To sell a property, you should list it, and to list it, you should provide pictures or videos of the property. In either case, you’ll need some form of home staging since not everybody is imaginative enough to get the full potential of a place simply by looking at its vacant version!
For some time, we were getting along with traditional home staging till we were introduced to virtual staging service by the turn of the millennium. As time passed, our appreciation of the new trend grew, and now here we are; not discussing whether or not we should utilize virtual staging but rather asking how much we should pay for it!
Let’s find out how much virtual staging costs, who should pay for it, how to reduce its cost, and much more.
Table of Contents
Factors Affecting Virtual Staging Cost
The overall cost of virtual staging is determined by factors such as:
- Professional photography: who does it? If a professional real estate photographer shoots the property, then your virtual staging project will be more costly because you’ll have to pay them. But if you shoot the property yourself, you’ll be saving some money.
- Number of rooms: For each room you want to stage, you’ll have to pay some amount. So, the more rooms you want to stage, the more money you’ll have to pay.
- Number of outputs: There are various virtual staging design styles that one can choose for a given room in a house. If. for example, you want two or three styles for the same room, you’ll have to pay more.
- Who stages the photos for you? Different real estate photo editing companies consider different pricing for their virtual staging services. So, the company you choose has a direct effect on the overall cost of your virtual staging project.
How Much Does Virtual Staging Cost?
A fairly common question that has many possible answers. A look at the prices companies offer for virtual staging suggests that there are no firm criteria based on which virtual staging cost is determined.
Some companies claim that they have highly professional graphic designers who must be paid well. Therefore, they demand more money from their customers.
Take a look at “Styldod” and “Padstyler”. Both companies are based in India. So, it’s quite logical to expect them to charge almost the same price for the same service. However, while one charges $16 per photo, the other one demands $34 for the same service!
Moreover, companies like “Virtual Staging vht” charge up to $79/ photo, however, at Revivoto, we offer virtual staging services at only $9.99/ photo, and we dare you you compare the quality of our work with that of any other real estate photo editing companies around the corner!
The table below shows the virtual staging cost demanded by some of the well-recognized virtual staging companies.
So, even if you go for the most expensive real estate virtual staging service, you wouldn’t need to pay more than $790 since most properties are covered in 6-10 pictures. Yet, keep in mind that this amount could shrink to $99.9 if Revivoto takes charge of your virtual staging project.
Who Should Pay the Virtual Staging Costs?
Virtual staging is a part of listing real estate and advertising it. Therefore, it somehow falls under the responsibilities of the agent. However, it is not demanded by the law.
The truth is that virtual staging cost is not that high, and it rarely, if at all, causes any dispute between the agent and the property owner.
The thing is that agents know (not precisely, of course) how much they’re gonna get for selling a given property (4-6% of the sales price). Therefore, they can set a certain amount aside to pay for listing and advertising the property.
At other times, the property owner might pay the cost. It is usually the case when the agent has agreed to sell the property without paying the advertising costs.
How to Reduce Virtual Staging Costs?
While virtual home staging might be costly, there are two things you can do to pay less for it. Here’s how you can do it.
- Take the photos yourself: Don’t hire a photographer merely because you don’t have a camera or haven’t photographed a property before. Photographing a property for virtual staging doesn’t require much skill. All you need to do is vacant the room and take a few pictures of it. That’s certainly something you can do on your own, which could save you a ton of money.
- Find a good photo editing company with affordable prices: Reach out to a reputable real estate photo editing company that offers affordable virtual staging services and place your order. Make sure to check the quality of their work before laying your order. To do so, you could ask for a free trial or read customers’ reviews about them.
Does Virtual Staging Worth The Cost?
Considering the effect of virtual staging on buyers and its cost, we strongly believe that virtual staging is indeed worth the cost.
There is no denying that unstaged properties linger in the market for a much longer time than virtually staged properties. On the other hand, the amount you pay for virtual staging is hardly one-tenth of what you would normally pay for the traditional way of staging.
The only scenario where virtual staging could be ineffective, and for that matter a waste of money, is when the agent selects the wrong company and is left with a couple of poorly edited photos that look drastically unnatural and appeal to no one.
How Should I Find a Reliable Real Estate Photo Editing Company?
A quick simple query on the internet will give you a list of top real estate photo editing companies. Take your time and learn about each of the companies on your list. Try to check their services, pricing, turnaround time, etc.
Also, look for samples of virtually staged rooms on those websites to get a clearer picture of their service quality. Then, choose the one that provides an excellent virtual staging service at a reasonable price.
Our Verdict
Virtual staging has proven a smart and practical choice in the real estate industry and will certainly remain so for years to come.
One problem, though, is that various companies offer very different pricing for virtual staging. As a result, many agents and property owners don’t know how much they should pay for staging their homes virtually.
Based on what we discussed above, you can get a vacant room staged virtually for as little as $9.99 on Revivoto or $79 on Virtual Staging vht. The choice is yours!
