Virtual staging is a new, interesting concept for sellers. One that got a bit of attention this past year. A snazzy and budget-friendly option, but is it really a good idea?
Photos are what entice the buyers to a showing. So, virtual staging can help achieve that. But what happens when the buyers arrive?
Your potential buyers arrive excited to see the house they saw online. Ready to see if it will work for their family and ready to emotionally connect. Unfortunately, when they arrive at an empty house, many buyers may feel disappointed that the home doesn't reflect the photos. Now you're faced with buyers who are possibly feeling misled and are viewing and picking apart a vacant home.
When your home is vacant, buyers focus on what they can see. They pick apart every little flaw your home might have (even if it is insignificant). They make assumptions based on these flaws. Additionally, without furniture, they are unable to envision their life in the space. (Only 1 in 10 people can visualize effectively - so you'll be excluding 90% of your potential buyers by leaving it for them to imagine.) But, most importantly, you're not allowing them to emotionally connect to the space, and remember, they're already feeling disappointed that it looks different than it did online, so it is sort of insult to injury at this point.
Homebuyers buy homes that they emotionally connect to. That emotional connection is what drives them to make the offer. And, what even leads to things like bidding wars, which is basically the dream scenario for sellers. *I'm happy to report that my two most recent stagings both sold in under 12 hours and had multiple offers, over asking. Which, I fully attribute to the emotional connection they established while visiting the property. It is what made them feel that they had to have this house.
I don't offer virtual staging because I don't believe it is a worthwhile investment for the sale of your property, and I only make recommendations that are most likely going to improve the odds of a quick, top-dollar sale.
The above photos are examples of a professionally staged property.
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