Courtesy of LRE® Partner Ilaria Barion Design
Top real estate agents are embracing virtual staging to market their most exclusive and expensive listings.
Virtual staging — once a marketing tool for empty homes that weren’t worthy of a physical staging — is now booming in the ultra-luxury real estate market. Back in 2010, when virtual staging was in its infancy, no agents were using virtual staging to market luxury real estate. My company, Ilaria Barion Design (IBD), was the first one to have a luxury, virtually staged home in the New York Times. We are now routinely virtually staging homes priced over $20M. One reason why this is happening is obvious: cost. Multi-million dollar homebuyers expect the best and they are not easily wowed. A cheap looking staging won’t do the trick and hiring a professional stager can cost up to $200K. Virtual staging is the most cost-effective way to create very upscale interiors without breaking the bank. But costs aren’t the only reason why virtual staging has become widely used in the luxury and ultra luxury real estate market.
Time to Market
Speed is an essential advantage to virtual staging. Physical home staging takes time, from hiring a stager to moving in furniture. That’s especially true in high-rises in big cities where being approved to do work in a unit and move furniture into it easily takes several weeks. Our virtual staging service takes less than 3 business days.
Unlimited Decor Options
Different types of homes in different real estate markets require different staging. As a physical home stager in New York City for years, I once had an inventory of more than 900 pieces of furniture and accessories. Although my inventory was huge, my stagings were still limited to my inventory. Virtual staging now enables me to offer an unlimited choice of furnishings and styles to appeal to any potential home buyer in any market.
Ability to Transformed Lived In Homes
Most homes are lived-in at the time of sale. Home staging is a fabulous way to improve home condition and presentation. Unfortunately most sellers prefer not to do any work in a home they are selling. Virtual staging allows us to repaint, remodel, and redecorate any home without sellers moving a finger.
Access to Talent
With virtual staging, you’re no longer tied to seeking local talent (and limited by local furniture or props). No matter where you are based, you now have access to the best expertise and can choose the virtual staging company whose approach works best for you.
Virtual Staging Does Work
More than 97 percent of buyers nationally think photographs are the most useful feature on brokerage websites. As a result, listings with empty rooms, or rooms with an outdated decor, are at a distinct disadvantage in this highly competitive marketplace. But not all virtual staging is created equal.
The pictures of a multi-million dollar home can make or break a multi-million dollar deal. Therefore, both design choices and photo-realism must be top-notch to be able to enhance a multi-million dollar home and appeal to multi-million dollar buyers.
IBD specializes in ultra-luxury real estate marketing. Since 2005, top agents around the country have been trusting us with their most exclusive listings. The result: over $2.5 billion in real estate staged a year. Ultimately, the better your images the greater your traffic and the faster the sale.
What are you waiting for?
About Ilaria Barion Design
Barion is one of the most sought-after home staging experts, recognized in the industry for her knowledge of the ultra luxury real estate market. Combining superior staging expertise and high-end design with state-of-the-art digital implementation, her firm takes virtual staging — once a service for low-end properties that weren’t worthy of a physical staging — to a whole new level. IBD offers a wide range of services such as luxury virtual staging for empty homes, virtual furniture replacement and room enhancement for lived-in homes, virtual landscaping, virtual twilight as well as 3D architectural rendering services for new construction homes. Barion and her team have staged over 20,000 luxury homes everywhere in the country including cities such as New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, Nashville, Houston, Austin, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Honolulu, Washington DC, even overseas in Europe, The Middle East and South America. Ilaria is also the author of the award-winning how-to book “Set the Stage for a Sale: Secrets to Make Your City Dwelling Irresistible, Attract Home Shoppers, and Sell Fast in Any Market.” For more information, contact 212.920.7161 or visit https://www.bariondesign.com.