Real Estate | 'Virtual staging' is raising real concerns | Seattle Times Newspaper

Real Estate 'Virtual staging' is raising real concerns Seattle Times Newspaper

It never ceases to amaze me how people will set out to deliberately mislead others. The article above from the Seattle Times addresses the practice of virtual staging and how there are some unscruplous types out there who will use photos that have been, shall we say "enhanced" using 3-D software in place of the real photos of a property to lure the customers in.

Many propsective buyers are overwhelmed when looking at a property that needs what is often merely cosmetic attention and a bit of updating. They often fail to appreciate the "good bones" of the property and tend to dismiss a house that sports outdated decor or general wear and tear. This can be especially true of new/first time buyers who have limited budgets but big ideas of the perfect house. The advantage of this redesign service is that it allows them to see beyond what IS to what it could be: a very livable space with a pleasing ambiance- often with a reasonable investment in time and money.

A favorite example of this in action is HGTV's "Property Brothers." I love watching them take their young buyers in to the home of their dreams, checking all the must-haves on their wish lists, and then presenting them with the reality check. The house is often double or even triple wat they can afford. Then they are taken to homes with "potential" and shown, via 3-D design software, how each property will look once it's been updated. While they do fall in love with the virtual design, the difference is that these agents deliver that new reality.

From my perspective, the "photos" generated from a redesigned space should be used to give the prospective buyers some ideas of how the property could look when it has been redone.  Agents with whom I have dealt have done just this, displaying the "after" pictures in a binder or mounting them on a small easel.  And, while the pictures generated in the program I use are excellent, they would not tend to be mistaken for the "real thing" and I'm happy that no one with whom I have worked has attempted to pass them off as such.  I would never condone the use of these designs to mislead the buyer.

I'd love to hear what you think!