Vacancies are like a hole in your rental property income bucket because empty units don’t generate any money. Thus, landlords are always trying to improve their marketing strategy to plug that hole.
If you’re a property owner looking to lease out your spaces, keep reading. This article reveals how virtual staging improves rental property vacancy rates.
What is Virtual Staging
Virtual staging is the placement of computer-generated furniture in a room to create more presentable and livable photos to attract potential tenants. While you can infuse digital staging into your virtual tour options, the images are often 2D.
If you’re still having difficulty picturing what we mean, think about the displays in furniture stores. Yes, they often have their stock lined up like products on a shelf, but they also have a section where they arrange these pieces as they would appear in your home. It’s not uncommon for them to pair related articles such as a bed, a rug, bedside tables, and even a lamp in one show. These items don’t necessarily have to belong in the same set, but they complement each other in such a way that they look more appealing than if they were on the shelf.
That’s why you can check Useppa Island Real Estate & Homes For Sale In FL for more latest house listings. It saves potential House the trouble of infusing ready-made furniture in a space and gives your rental property the appeal of a home. If you’re still having difficulty picturing what we mean, contact a local management company to learn more.
Benefits of Virtual Staging
So you know what virtual staging is, that’s great! What next? It’s not free and still requires some effort on your part, so why bother? Let’s look at the benefits of virtual staging and why it’s worth every dime.
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It piques potential tenant’s interest
As we highlighted earlier, virtual staging superimposes furniture images in your rental space, giving it the illusion of a furnished house. Well, that’s a real kicker because it uplifts your vacant listing from a dull, empty space to an intriguing potential home. It might not transform you into a digital marketing guru, but it will undoubtedly reduce your vacancy rates.
In other words, virtual staging increases the chances of prospective renters asking more questions and putting in applications for your apartment. By helping them visualize what it would be like to live in your rental–sleep on the bed, prepare a meal in the kitchen, watch TV with the family, you leverage on the power of emotional connection.
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It is simple to use
Another benefit of virtual staging is that it’s pretty easy to use. Contrary to what you might have thought, virtual staging lacks the complexity one might anticipate for such an innovative solution. Most professional companies have a turnaround time of two-three days. That means within a week of making your decision, you could be marketing with a virtually staged version of your rental property and driving more sales.
However, if you’re feeling up to the task, you could do it yourself. With a great camera, some knowledge of interior design, and a virtual staging app, you could create tasteful and stunning photos. Some of these apps are supported by professional companies that offer these services. So if you like what you’ve made, they can touch it up and send you high-quality images within a day or two.
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It is reusable
A picture lasts a lifetime, or so the saying goes. One of the best parts about going through the trouble of virtually staging your listing is that you can reuse the images. For instance, if you own a multi-family complex with identical units, you only need visually striking photos of key rooms like the bedroom and living room. You can then use these images to market all your units.
Although landlords without identical units can still benefit from the reusability of virtually staged photos. The average tenancy period lasts about two and a half to three years, so vacancies are pretty common. Since real estate is a long-term investment and most landlords own their rentals for decades, you’ll most likely have to market your rentals more than once. In that case, you can always reuse your virtually staged photos since it’s the same unit.
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It is economically friendly
Considering all the perks we’ve listed so far, you might start to think that virtual staging is an expensive marketing solution. On the contrary, it’s not. Some companies charge less than $40 per photo. So with a budget of less than $200, you could have a professional design team create five gorgeous images of your rentals.
However, if you want to enjoy other perks that make your home look more visually striking, you have to up your budget. Services that offer virtual landscaping, architectural rendering, and customizable templates often charge closer to $100 per photo. Whatever you decide to go with, you’re sure to get your money’s worth, especially when you consider their reuse potential.
Conclusion
If you decide to invest in real estate, you can’t do away with vacancies. However, you can make filling your listings seem like less of an uphill battle with the right tools. We hope this article helped explain how virtual staging improves rental property vacancy rates. It’s affordable, easy to use, reusable, and generates more traffic. The sooner you implement it into your strategy, the faster you lease out your units.
