Residential estate agency marketing, traditionally reliant on physical staging, is undergoing a digital revolution and at the forefront of this change is the introduction of virtual furniture staging powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The evolution of estate agency marketing has been significantly influenced by the transition from physical to virtual staging. Initially, property marketing relied heavily on physical staging, where spaces were furnished for in-person viewings and photography.

In the United States, estate agents reported a number of benefits from this, most importantly a 1% to 5% increase in the sale price of a property.

SURGED IN POPULARITY

However, in recent years, virtual staging has surged in popularity, particularly following the global pandemic when clients were unable to view properties in person.

Unlike physical staging, virtual staging primarily involves enhancing photographs of empty rooms using software like Adobe’s Photoshop. This task is traditionally performed by human graphic designers but the advent of AI technology means that this process is rapidly changing.

AI virtual staging has brought about a significant reduction in costs and a remarkable increase in speed relative to traditional virtual staging.

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED

These efficiency gains are primarily due to the fact that the virtual staging work is automatically generated instead of being developed manually by a human. This is why the industry is trending towards a future where most property images seen online will likely be AI-staged.

A kitchen before AI staging.

From my interviews with estate agents and real estate photographers it’s evident that staging practices vary significantly depending on the property’s value.

A kitchen with AI furniture.

While nearly 90% of the agents I spoke with use some form of staging, those dealing with properties above $1 million (USD) typically prefer physical staging. In contrast, I found that agents handling properties in the $400,000 to $1 million (USD) range usually opt for classic virtual staging.

SIMPLE STAGING

Properties below $400,000 (USD) often go unstaged, despite evidence suggesting that even simple staging can significantly impact the property’s perceived value.

So while online images of properties above $1 million (USD) will likely continue to show real furniture, you should expect that online images of properties under $1 million (USD) will soon only show AI-generated furniture.

Asset managers and property managers are also impacted by these forces. Historically, large high end apartment buildings have used a physically staged model unit or classic virtual staging. On the flip side, less expensive properties have not had a cheap enough solution to stage a property and may reuse the same virtually staged images across different floor plans.

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

But now with costs becoming far cheaper, asset managers are increasingly looking  to their property managers to find technology solutions to attract prospective renters.

A living room before staging.

By harnessing generative AI models like Stable Diffusion, companies can now create realistic and visually appealing images of properties.

A living room with AI furnishings.

Stable Diffusion, released in August 2022, is trained on the LAION dataset, which contains a library of interior designs and furniture styles, enabling the AI to generate images that resonate with a property’s character and potential buyer preferences.

The next wave of AI image editing innovations in residential estate agency marketing is poised to transform how properties are showcased, yet there is still quite a bit that requires a human touch.

BEST QUALITY

First, property photographers will still need to continue taking photos of properties. Second, higher end staging jobs that require the best quality will still require a human to strategically place furniture in a manner that is consistent across all images of a property.

Besides the image quality, real estate platforms will start to explore dynamic staging techniques, where the furniture used in online images can be altered based on the prospective client’s preferences.

This personalisation extends even further, with the potential for renters or buyers to stage images themselves, rather than relying on the platform, estate agents or property managers.

CONVENIENCE AND CUSTOMISATION

Imagine the convenience and customisation of being able to virtually place your own furniture, or pieces you’ve found online, into an online property listing with a single button click.

The integration of AI into residential real estate marketing, particularly through virtual staging, is a major trend that will continue to grow.

As we look ahead, we should expect that images of properties online will largely be staged with AI, helping a greater number of prospective buyers and renters to find their dream property.

Lakshman Mody is Co-Founder of Virtualstaging.Art

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Rightmove suffered one of the worst drops on the Stock Market this week after a major US bank advised shareholders to sell.

The shares fell 22p or 3.9% to 542p, after JP Morgan, America’s largest bank, told investors to dump their holdings in the portal, The Times reports.

Challenge

Analysts at the bank said Rightmove may have underestimated the challenge presented by OnTheMarket after its takeover by American property data company CoStar.

And they fear the cost involved in defending its position as market leader ahead of Zoopla and OnTheMarket may hit its finances.

Dominance

Rightmove’s shares have dipped more than 6% in the last five days to 532p.

OTM was bought by CoStar in a £100 million deal in October in a move that was clearly designed to challenge the dominance of Rightmove in the portal listings market.

Multinational investment bank Citigroup later issued a recommendation to sell Rightmove shares after seeing their value drop from around 588p when the deal was announced to 463p.

Competition

Property experts now see OTM, with CoStar’s backing, as much more serious competition to market leaders Rightmove and Zoopla.

CoStar plans to spend £46.5 million on sales and marketing in the first full year following the takeover, “as the first stage of a multi-year investment programme totalling hundreds of millions of pounds to drive more consumers to the OnTheMarket portal”.

This is six times what OnTheMarket currently spends, and more than three times the current annual media spend of Rightmove.

Big estate agency backs OnTheMarket – but Zoopla misses out

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OnTheMarket has signed a multi-year listing agreement with Leaders Romans Group (LRG), one of the UK’s largest property services firms, to advertise its UK residential sales and lettings properties via the portal.

LRG has selected just two major platforms where it will be listing properties – The Neg understands that the other is Rightmove – and is the first major agency to advertise with OnTheMarket since its recent acquisition by CoStar Group.

245 BRANCHES

LRG’s network of sales, lettings and professional services businesses encompass over 245 branches across many well-known agency brands located throughout the country.

The agreement includes heritage brands Leaders and Romans, alongside Scottfraser; Moginie James; Gibbs Gillespie; Portico; Hose Rhodes Dickson; Acorn; Langford Russell; John Payne and SOWN who will all advertise their sales and letting properties with OnTheMarket.

Any agencies that become part of LRG during the listing agreement will also advertise with OnTheMarket.

Jason Tebb (main picture), President of OnTheMarket, says: “I’m really pleased LRG has chosen to commit to our portal as their strong brands continue to evolve and the partnership will help our ongoing push for growth across the country.”

EXCITING TIME

He adds: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for our agents, with the acquisition by CoStar Group set to accelerate our target of becoming the market leader, bringing industry-leading global expertise and significant financial firepower to help deliver even more value for all our customers.”

Michael Cook, Leaders Romans Group

Michael Cook, Chief Executive of LRG, adds: “We are looking forward to a successful new partnership with OnTheMarket, having been impressed with the continued innovation and development of their platform.

“We are excited by the opportunities their recent acquisition by CoStar will bring, with industry leading expertise and significant financial backing, we hope to see the OnTheMarket brand flourish over the next couple of years.”

Zoopla has been approached for comment.

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Two proptech leaders, Acaboom and Dataloft by PriceHubble, have announced a new integration which focuses on improving the content of Market Update Reports, which are sent to homeowners as part of their nurture journey.

Stay-subscribed rates from homeowners are already at 94% for the Market Update Report, credited to the content’s informative and personalised nature, steering clear of being overly “salesy” or self-promotional. The addition of Dataloft’s locally-focused data and market analysis will further enhance an agent’s profile, keeping them front of mind with prospects.

Tangible value

Brian Farrell, Managing Director of Acaboom (pictured), said: “We are very proud of the tangible value Acaboom allows agents to deliver to their database – and our new partnership with Dataloft is a huge complement to the Acaboom Market Update Reports.

“Now, even more personalised and eye-catching data can be delivered by the Acaboom system. It’s a huge win for mutual clients.”

Local content

Rory Black, Director at Dataloft added: “An integration with Acaboom was long overdue and we love the way agents can get more from their Dataloft by PriceHubble subscription with their Acaboom Market Update Reports.

“We are committed to providing the best local content and making it as easy as possible for agents to make the most of it. This integration will give our subscribers yet another competitive edge.”

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Two property firms have agreed to make changes to their advertising material after complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Both cases were resolved informally after the firms accepted the advertising involved was either misleading or failed to give full information.

In the first case, RW Invest UK, a property investment firm, agreed that its website listed a property in Manchester city centre with an amount that was below the actual asking price.

After contact from the ASA, the company removed the ad and said it would ensure prices were correctly listed in future.

The ASA said it was satisfied with the response from RW Invest, and added: “We consider the matter closed.”

Failed

Sequence, trading as William H Brown/Barnard Marcus, also found itself the subject of attention from the ASA, after a complaint about an ad.

An unnamed person said that an online Sequence ad for the auction of two parcels of land failed to make it clear they were in the Green Belt.

A potential buyer might be unaware that Article 4 restrictions on permitted development applied, when making a bid, the ASA said.

“We spoke with Sequence UK and they said that they would arrange an announcement to be included around web listings in future alerting potential buyers around potential planning restrictions. As such, we considered the matter closed,” an ASA spokesperson said.

The ASA can reach an informal resolution of a complaint about an advert with a company, or move to a formal investigation and ruling if this fails.

Sequence changes Rightmove listing after complaint

More about the ASA

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Marketing guru Simon Leadbetter has launched the 2024 Voice of the Agent Survey targeting estate and letting agents in a bid to collect data on key trends and technologies influencing the real estate landscape.

Leadbetter (main picture), Founder of Unchained.marketing, says: “Last year’s survey garnered responses from over 550 agents, providing a rich tapestry of industry insights for previous respondents.”

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS

And he adds: “The 2024 survey promises to expand on this foundation, offering participants exclusive access to the comprehensive report upon completion, enriched with additional research on homeowners, tenants, and landlords.

“Central to the survey’s methodology is the assurance of anonymity, encouraging open and honest feedback without the risk of disclosing sensitive business information.

“This approach intends to foster a transparent and candid dialogue, contributing to individual knowledge and collective industry progression.”

CRITICAL AREAS

The 2024 survey focuses on six critical areas and includes: Market Trends (understanding shifts and expectations in the real estate market); Marketing Techniques (exploring successful strategies for agency and property promotion); Proptech (Assessing the adoption and impact of technological advancements); Artificial Intelligence (AI) (delving into AI adoption and applications in real estate); Economic and Political Climate (evaluating their effects on the real estate sector).

Those taking part in the survey can also win a free marketing consultation and will be invited to an online presentation on the results.

The results of the 2024 survey, complemented by associated consumer research, are scheduled for release in early April.

You can take part in the survey HERE.

Last August The Neg revealed how YouGov data analysed by Unchained.marketing, involving over 21,000 respondents, revealed Fine & Country topped the list of the UK’s most recommended national estate agencies.

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Savills has kicked off 2024 with a controversial property listing, it has been revealed.

The estate agency is marketing a now defunct pub in Essex that last year hit the headlines when police raided the establishment after complaints about its bar top collection of 15 golly dolls.

The White Hart Inn in Grays (main picture), south Essex is being marketed by Savills as a freehold 2,881 sq ft pub with accommodation. Offers are being invited in excess of £575,000.

The pub is no longer open after its co-leaseholder Benice Ryley threw in the towel last year, telling local media she’d “had enough” after two major brewers refused to supply her pub with beer.

A long investigation by police into the golly dolls produced evidence that was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, but it later said this did not pass the threshold for a  prosecution.

Golly dolls

Golly dolls are controversial because they are believed to be offensive to people of colour and were dropped by Robinson’s jams as a trademark for its products in 2001.

The pub was also later vandalised and the Campaign for Real Ale removed the pub from the organisation’s listings and requested that a ‘Pub of the Year’ award was removed from the premises.

Situated near Tilbury Docks, Savills property description for the Grade II listed building says it “comprises a two storey detached building with a multi-pitched tiled roof and brick elevations.

“There is a single storey outbuilding in the garden that has been converted into two letting rooms”.

The pub has a beer garden, parking for 12 cars and a cavernous ground floor trading area including a large pool table.

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Rightmove is return to TV advertising on Boxing Day with its ‘believe it’ campaign featuring a basketball throwing child moving into a new street with his dad.

The portal says the burst of TV and other advertising activity is to coincide with the huge numbers of people who start searching for their next home immediately after Christmas Day.

It is also no coincidence that other portals, including Rightmove this year, also launch ads or new campaigns on the same day.

Rightmove says the new campaign will be multi-million pound, multi-channel and will continue throughout the first quarter of 2024, leading up to the spring selling season.

Expertise

The ‘Believe it’ ads were first aired in September and, the portal claims, are designed to highlight to home  movers that by using Rightmove’s tools and services, and by turning to agents for expertise throughout their home-moving journey, they can believe that they can make their move happen.

60-second and 30-second versions of Rightmove’s latest TV ad will be shown across ITV, Channel 4 and SKY, with the media plan designed to capture the wide-range of audiences that may be considering a move in 2024.

The ad will appear in key Christmas programming such as the Big Fat Quiz of the Year, family films such as Indiana Jones, and the festive football fixtures.

The integrated campaign will be boosted by additional ad placements on YouTube, Spotify, Podcasts and video on demand.

Matt Bushby, Rightmove

Matt Bushby, Chief Marketing Officer at Rightmove says: “As we reach the end of the year many people will start to reflect on what they need from their current home and what a 2024 move could look like.”

Watch the ad

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