Virtual Staging: Ready for Prime Time?

Just Don't Call it 'Doctoring'

What's holding up virtual staging?

Virtual staging is the practice of digitally altering photos to show an empty room as it would look fully furnished and accessorized.

Much faster and cheaper than the real thing, you'd certainly guess that by now the technology isn't rocket science.

And yet virtual staging is just now debuting in housing markets like Manhattan -- and non-existent, at least as far as I'm aware -- in the Twin Cities.

Three guesses as to what's going on (or not, as the case may be):

1. Ethical concerns and lack of guidelines.

What do MLS rules say about virtual staging?

Nothing, beyond proscribing false or misleading advertising.

But is virtual staging false or misleading if the Listing Agent explicitly discloses it?

In fact, that's precisely how Manhattan brokers are handling the issue (see, "Furnished with Pixels").

All such photos are labelled "virtually staged," and juxtaposed with unaltered photos of the raw space.

Works for me -- and I suspect, most Buyers.

2. No Vendors.

I suppose it's possible that I may have missed the flyers and emails from virtual stagers amongst the deluge of other email I already receive.

But I doubt it.

Nor have the professional photographers I regularly work with started offering it.

If no Realtors are demanding virtual staging, and no vendors are pushing it . . . nothing's going to happen (clients don't know enough to ask).

3. Realtor Inertia.

Realtors can be creatures of habit, just like other people.

So, they market listings the way they always have.

They also can be under a great deal of time pressure to get a listing on the market.

Neither of those factors is conducive to trying something new.

It all adds up to a bit of a Catch-22: vendors aren't pitching virtual staging because they aren't sure if there's a market for it.

Meanwhile, Realtors aren't clamoring for it because they don't want to be guinea pigs, possibly incurring MLS' wrath (and fines).

May the (Task) Force Be With You

The solution?

Let the big brokers (Edina Realty, Coldwell Banker Burnet, ReMax) take it up with MLS and the Board of Realtors, and work out some initial guidance (and safe harbors for Realtors operating in good faith).

Consider this post my application for the relevant task force.

And if you're a virtual stager reading this blog, feel free to contact me -- I've got a listing coming up in two weeks that's a perfect candidate.

When Is It REALLY a Done Deal?

Milestones in a Deal

If you're an office manager, stop reading here.

If you're not . . . continue.

So, when is a real estate deal really a done deal?

It's not when the last signature lands on the last blank line in the Purchase Agreement.

It's not the technical, legal definition, i.e., when the now-executed Purchase Agreement is constructively delivered to the other party (getting it to their agent qualifies).

And it's not even when the legal consideration -- the earnest money check -- is received or deposited.

Give up?

It's when the Realtor turns in the sale (at least so far as Buyers' agents are concerned).

Real Estate's "Fat Lady?"

While MLS rules strictly prescribe such things as how long brokers have to deposit earnest money checks, the reality is that agents -- especially Buyers' agents -- have been known to procrastinate turning in the paperwork accompanying a sale.

No doubt that's because Realtors as a group tend to be allergic to paperwork.

And it can also be because of various loose ends, or because needed information -- like who's doing the closing -- isn't known yet.

But there's a larger, practical element.

Realtors find the time to collect that info once the deal has slowed a down a bit. Not coincidentally, that's also usually the point when the deal has firmed up.

But it's also the case that Realtors don't make the time to pull all the sale paperwork together until they're reasonably confident that it's a done deal.

Turning in the paperwork is tantamount to saying, "Done!"

P.S.: Unfortunately, while turning in paperwork promptly can avert a fine, it won't get you paid any faster; that only happens when the deal closes, typically 4-6 weeks later.

Faux Photo?

"Is it Live . . . or is it Memorex?"

I just tripped across a new Fern Hill listing with the lead photo reproduced above.

Is it just me, or is the grass too green, the sky too blue? (not to mention uniform)

At the very least, this photo looks heavily doctored/colorized; at worst, it's a computer simulation.

The clincher?

The listing is a FSBO ("For Sale By Owner"), which means the non-Realtor Seller doesn't know the MLS rules -- or that they're breaking them.

Update: When I'm wrong, I'm wrong: I drove by the house this morning, and it sure looks a lot like the the photo above (the new, white siding gives it a bit of a surreal look; the new roof really does look that uniform; and yes, the grass is perfectly green).