Introduction

Over the last ten years, virtual staging, virtual renovation, digital floor plans and  exterior renderings have made a big impact on a home’s marketability in the real estate industry. We already knew that staged homes sell for more money in a shorter amount of time (link?). Now, we have the additional capability to:

• Virtually stage them in a way that’s nearly indistinguishable from traditional home staging
• Virtually renovate them to show how they could look with updates and upgrades
• Show a full, photo-realistic model of what a home will look like once it’s built and with different exterior and landscaping finish options
• Give potential buyers an immersive layout experience with 3D floor plans

These impressive technologies give potential buyers invaluable insights and inspiration, while also helping realtors and builders showcase their listings in the best possible ways. Virtual staging allows a property to be presented with various furnishing styles, helping buyers visualize the space as a future home. Digital architecture, on the other hand, enables builders to illustrate intricate design details and concepts that might otherwise be hard to convey online. 

One aspect of virtual staging and digital architecture that’s remained somewhat murky, though, is the pricing. Many potential users are unaware of how costs are determined, what factors influence pricing, or what the total investment might entail. And, in our experience, virtual staging and digital architecture firms are not always especially transparent. A lot of potential clients just want to know the ballpark price without creating an account, filling out forms or scheduling an entire meeting.

In this article, we aim to break down the different pricing strategies virtual staging and digital architecture firms use, and the benefits and drawbacks of each. We’ll also go over what’s typically included in each price structure, such as the number of rooms that can be staged or the level of detail provided in architectural renderings, and what you could end up paying extra for so you’re not surprised. Lastly, we’ll give a ballpark range for each service we explore. 

Our goal is to help you maximize the return on your investment in virtual staging and digital architecture for your listing or new build, ensuring you have a clear understanding of the costs versus the potential benefits.

. Understanding Pricing Structures

Different Pricing Models by Product

Virtual Staging

Typically, virtual staging has the most transparent pricing out of all products in the digital architecture space. The most common pricing structure for virtual staging is a Pay Per Image model. Each virtually staged photo can take designers anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple hours to complete; depending on the intricacy and customer requirements.  Most of the top virtual staging companies charge per photo.

It’s important not to confuse this with “pay per room,” because sometimes the phrases are used interchangeably. But with larger rooms or key spaces in the home (great rooms, rec rooms and primary bedrooms, for example), you’re often going to want to virtually stage more than one view. Even though it’s the same room, it’s a separate image. That means you’ll be paying for each view. This pricing model is the most popular because it’s fair for virtual staging designers and customers. 

Prices in this model range from $1 per image (be careful with these! You get what you pay for) to upwards of $175+ per image. The general range of the top virtual staging companies is about $24-$45 per image. So, to fully stage a home (usually 10-15 photos) you’d be looking at ~$280 - $675 which is still considerably less than traditional staging.

Another pricing model that virtual staging services use is Enterprise Pricing. If your company or team virtually stages a predictable amount - say 25 photos per month - then enterprise pricing may be the right fit for you. 

Typically, the virtual staging company will offer a discount of 10-20% in return for your guaranteed monthly minimum order. Before you take this step, we recommend placing several orders with the company to be sure you’re fully satisfied with the results, including their revision process and communication style.  Be sure to read the fine print (i.e., contract length, rate increases) before you sign a contract with a virtual staging company. Aside from the discount, another benefit is that with some virtual stagers, you’ll get a dedicated account manager who will learn your style likes and dislikes, and you’re likely to have highly consistent results with each project. Most enterprise clients are invoiced on a monthly basis, which can help with cash flow.

With virtual staging, important questions to ask regarding price include:

• Are revisions included?
• If yes, how many rounds?
• If no, how much extra per round?

Virtual Renovation

The potential for virtual renovation to make a major impact across several industries is huge. By leveraging advanced technologies, this approach allows for seamless transformation and visualization of spaces without the need for physical alterations. Think of the possibilities not only in the residential real estate sector, where potential buyers can visualize their dream homes, but also in remodeling projects that can be planned with precision before any construction begins. Additionally, interior design can benefit by showcasing various styles and layouts, offering clients a clearer idea of the final outcome. The commercial real estate sector can also utilize virtual renovation to present new office designs, retail spaces, or hospitality venues to stakeholders, thus expediting decision-making processes and enhancing client satisfaction.

Virtual renovation is a fairly new service offering, and not many virtual staging companies offer a simple, easy-to-purchase version of this. Luxury Staging Pro is one company  that does offer virtual renovation that’s as simple to purchase as virtual staging: Upload, add notes and checkout. We suspect that other virtual staging services will soon begin to add virtual renovation either as an add-on to virtual staging, or as a stand-alone product. With Luxury Staging Pro, the add-on virtual renovation is $15 and the stand-alone (without staging) is $45.

2D and 3D Floor Plans

We believe every residential real estate listing should have --at a minimum-- a 2d floor plan. A well-crafted floor plan is a game-changer, acting as a key ingredient that helps potential buyers picture their future homes. Floor plans neatly show a property's layout, including room arrangements, dimensions, and the flow between spaces. This visual guide is super helpful for buyers, letting them imagine how they might set up their furniture and grasp the space's functionality in ways that photos alone can't. 

In today's world, where buyers kick off their search with online listings 100% of the time, a detailed floor plan can significantly boost a property's appeal and give it a leg up.  Plus, floor plans can clear up any confusion about the space, cutting down on disappointment during in-person visits. By offering an accurate picture, floor plans build transparency and trust between sellers and buyers, leading to smarter decision-making. 

While a 2d floor plan provides layout clarity in a pretty standardized and straightforward way, a 3d floorplan does all that, plus offers an immersive and in-depth feel of a property’s design. There are several methods that virtual staging and digital architecture companies charge for floor plans:

• This is a popular pricing strategy. Typically, there are payment tiers with each tier offering a combination of more users (“team members”) and more credits -- where 1 credit is required to create one 2d floor plan. If this feels like kind of a complex way to charge -- you’re right. It is. Oh, and with most of these companies you’re essentially paying to access their software so you can create the floor plans yourself. Monthly subscription prices range from $15 - $100+.
• App-Based Payment
• There are a handful of apps equipped with pretty cool software that lets you walk through a property and get measurements, and then use those to create a detailed floor plan. These apps charge between $15 - $100 per floor plan. The benefit of these apps is that while you are doing the measuring, it’s greatly simplified, and they make the floor plan for you.

• Arguably the simplest way to get a professional 2d or 3d floor plan made for your listing is to just pay a service to do it. They can work from hand-drawn notes or architectural  blueprints. Turnaround time is typically only 1-2 days, and prices range from $15 - $75 per level for 2d; and $45 - $105 per level for 3d. 

With any of these methods for obtaining floor plans for your property, you’ll have options for customization including:

Font type, colors used, legend/no legend, color-coding, furniture plan/no furniture plan.

Some of these options can cost extra, but typically they are included in the initial fee you pay. Luxury Staging Pro makes it easy by offering a quick quote form. You can enter your project information here for 3d floor plans, and here for 2d floor plans and receive a quote within 12 hours.

Exterior Rendering

Exterior renders are vital for new construction homes. Buyers want to see what they’re purchasing, and it helps to have a rendering to include for pre-sale listings. They’re great because they can be made to look ultra-realistic, including landscaping, people, pets, pools and more. Siding, paint color and roofing color can all be changed easily to show the variations that will be available. 

Pricing information for exterior renders has typically been difficult to obtain. In the past, if you didn’t have a relationship with an architecture firm or had a talented graphic designer on-call, it was pretty impossible to figure out what it was going to cost and how long it would take. We would like to pull back the curtain on this. Exterior renders are cool, and they should be more widely available and accessible. 

Luxury Staging Pro is one of the few that offers pricing transparency, and affordable pricing. They charge:

• $300 for a one level home, with one view
• $75 for additional views of the home
• $450 for a two-level home
• $125 for additional views
• $600 for a three level home
• $175 for additional views
• You supply blueprints, and color/landscaping choices

They ask for five business days for your renderings to be completed. You can easily get a personalized quote here.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the various pricing methods for virtual staging, virtual renovation, 2D and 3D floor plans, and exterior rendering showcase the changing world of real estate marketing. Each method brings its own set of benefits, catering to different project needs and client expectations, and they all help in creating better visual stories and making informed decisions. By getting to know these pricing options, real estate professionals can smartly pick the best solutions for themselves and their clients. As technology keeps advancing, embracing these methods is key to staying competitive, keeping clients happy, and offering engaging visual experiences that truly bring properties to life.