The Truth About Virtual Staging

Last fall we brought a one-bedroom condo on the market in South Boston. It was just under 600 square feet, had a private entrance, its own patio space and was a very short distance to the Red Line. The kitchen and bathroom were updated, and the ceiling height was to die for. Best of all? It was priced at $349,000 – a price almost unheard of these days in Southie.

We had one challenge though…the previous occupants had moved out and the place was vacant. You may or may not know this, but homes don’t show well when they are empty. Rooms look smaller, the place can feel cold and un-homelike (is that a word?) and, most of all, buyers cannot envision how they would use the space. You can tell a buyer that a room is a bedroom, but that doesn’t mean they will actually see a bedroom when looking at 4 empty walls and a floor. They need to see and feel the bed, the nightstand, the rug. It’s a bizarre phenomenon (and a frustrating one for those of us in sales) but that’s just how a lot of people’s brains work.

So, to help combat this, we had the place virtually staged. What is virtual staging, you ask? It’s this incredible tool that takes photos of a vacant home and digitally adds furnishings to the space. Best of all, it’s incredibly affordable and a lot less expensive than a professional stager. Sounds hokey? Not so much. This technology has come a very, very long way. When it first came out, you could spot a virtually staged pic from a mile away. Not anymore. It’s really amazing what they can do now. It all looks so real.
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And the virtually staged pics for this condo came out AMAZING.
 
In fact, the photos looked so darn good that we were flooded with showing requests and open house traffic. People needed to see this unicorn – the unbelievably gorgeous space at the unheard-of price.

Well, this is where things took a turn. The photos set up people’s expectations so high, that when they walked into an empty condo, they inevitably felt let down. The virtually staged pics demonstrated where the furniture could go and how it might look, but it didn’t solve the issue of the place looking barren when people came to visit in person.

Enter Plan B. After receiving no offers despite the great turnout, the unit was staged for real by Boston Modern Staging & Design. We took new photos and did a small price drop to $345,000 to spur new activity. Sure enough, within a couple of days we had multiple offers on the home. The accepted offer was over the $345,000 list price – it closed for $349,000, more than covering the cost of the professional staging!
 
So, moral of the story? We do believe that virtual staging can work for some properties and would use it again for the right place. In fact, we have had success with virtual staging in the past, as have many of our colleagues. But for this particular property, which had a unique layout that could be used in a variety of fashions, it was much better served by professional staging, as it took the guesswork out of the equation for the buyers. They didn't have to ponder how they'd set up the rooms and what it would like look or what size furniture would fit. The legit staging got the job done quickly and for the seller’s desired price -- because, after all, making our clients happy is what this job is all about.

What do you think? What are your experiences with virtual staging?

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