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The house next to me is not selling and has been on the market for over 100 days, which is higher than the median of 63 days, and the price has been “increased” by $100,000!
No need to mention the specific brokerage or agent who listed the home, but suffice it to say that despite their local reputation, I don’t think they did a great job.
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Not sure what my neighbor authorized them to do in terms of marketing, but it’s obvious she wants to sell it, as evidenced by the interior improvements made in the months prior to listing and her recent visit to clean up the landscaping.
The home was empty, without any decoration. It also doesn’t have a particularly interesting floor plan. This is a byproduct of our town’s old inventory, which wasn’t legally registered until the early 1990s, meaning owners could do what they wanted to the houses, and many did.
The area’s boom as a mountain resort market ultimately affected homeowners’ concerns about property values and created unrealistic expectations for out-of-town buyers, who wanted every home to be “mountain modern” and ski-town chic.
For better or worse, agents need to do everything they can to make the home meet those expectations.
Thankfully, even if the home doesn’t live up to the buyer’s hopes, there are many virtual staging companies that can at least give aspiring buyers an idea of what the home can be used for possible.
8 Virtual Staging Companies That Can Help Close the Deal
Virtual showings are becoming an increasingly easy and affordable way to market older listings. Here are some software companies that specialize in making vacant homes meet market expectations.
Boxed Brownies
These guys have been at it for a long time and have built quick turnaround models that enhance a property’s image from the inside out. They can do tidying up (the last thing this house needs), 3D tours, exterior enhancements, and new architectural renderings.
The SnapSnapSnap is the company’s impressive mobile photography enhancer, and it can do a lot for my neighborhood.
Virtual stage artificial intelligence
The company is relatively new and does exactly what its name suggests – using artificial intelligence to create virtual interiors.
Users simply upload a high-quality image and select the room type from a drop-down list, such as bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. The image renders while you wait, and you can redo the image if the first iteration isn’t what you want. The style preset is Mid-Century Modern, but new interior design themes are added regularly.
HomeKynd
The service stands out for its enterprise-level brokerage integrations. It offers a range of different styles to choose from, meaning team leaders and marketers can ensure agents aren’t using the same items door to door.
They can also better report which homes are selling faster because they are staged, and even which furniture brands are getting the best results. Remember, staging is a marketing asset; use what it gives you. Listing page integration is a super smart way to get buyers directly involved in a listing, and it’s even recommended that when listing a home, leave a few rooms vacant to entice homebuyers to start designing.
Matt Porter
The industry standard setter for digital twins (Related Homes has one) teamed up with SketchFab in 2022 to begin integrating virtual interior improvements.
Objects in Sketchfab can be static or dynamic, and like all other aspects of a Matterport journey, they can be “walked through” and considered from different perspectives. The company is known for working with several well-known consumer product manufacturers to create and publish 3D renderings for marketing, sales and product configuration.
bella stage
Bella Staging uses real graphic artists to edit, renovate, organize, and basically make your seller’s home look like the best on the block. Most items are returned within 48 hours with unlimited revisions.
Bella had good reason to ask for high-quality imagery to start the editing process. This shouldn’t be a big problem, but unfortunately, too many agents still don’t understand the importance of a good kitchen photo.
Bella Staging is the best I have seen in this category, and there is no doubt that its customization of each project is a big reason for its top quality.
VSH media
A particularly standout feature is the in-image annotation tool. Users can click somewhere in the photo to add a description to the editor before uploading. Use it to guide the creator where you want the sofa to be placed, or indicate where you want stools to be placed around the breakfast bar.
When it comes to decorating, VSH Media comes with a library of home styles such as farmhouse, modern, Hamptons, urban, traditional or a combination of each style. There’s also an item removal feature available, and Enhanced Image offers essentially the same bracketing/image blending technology as other apps in this field, making window exteriors look good from the inside.
star garden
Like many mobile apps in this space, Asteroom uses a swivel phone stand that timed rotations and shots to capture a room. The swivel stand turns your phone into a 360-degree camera and automatically pairs with your device via Bluetooth (BLE 4.0). Click the “Capture” command in the app to start the process. The device will stop turning once and then the user moves to the next room.
The app allows for a range of text designs, links, informational labels, floating static images (for detail shots like close-ups of home appliances or views through windows), and even the ability to render logos for interaction within the app. You can also add 3D objects to virtually represent an empty space.
internal map
InsideMaps is another veteran in the interior home data marketing space, having built its reputation at travel events such as Matterport but has grown into a valuable insights tool for all areas of real estate.
The virtual staging is just one of its many features, and due to its walking distance and less than 1,500 square feet, it may not be the best home for my neighbors. Still, the company’s expertise and many added value propositions make it one worth considering for an exit.
Curb appeal is also important
Curb appeal is important and is another component of this house’s longevity on the market. There is no design or formal plan surrounding the house, just a set of old steps, lots of weeds, random rocks, and some short lengths of garden hose. It needs a complete overhaul and thankfully most of the companies listed here can also do exterior renderings.
Data from computer vision artificial intelligence company Restb.ai shows that households with high-end location photography, especially twilight editing, spend less time in the market. Considering we overlook a river and a ski resort, I can’t help but think some enhanced exterior photos would go a long way in attracting buyers.
It doesn’t hurt for an agency to get into video marketing. An engaging walkthrough that better explains the potential of the home and its location would definitely help, and it can be repurposed socially and online.
I know the market is weird right now and it can be harder to sell in smaller, more expensive markets. But when it becomes clear that more can be done and more is not being done, the market will only continue to suffer.
Email Craig Rowe
