Selling real estate is a competitive field, which is why you need innovative marketing tactics. Realtors often use home staging to get their prospects? attention and gain traction for their listings. However, this usually only works for high-end properties because of how expensive it is. This shouldn?t stop you, though, because you can try virtual staging’s. Read on to find what do I need for virtual staging.
Photo staging is much cheaper than traditional staging. Think about spending as low as $50 or even less per image. Compare this to $500 to $600 per room in home staging. This makes it the ideal marketing tactic for lower-priced properties for sale or rent. This is a good way to get a competitive edge over similarly priced listings. It also reduces the advantage of properties with more expensive staging. All it takes is to work with an excellent photo staging designer.
Deleted: If this is your first time using virtual staging to promote your listings, you still need to prepare a few things. The designer might do most of the work on the photos. However, you also have work to do in the pre-photo editing phase. This includes preparing professional photos, reference photos, and property layout. You have to provide these to your virtual home staging designer.
It?s your responsibility to prepare excellent materials for the staging designer. To provide professional photos, you also need to do some preparations around the house.
Table of Contents
Prepping the rooms
- Take out all the items that are not essential to the staged photos.
- Make sure to clean the walls, windows, and floors.
- Check if all the light bulbs in the rooms are working and emitting the same light.
- Ensure that the toilet lids are down.
- Open the curtains or blinds if the room has a pleasant view outside or needs brighter lighting.
- Schedule a photo-taking session at night if the room is facing west. Do it in the morning if it is facing east.
Why use professional photos
Virtual staging designers can only work on high-resolution photos from professional photographers. The worst materials you can give them are photos taken by a smartphone with low resolutions. While some designers might still be able to work on them, the resulting photos might not have as much of a pull on the prospects as the ones taken by a pro.
Moreover, virtual staging solutions require high-quality photos to produce realistic images of the home.
Professional photographers also know all the right angles that will make it easier to put furniture and decor into the image.
The pros have the latest photography equipment and the experience to capture the best features of the house. To take high-quality photos, you?re going to need a DSLR camera with a pro-quality wide-angle lens. You should not use the extra wide-angle ones. You?re also going to use a tripod for camera stabilization and consistency regarding what height the photos are captured.
Remember, potential buyers will form an impression based on those photos and how they were edited for staging.
Reference Images
If you work with a virtual staging designer, they will consider your suggestions. If it is hard to verbalize the buyers? preferences, it?s best to provide reference images.
Importance of reference images
Reference photos are incredibly helpful if you want a specific look for a house using certain furnishings and decor elements. It would be easier to point out where things should go if you have a reference.
You can also use reference images to identify where you might want a particular decor or furniture placed. Some realtors also choose to add detailed descriptions of their staging look to the photos themselves.
The staging designer has likely not seen the property in person. There might be details that designers won?t know much about. For instance, they won’t know what the rest of the room looks like beyond what?s seen in the photo. They might still be able to create an overall flow of the staging if they can get reference images from you that would be most suitable for the room.
What trends to consider when choosing reference images
For 2020, here are a few key trends to think about before discussing what the property will look like:
- Less is more. More homeowners now favor a simplistic lifestyle. Sitting rooms and office spaces now replace formal dining rooms and living rooms.
- Unique lighting fixtures. Potential buyers may prefer natural cut crystals, geometric chandeliers, and fixtures in free-form shapes. Lighting serves another purpose as a focal point in some rooms.
- Earth tones. Neutrals would make it easier for prospective buyers to visualize their future home.
- Conversational setup. This is one of the lasting home staging trends that you can use in virtual staging. It does not matter how great your decor is. If the seating layout does not promote conversations and interactions, the living room won?t serve its purpose.
Property Layout for Accurate Virtual Staging
If you ask virtual staging solution providers what they need, some might require a building layout. They use this to create a realistic interior and accurate scaling. As a result, it helps future homeowners visualize how much space they can work with. It also shows them what they can do with the available space. Naturally, the layout will also show the limitations of the property.
Proper scaling is especially important to buyers who cannot check the property in person. At least they can form a realistic expectation of what the listing can offer. It reduces the risk of buyer’s remorse if they have a good idea of what they’ll be getting.
Conclusion
Once you have prepared the professionally taken photos, reference photos, and building layout, you can talk more easily with the staging designer. The faster you can turn these requirements over to them, the quicker they can edit them.
Hiring a professional virtual staging designer will pay off. It will be easier for them to understand the look that you want prospects to see in a home because of their background and experience.
Considering how competitive the real estate market is, look for a designer with a quick turnaround time. Ensure that they offer a satisfactory guarantee. Look for reviews and check if they provide ?Wow? but realistic photos. These are the characteristics that you need to sell more properties at a premium without spending too much on the staging process. But first, fulfill your responsibility of providing the key requirements that photo staging designers can work on.
