Depending on what email lists you belong to, you may have recently received a message or two attempting to sell you virtual staging software.
I know this because I’ve heard from many of you curious about my take on this practice.
In my opinion there are two types of virtual staging.
The first type of virtual staging (which I practice), is “virtual” because I don’t actually go into a client’s home but I give them staging advice by phone based on photos they provide me with to analyze.
This allows clients to have my staging advice and do the work themselves at a lower cost than if I were to do an actual consultation in their home.
It also allows me to offer specific staging advice to clients outside my geographic area. A great way to expand your business!
The second meaning of virtual staging I don’t practice. I don’t recommend it because I think it’s a waste of a client’s money.
Virtual staging a waste of money in most cases
Virtual staging companies have entered the home staging industry that use virtual staging software which allows you to load photos of vacant rooms to a computer and manipulate them to make it look like the rooms are furnished.
Their goal is to sell attractive listing photos to realtors for use on feature sheets, listing sites and MLS.
Notice the (stock) photo in this post. There’s something a little “off” about it. That’s because it’s not a real photo taken in a real room.
It’s a simulation created by virtual staging software.
With “Virtual Staging”, no real furniture goes into the house
The software (used by a stager, decorator or interior designer— or a service that exclusively specializes in photo manipulation), is doing the “staging” by creating images of fully-furnished rooms.
This software can be great as a way to simulate what you’re recommending to get a client’s approval for a decorating project. They have to understand and “buy into your creative vision.” This software (assuming you can load the furniture you actually want to use) would be a helpful tool to do that. I admit, I’ve never needed to do this either.
In home staging, you’re not asking your clients to live with the changes you’re making to sell their home. My clients get out of my way and let me do what I believe is right, because they’re paying for my advice. There’s no need for me to present them with drawings or concepts for approval in advance.
In home staging, the only reason you’d use virtual staging software is to manipulate listing photos.
Why is virtual staging, using software to manipulate listing photos, a waste of a home seller’s or real estate agent’s money?
Because very few properties are bought sight unseen!
While fake photos might spark their interest in a property, potential buyers are going to be disappointed when they finally do a showing and realize the house is nothing like the photos they viewed online.
And everyone knows a disappointed prospect is not a buyer that makes a good offer!
Potential buyers might even find themselves wandering through the empty house wondering why the owners had to move out so suddenly.
Sensing desperation, this could attract a low-ball offer. Certainly not the goal of home staging! For more on this read, Why Home Staging Sells Your Home Faster and For Top Dollar.
Your job as a home stager is to romance the buyer and while photos are critical (almost 90% of buyers look online for a home before calling a real estate agent), they don’t count for everything.
The buyer needs to be romanced when they pull up to the home and take in the view from the curb. They have to fall in love when they walk through the front door. They have to fall deeper in love with every single room until they have the feeling that it’s the property they’ve been looking for.
That’s why virtual staging software misses the mark and why it will never replace the need for real home stagers.
Virtual staging for foreign buyers and investors
If you know that the home will be bought by a foreign buyer or investor, virtual staging might have a place.
An investor just needs to see something that looks easy to rent and generate positive cash flow. They don’t have to fall in love with the home.
Another exception is if you’re selling properties to foreign buyers who have no interest in living in (or renting) the home and just want an offshore investment to get their money out of their home country.
For example, Vancouver (Canada) is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, due largely to Chinese investors parking their money in real estate there.
Multi-million dollar properties sit vacant for years, while local residents can no longer afford to buy property because it’s not local supply and demand dictating the prices.
This is a subject for another article, but I wanted to make the point that investors who aren’t looking for their next “home”, wouldn’t care as much what the property actually looks like inside.
> You can read more of my thoughts on Virtual Staging here.
Home Stagers, What do You Think?
Home stagers, have you heard of this new technology? What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me, do you have a different opinion or do you see potential in such technology?
Please add your thoughts in a comment below so we can have a discussion about this.
Yes I have heard of it. And it actually has been used, but perhaps not called “virtual staging”, in new condo developments in New York City prior to and even sometimes after the building is built. It is very useful of course when the rooms themselves are virtual because they are not yet constructed! They also are clearly artists renderings when you view them online, so I don’t think a potential buyer would be disappointed when they arrive at the model unit.
Having said that, I always thought, perhaps naively, that the seller wanted to just set up the virtual staging photo on an easel in each room so that the buyer could visualize what would fit where. It didn’t occur to me that they would put it in the onlin listing. But putting it in each room by no means replaces the feeling a buyer would get stepping into a room that is actually furnished and accessorized.
Another point, many listings have furniture in the photo, but don’t actually have furniture in them, because the agent took photos before the people moved out. This is the same end result of the buyer walking into an empty space after seeing furnished photos on line. I suppose it’s better to have furnished photos online than empty rooms, but we all would hope that the agent and seller would have the space staged (and the rooms would look much better than the seller’s furniture and decor anyway).
In conclusion, virtual staging is better than empty rooms, it in NO WAY way will achieve the emotional connection and WOW factor when a buyer walks into a home that has been lovingly furnished and accessorized by a professional home stager.
I am in agreement that real live staging should be used because the goal is to connect the home and all of the staged furnishings with the potential buyers. However, in cases where the owner is placed in certain situations unforeseen for example spending all of their funds for updated fixtures, painting, carpet/flooring and other repairs, a lot of times there is no funds left for an effective staged home. I have experienced the visual staging software and it’s pretty neat. Now, I am not necessarily endorsing this to be used as staging, but I have incorporated visual staging as one of my services. Only as a very last resort for potential clients because you have to meet clients where they are regarding budgeting. I instruct the agents when they list on their website, to provide a comment that this is a visually staged home, and that the furnishings you see are not in the home when you are ready to view. Its just to give an idea of how your furniture could be placed in the space(s) only. This is better than to have the home shown on the MLS vacant and with no connection at all. Again, I love the live staging versus visual staging, but it all depends bottom line of clients needs, and their budgets.
I DO offer Virtual Staging as well – but the kind where a client sends me photos of their rooms, then via internet or phone, we converse to stage their home. It’s a wonderful service that helps sellers know what to do to get their homes ready to show, it saves them money, and they can do it in their own time.
The other type of virtual staging is, in my opinion, quite deceiving. I’ve had someone email me and tell me that offering “virtual staging” on my website was misleading and wrong and that I need to call my services something else. He went on to say that true v.s. involved “doctoring” the photos (not his words), to look better online. I really think that unless you tell clients that the home is vacant and these are just suggestions for furnishing, that they will be disappointed when they walk in.
There is no replacement for the emotional feelings you get when you walk into a well-staged home and can visualize the scope and size of the rooms. You see fresh ideas for furnishing and imagine yourself settling-in and enjoying the home. Whether you stage a home “virtually” or in-person, having furnishings, accessories and all the trimmings just plain looks better. Very few people can get emotionally attached to an empty home!
ANyone have ideas on a better name for virtual staging – that involves actually staging the home? I call mine a “virtual home staging consultation” but that doesn’t sound too jazzy – I’d love any ideas!
Debbie Fiskum, The Home Decor Genie!
I’m glad you wrote about this topic. I have seen it over the last year or so, and debated in my own mind whether it really works. (I’m referring to computer manipulation of photos. I have successfully done the other type of virtual staging – using the owner’s photos to help them stage – and it works.)
I agree with Donna and Debbie that there is no replacement for the emotional connection someone makes when they walk into a well staged home. I think the show “Hidden Potential” on HGTV proves this as well. They use virtual staging and construction to help people see a home’s potential. What I have noticed is that, even with the great pictures and transformations, it still seems that 9 times out of 10 the buyer picks the home that needed the least amount of work and the home they connected with emotionally. Ironically, many of these folks thought they were looking for a fixer-upper but what sounds like a good idea, or looks good on paper, doesn’t work out in reality.
Virtual staging could be quite misleading as well. Scale is important. How can someone really feel confident that their dining set will fit in the space? And lighting. If a home appears dark in person, but bright in the pictures, what is the guarantee that the home can be made that bright? And odors/cleanliness. Well no picture is going to hide, or make up for that.
I agree that virtual staging would be better for decorating or construction, but there’s just nothing that can take the place of a well staged home for a quick sale.
Virtual staging may have it’s place but I feel it is deceptive. It may help an agent when listing a property but if a buyer is serious they will want to see the property and their expectations of what was advertised online or in a flyer will be quite different from what is reality. Buying a home is an emotional one and if the buyer enters a home that is vacant they do not get the “feel” of the “home” it is just another property. I have found alot of people cannot visualize the potential of a home or room. A buyer may not only be disappointed when entering the property but they may feel deceived which may make them suspicious of real estate practices and less likely to buy.
I must say I was intrigued when I got this solicitation…enough to take a look. After pondering for a while, it appears to be a useful tool when courting certain long distant or reluctant clients who may not have the benefit of the desirable personal consultation. We all know the “brain freeze” that occurs with potentials when you start talking about furniture/accessory rental charges.
Short of drafting hand drawn layouts (which I’ve done many times), certain clients have NO CLUE what you are proposing.
Never to substitute actual staging in photos or in person, it might be valuable in swaying parties on the fence to get a vision of what could be accomplished.
Sharon, you raise an excellent point. I agree using photo manipulation to show a client how different their home can look once you put furniture in it could be helpful.
I’d be careful to find “virtual furniture” that looks very much like what you will actually put in the home though. Once you show people photos of what their home will look like, they will take it quite literally even if you tell them it’s the “concept” you are showing them.
Personally I steer away from situations where my clients will have approval to the individual pieces I put in. They hire me to stage the home and create the right look. I don’t give them a chance to debate the relative merits of one couch, table or lamp over another.
I feel like this article is a bit biased. As a realtor, I’ve used virtual staging on 3 different properties now and my clients absolutely loved it. To say that it is misleading is a stretch. In fact, I think it’s less misleading than traditional home staging.
What is the difference between traditional home staging and virtual home staging? When you stage a home with physical furniture does the furniture come with the home? No! Neither does virtual staging. As long as you disclose somewhere on your listing information that home was virtually staged then there wont be any “disappointment”.
I really don’t see how anyone would feel deceived, what are the being deceived about if they are not there to purchase the furniture.
Realtor Chris, thanks for sharing your point of view and experience on this.
I agree the furniture doesn’t come with the house (except in rare cases when it does), but that’s not the point of staging. We aren’t saying the furniture comes with it.
My point is that if listing photos are enticing someone to visit a home in person, then when they walk thru the front door it should look like what they saw online. If it doesn’t there will inevitably be a sense of disappointment because empty houses never look as warm and inviting as well furnished/staged homes. When the house is vacant it usually looks kind of sad, like the owners had to pack up and leave in a hurry.
When it’s obviously a brand new home that’s never been lived in, it still lacks warmth when it’s unfurnished.
I encourage you to read this article for additional information, called “5 Reasons Empty Rooms are a Bad Idea When Selling Your House“:
http://www.sixelements.com/5-reasons-empty-rooms-are-a-bad-idea-when-selling-your-house/
Debra, thanks for raising this issue. I have been going back and forth in my opinion on virtual (software) staging since I first heard about it. My first instinct was to dislike the idea. There is something cold and sterile about it. The furniture tends to be without charm and the photos are a bit too perfect. On the other hand, it has potential where furniture rental is not an option. Reading everyone’s comments has been interesting and has made me realize that it all depends on the market you’re in. And that you need to disclose the fact that the rooms have been virtually staged from the start in order to avoid unpleasant surprises. Here in rural France it won’t work (yet) in any event, because the furniture available in these programs does not go with the architecture here. As to what to call staging at a distance through emails and phone conversations – I call it an “on-line staging consultation”. Not very original, but it appears to get the idea across.
Debra, I just had an agent approached by another stager this week offering Virtual Staging as an option. I have staged several homes for this agent , and had to defend all of us on this subject. Buyers need to feel a connection when they first walk in the door. The initial call to the agent from the buyer was inspired by the photos. Why let them down by showing the property vacant. We all know the majority of people have little vision. I just don’t get this whole virtual thing.
Gary Baugher An Eye 4 Change Nashville, TN.
I am torn with virtual staging. On one hand for myself it opens the doors to real estate agents to add this feature for their clients. It is especially good for clients that are not willing nor have the money to fully stage their home. So if I was to virtually stage a home it would be a service that would mainly be used by agents and promoted to agents. I would not be talking to clients directly on this option as I would in a typical stage. As a home buyer I can see that I would be disappointed that it looked different than the pictures when I showed up so I would say that it is up to the agent to do what is right and say in the listing that this is virtually staged or have pictures out of it virtually staged when home buyers come in. So I would say if it helps me and agents out in building our business then it can not be that bad of a thing. Anything we can do for a client is better than nothing when trying to get a home sold them.
I am very interested in how and when stagers invoice (and get paid for) “virtual staging”. Do you get paid up front, through cc, …..? And the software … does anyone have a preference and what does that cost? Just interested. I’m obviously not too familiar with virtual staging.
Jill, that’s a great question and the kind of thing I discuss with Graduates in detail in our monthly Staging Diva Dialog calls rather than in the public forum of this blog.
As you know, I share more free information with home stagers than anyone else in this industry, but there are certain details that are restricted to my inner circle of Staging Diva students and graduates. So this blog never has the “full” story.
I have found the ongoing discussions surrounding “virtual staging” interesting because I sell primarily new construction homes for multiple builders. About 95% of the real estate market here in the mountains is vacation/second home/retirement homes , and range in size from 1000sq ft. cabins to 7500sq ft estates. While some of my builders may stage a home with furnishings and then offer it for sale with the furnishings as an additional option, many have found it ties up more “cash” then they might like in the slower housing market today.
The least of my concerns regarding virtual staging is the disappointment of an empty home when a Buyer first sees the home for real. North Carolina requires FULL Disclosure regarding photos of homes- even models for homes that may still be underconstruction, so one more disclosure regarding furnishings is no big deal. And don’t get me wrong, I love having a new home staged with nice new furnishings that highlight the rustic features of these log or timberframe homes, as quite honestly, most Buyers have never furnished a “rustic style” home so their “vision” may not be that good. However, there are many of these homes where the Seller is not willing or cannot put out the money to physically stage a home. I simply don’t see this as an “all or nothing” discussion, from my stand point, as to quote the “old timers” around this area ” I have no dog in this hunt”, and some of the comments regarding pros and cons seem understandably, very self serving. Yes- homes definitely sell faster when professionally decorated, but if that is not an option, then I feel I have a responsibility to my Seller to find him the next best alternative. If I am representing a Buyer instead of a Seller, anything that helps my Buyer envision what that empty home might look like furnished is also a help, so internet photos, a photo album on the counter of an empty home, whatever, is just as helpful to me and my Buyer as a copy of a plat with property lines on it. It too is only a tool to help a Buyer or a Seller have a better “vision” of what they are considering purchasing.
I guess to capsulize my point, would I prefer an actual staged home-certainly. Does it have to be that or nothing to help my clients-certainly not.
Thanks for your comments and feedback about virtual staging and we are glad to see a lot of talk about the topic. My husband and I are realtors and traditional stagers in Atlanta, Georgia and we consider ourselves to be the pioneers of virtual staging.
Our form of virtual staging which is patent-pending is very realistic and life like and we DO NOT alter any of the vacant photographs our cients email us. We stay true to the realtor code of ethics rules and advise our clients to always disclose that our services have been used in all marketing materials. We do not change paint colors or remove appliances or even add drapery for that matter. We simply add furnishings and decor only to empty rooms so that we create more recognizable rooms and attractive “staged” online photos where it is a fact that 90% of home buyers are looking for their next home.
We created Virtual staging simply as a way to drive buyer traffic to the listing and provide agents in Atlanta and nationwide with a more economical marketing tool for those clients who cannot afford the costs of traditional staging. By all means we encourage all of our clients here in Atlanta to use our traditional staging services which is preferred but nationwide there are lots of agents who do not have access to stagers or they too are on tight marketing budgets these days and find that virtual staging really does work.
I’m enjoying this article very much and just wanted to add my thoughts as well. As a Realtor in Alberta, I’ve noticed over the years how ‘online pictures can be very deceiving’… and I’m not even talking about virtual or real staging. The fact is there is some pretty high end fancy camera equipment out there being used that take extraordinary pictures. There’s nothing deceptive going it, it’s just a quality camera. It’s the difference between my iPhone pictures VS. a professional photographer and believe me, when that professional camera is used, people are often taken aback when we walk through that door and it’s nothing like the pictures online. Before viewing a home I stress several times to a buyer that what they saw online is almost never what it is in reality. So my question is: how is this any different in the eyes of the Buyer? The professional camera enhances the lighting, angles and colors – not changes, enhances. Honestly, if we want an option that leaves no possibility of ever visually ‘misleading’ or ‘deceiving’ a buyer, that would be to post no pictures at all. And we all know how many buyers click past the listing with no pictures attached!
Wendy, you raise an interesting point. I’ve purchased 8 homes and looked at hundreds of listings over the years. You are quite right, sometimes you walk into what you think will be a large living room (because of the online photos) only to realize it’s tiny. That’s definitely a huge disappointment.
That said, I feel most vacant homes (especially ones that have been lived in) look sad and abandoned, with every imperfection immediately obvious. If I’d seen it online full of furniture and walked into an empty space, I’d be wondering (assuming I liked it at all), “How low an offer could I make since they’re clearly desperate to sell now that they’ve moved on.”
I appreciate you bringing up this aspect of the discussion!
I’m a Realtor and always stage my listings at minimum with advice, and many time with my own stock of furnishings and accessories. I recently showed a listing in my own neighborhood that used virtual staging and while it looked nice in the photos, the scale was off and the furniture they showed would not have fit in the space so in this instance it was deceiving.
I had a situation where a formal living room was being used as an office. The office looked great, so we left it like that. We had a virtually staged living room picture created so a potential buyer could visualize the room as a formal living room.
That’s a really interesting example Kathy, thanks for sharing! What was the feedback from potential buyers?
ABSOLUTELY I agree!! I can see in some isolated incidences where it may be a useful tool, but honestly, the whole point of “staging” is to a. attract buyers online, and 2. make them fall in love with the home once they are in it. To completely drop the second half of that equation is not benefiting the homeowner or the buyer. Secondly, staging does not need to cost a fortune! Rental furniture is not always necessary – borrowing from friends and family or buying for the next home works in lot of cases, especially if the furniture is arranged properly within the space. I just think it’s a shame that the industry has come to this and I really hope it’s not the wave of the future, but only an alternative in certain circumstances. This is my seventh year in business in Ontario and I LOVE what I do and firmly believe in the “sweat” of the job!!
Wendy, thanks so much for commenting and sharing your experiences. And congratulations on your 7th year as a home stager, well done!
Although, I do not think virtual staging is nearly as effective as traditional staging, I do believe it has its place. For example, in the case of a vacant condo in a high rise, listed at a low price point. It costs a lot more to stage a vacant highrise/midrise condo because of the challenges with parking and stairs/elevators, not to mention the extra time involved. Traditional staging with furniture rentals may not be a feasible or affordable option. Besides, lets face it, some clients are just tapped out after renovating and/or putting a down payment on a new build. I think virtual staging could be offered by staging companies as an alternative solution if traditional staging is not an option. In the online ad, I would include both the vacant pics and the virtually staged by… pics, so there are no surprises.
Thanks for sharing your point of view Tanya, much appreciated!
When you stage a home via virtual or not, you are disappointing the buyer at some stage. Pictures can be misleading as the buyers are introduced to an empty house. But that’s what they’re going to get when you UNSTAGE their house anyways.
IMO, it’s more TRUTHFUL as you’re telling them this is EXACTLY what you get when you buy the house when they walk in. If you’re removing the furniture after they have bought the house – you are disappointing them much worse because they didn’t realize how the place looked without the furniture.
With virtual staging, you can show them how it can look later, and how it DOES look now. Like buying an old car – people will be unhappy about things that they didn’t realize BEFORE they bought the car.
Thanks for sharing your point of view Ed. Wonder how many of us would choose anything (home, spouse, particular cell phone, etc.) if in advance we could see exactly what our experience of choosing it would be later 🙂
Your comment made me laugh, loved it!!
Thanks Sasha! Happy to brighten your day 🙂
First rule of Realestate – disclosure! A virtual bed or sofa can give perspective to a room and show – “Yes there is plenty of space for your king bed”. Make sure you also have the empty photos available. Sometimes it is easier selling a empty house. It gives the opportune to dream about the future.
Hi, Debra! Thanks for interesting article and not less exciting discussions! We suggest virtual staging services to worldwide known real estate companies which use them as additional marketing tool to increase the sales – and it definitely works! It works in complex with professional realtors, good listings and attention to details that are always reqired while selling or buying properties. Some people say, that virtual staging is misleading, well, in some way it is, but it is less painful than physical staging, I think) With virtual home staging buyers are given a chance to estimate the home`s potential and to see it empty as well. The intention to buy largerly depends on impression and virtual furniture staging can guarantee it!)
Thanks for this article, Debra!
Virtual staging is a great opportunity for real estate agents to attract buyers online by making a first impression – same as real staging.
But… hundreds of times cheaper!
And, yes, buyers may have the feeling that the place is empty, but, in my opinion, it’s somehow better than having lots of furniture that will suddenly dissappear afterwards.
Thanks for commenting. What I keep coming back to is what does the place look like when they’re standing in it and decided on their offer price.
I am agree with you. Virtual staging is an innovative way that impress buyers. But sometimes it gets misleading. It has often been found that kitchen cabinets are brand new looking, but in reality they are not. All interior designs look fresh and painted, but in reality they have not been painted in many years.
Thanks for sharing!
I wonder if delegating virtual staging to someone could be a viable option? 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Any,
There are plenty of online services doing virtual staging (ie: manipulating photos to put furniture into them). They delegate to third world countries so they can still make a profit only charging $25 per photo. That’s why I don’t recommend home stagers personally spend the time learning the software. There isn’t real money in it, compared to actual staging or even doing home staging consultations.
Thanks for commenting.
Hello Debra, Staging Diva “2009” alumni here! I have been performing your well scripted business model for over 11 years! Regarding virtual staging, I added this service over seven years ago–at the request of a realtor. The way I see it is, I am in the business of helping homeowners/realtors sell their property faster and for more money. That means if they do not have the budget to stage their vacant property, I will offer them the service to “virtually” stage their home via software. My number one reason for supporting virtual staging is that when it comes to selling a home, home sellers should NOT have to decide between “physically staging the house” OR doing “nothing at all”! Virtual Staging is an economical and valuable marketing service. My feedback from realtors and home buyers have been very favorable !
Hey Lorrie,
So great to hear from you, thanks for commenting! I appreciate your perspective on virtual staging and how it’s added to your business.
Happy to hear the business model you learned in the Staging Diva Training Program has served you so well over these past 11 years. That’s a real milestone in any business, good for you!
Listen, it’s about time I write an article about you! You can get featured by filling out the form here.
Also, you can get a Grad Badge to add to your website. Feel free to email us about where to get that as well as bonuses exclusively for Staging Diva Grads.