apps on a computer.

On the other hand, normal home staging entails a lot of stressful work and also consumes money. But virtual staging can reduce both funds and effort of buying or carrying furniture, so if you're a real estate agent, you may want to consider it.

Besides, it enhances the home space and makes it more appealing to the buyer's eye. Hence, what's the need for investing much money when you can always get your home staged by clicking the right buttons and using AI staging feature.

How Virtual Staging Helps to Sell properties

Many homes on the market are getting the sold sign thanks to the hot sale magic of virtual home staging. Here is how it helps sell properties.

Increasing The Value Of The property

Although it commands a moderate price, virtual staging gives your home the Midas touch in front of clients. Interested buyers don't mind the high price placed on properties with exquisite virtual home staging."Why Staging a Home Is So Important" The Group, Inc., 2 Apr 2021.

A 2019 study carried out by NAR reported that 23% of the selling agents had a 1-5% more value in the staged home than in unstaged ones. Likewise, about 18% had a 6-10% surge, which might not seem large till your punch in 10% of a million bucks; massive, right? That's just one of the wonders of virtual staging. "NAR Finds Home Staging Helps Buyers Visualize, Homes Sell Faster" NAR, 6 Apr 2021.

Making the House More Appealing

You can never write off the impact of online activities in this post covid era. Thus, the rave gets to real estate marketing, and with an amazing virtually staged home, you're sure to get more impressions. The staged home would attract more interested buyers than an empty space.

Moreover, with Instagram the new talk of the town, your staged pictures would even pull more likes. You could place state-of-the-art furniture on your turf without stress, cutting off the labor and expenses of a staging company.

It makes your picture stand out amongst numerous real estate marketing pictures. Imagine being a potential buyer and seeing a picture of a well-furnished home. You'll certainly go for a closer view and probably end up buying.

Increases Potential of the Property

No matter the use of an empty room, there's certainly a touch that comes with a staged space. One of the reasons why home staging works is that it amplifies the property potential. Thus, you may set up one of the rooms in the house, say the gym or storage area, as a guest room. This concept will increase the potential in the sight of prospective buyers with a lot of friends.

Moreover, you could drive up demand by transforming its purpose with a simple home staging tip. For instance, you could get more potential buyers raising a family by turning one of the rooms into kiddies play turf.

Benefits of Virtual Home Staging

Virtual Home staging can help you achieve a lot of things with an even easier means. Contrary to traditional staging, you may do all the furniture addition from the comfort of your workspace. But is that all there is to gain? Here are some benefits of home staging.

Benefits for Agents and Sellers

Decrease its Time on the Market

One of the fastest ways to put up the sold sign on any property is virtual home staging. It doesn't just help boost the offered range on the property but lessens its time on the demand list.

A home staging industry statistics carried out by the Real Estate Staging Association revealed that staged homes sell faster by 72% than unstaged ones. Also, nothing endears a potential client more than the thought of a well-arranged space ready to move in. It helps you save money that would have been lost if the property stayed for too long.

Increases Space

With a good furniture arrangement, a room looks bigger than when it is well-furnished. While this may sound unbelievable, it's true because the setting helps you understand the space available. Hence, when potential buyers can ascertain the possible furniture a room can contain, it gives them perspective as to whether they want it or not. It also gives room for comparison with their existing furniture. So, they have a mental arrangement of their items with the help of the virtually staged ones.

Easily Raises the Price

As stated earlier, NAR reports revealed that 23% of buyers and sellers had a 1-5% increase in the pricing of a well-staged property.  This doesn't apply to unstaged ones as they stay a bit too long and lose value. "NAR Finds Home Staging Helps Buyers Visualize, Homes Sell Faster" NAR, 6 Apr 2021.

Gives an Insight into a Better Use of the Space

When you see the beautiful set-up of a virtually staged room, you can pick up one or two ideas. From the furniture set up to the wall hangings, one could visualize the interior désign from home staging. A potential buyer could also replicate the concept seen on a virtual staged picture.

Benefits for Buyers

Gives Them Insight on the Use of Rooms

According to a National Association of Realtors survey, 77% of the buyers said they got ideas of using space from a staging picture. Both traditional and virtual home staging help to show potential buyers how they can use their rooms.  So, most virtual home stagers use a neutral arrangement that suits everyone. "Profile of Home Staging" NRA, 6 Apr 2021.

Get a Better Hold on the House Value

A buyer easily knows a home with great value by the arrangement on it. Hence, staging makes it easier to ascertain expectations. Based on a survey, 40% of the respondents agreed that home staging affected their decisions, while 6% remained adamant. "Profile of Home Staging" NRA, 6 Apr 2021.

Important Selling Tips for Home Staging

Home staging helps feed the imagination of potential buyers. But as an agent or seller, you need to take some important approaches to get buyers' interest. Here are a few tips that could help boost up your sales.

1. Declutter

Truth is said, buyers are not looking for homes that are occupied with unnecessary stuff or untidy. So, before putting up a home for sale, ensure to declutter the space by taking out items like books, trophies and other items from tables, shelves, counters and walls.

2. Clean Up the Space

Nobody likes a space that looks dirty. So, ensure you clean the home space of every dust speck. You could do this yourself or hire a professional.

Dust tends to accumulate behind furniture, fan blades, baseboards and light fixtures. So ensure you wipe down and vacuum these areas for a spotless finish.

3. Avoid Excessive Designs

While the design makes the home stand out, doing it excessively yields a negative result. When designing the home, use colours and furniture that match and blend into space.

4. Depersonalize

You should know that for buyers to buy your home, they first imagine themselves in your space. This image becomes a tad difficult when the space is filled with family photos and other personal mementos.

5. Make Repairs

Squeaky doors, loose door handles, leaky faucets and other minor issues might be a turn off for a potential buyer. So, before putting your home up for sale in the market, ensure all fixes where necessary.

6. Define Each Room's Purpose

Buyers want to know what purpose each room in the home serves or could serve. Hence, you must define a purpose for each of the rooms. This approach will help buyers to imagine themselves in the home space effectively.

7. Wallpaper and Paint

Wallpapers beautify the home space, but will a potential buyer like this? Since you do not have an answer to this question, you should remove the wallpaper if there is any. Also, when considering paint colours for the home space, consider using cool and neutral colours.

8. Flooring

Want to boost your home sales chances? Then use pricey hardwood floors in common areas like the living room, dining room and kitchen. You could also consider upgrading the bathroom floor too.

One thing you should not present to a potential client is a dirty floor or a stained carpet.

9. Lighting

A well-lit home is infinitely more inviting than its dark counterpart. It gives off an attractive and cheerful vibe. One way to increase the entrance of natural light is by opening blinds and removing heavy curtains.

Also, if there are dead bulbs, ensure you replace them and repaint rooms with a dark colour.

10. Furniture Size and Arrangement

The presence of furniture is essential for effective imagination. But this does not give you the leverage to clutter the home space with them. Hence, the furniture size used in the home space matters.

Use furniture of proportional size, not too small, not too big. Furniture arrangements should also make the room appear homey while easing navigation.

11. Cracks Walls and Ceilings

Before putting a home up for sale in the market, you should fix all cracks on the walls and ceilings. Usually, these cracks represent a problem with the foundation.

If there is a problem with the foundation, you must fix it or alert the buyer to these challenges before home sales.

12. Exterior

Making your exterior attractive goes a long way to give potential buyers the first impression about your home. This approach is one of the factors to an appealing home curb that drives a buyer to check out the home interior.

To make an excellent first impression, ensure you mow your lawn, prune hedge plants and trees. Also, ensure that you remove any weeds.

13. Rooms That Benefit The Most From Virtual Staging

While staging aids in a home's sales, you don't have to showcase all the room. So, which rooms require staging? The most important space you should focus on are the bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchen. The reason is that homeowners spend most of their time in these spaces.

How Much Staging A Home Cost?

On average, home staging costs about $400, according to the NAR report. So, who pays for the staging? In some cases, the agent takes on the responsibility since it boosts home sales. Sometimes, the seller pays for this by hiring the services of a professional staging company.

Summary

Home staging makes your house sells faster as it helps potential buyers visualize how they will use it and why they want it. With everything mentioned above, we believe you already know why staging your home is important. But if you don't know, this article has provided you great insight into why staging is important in a play.

Also, you don't need to do this the traditional way when you can do a virtual home staging at a cheaper rate and in less time by accessing the free AI staging feature on RICOH360 Tours if you're a subscriber.

“AI Virtual Staging Beta” is the free AI staging feature on RICOH360 Tours. Once you upload the 360° panoramic image, the AI arranges virtual furniture automatically and gives you a visual representation of how the furnished home is going to be like.

With AI Virtual Staging Beta, you can expect better responses from your clients and a higher close rate. Virtual home staging is also a cost-effective and time-efficient way to present your real estate.

For more about Virtual Home Staging, find this article.

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