It is a seller’s market. That should be pretty apparent to anyone who has tried to buy or sell a home in the past couple of months. However, just because selling a home in many parts of the country seems simple, that doesn’t mean sellers shouldn’t do everything they can to improve their odds and appeal to even more buyers. And technology is a great way to do just that.
As realtor.com reports, staging a home has been around for a long time as a means of helping potential buyers better visualize what living in a home would be like. A vacant house can seem cold and uninviting and turn some potential buyers away, while a fully staged house can help it feel warm and homey. With new technology, however, a home can be completely staged without ever having to move a single piece of furniture.
Companies can take an empty room or a room with older, less appealing furniture and, through the magic of Photoshop and visual effects software, virtually stage it to have a more contemporary design, a different wall color, or new lighting fixtures. This can be done to the exterior of the home, too, giving people the ability to visualize the home at night, twilight, or during any of the four seasons. And if that isn’t enough of an incentive, virtual staging costs about $100 per room, as opposed to thousands of dollars a month to actually stage a home.
Another piece of helpful technology when it comes to selling a home is one that has also become a bit controversial: drones. While there are concerns about privacy relating to drones and their cameras that can provide a direct feed to a user’s smartphone, they can also be a very good tool for showing off a home and its surrounding area. After all, if location is the most important aspect of real estate, wouldn’t showing that a home is nestled in a beautiful quiet neighborhood with a lake in the background improve its odds of selling and maybe even increase the price?
However, there are a lot of rules and regulations to consider while using a drone, such as the fact that using one within five miles of an airport is prohibited and commercial operators are not allowed to fly higher than 400 feet. A typical drone ranges in price from $200 to $500, but higher end models can be much more expensive.
Finally, 3-D tours are gaining popularity, as well. A 3-D tour allows people the experience of walking through a potential home without ever having to leave their current home. It is also a great tool for someone who has seen the home in person and wants a refresher. Maybe they forgot where the master bedroom is in relation to the stairs or can’t remember how the kitchen flows into the dining room. 3-D tours can cost about $200 and take a couple of days to complete.
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