Updated July 2026 · every stat linked to its primary source

Virtual Staging Statistics (2026)

The short version: 83% of buyers' agents say staging helps buyers visualize a home and 49% of sellers' agents say it cuts time on market (NAR 2025) — while virtual staging delivers that effect for roughly 10% of the cost of physical staging (Bankrate). The virtual staging market is growing at a 26.4% CAGR toward $4.7B by 2035. Every statistic below links to its primary source; unverifiable viral stats are excluded.

83%

of buyers' agents say staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize a home

NAR 2025

49%

of sellers' agents say staging decreases a home's time on market

NAR 2025

~10%

virtual staging's typical cost vs. physical staging, per Bankrate

Bankrate 2025

$56K

average amount over list price that professionally staged homes sold for in Q1 2025

RESA 2025

Does home staging work?

The National Association of Realtors surveys its members about staging every year. The 2025 Profile of Home Staging (1,266 respondents) is the industry's source of record:

  • 83%

    of buyers' agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 86%

    of buyers' agents say staging affects at least some buyers' view of a home; only 12% say it has no effect.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 29%

    of sellers' agents reported that staging increased the dollar value buyers offered by 1–10%.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 49%

    of sellers' agents said staging decreased a property's time on market; just 4% said it greatly increased it.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 37%

    of buyers' agents rank the living room as the most important room to stage, followed by the primary bedroom (34%) and kitchen (23%).

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 31%

    of buyers' agents say staging makes buyers more willing to walk through a home they saw online; 20% say buyers will overlook property faults.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 12 days

    average time on market for staged homes sold by RESA members in Q1 2025 — at 107% sale-to-list and an average of $56,000 over list price, a 2,334% return on the average $3,588 staging investment.

    RESA Q1 2025 Market Insights · 2025

  • ~$70K

    over list price — the average premium for staged homes in RESA's 2024 dataset.

    RESA, via Bankrate · 2024

Virtual staging cost & adoption

Virtual staging delivers the staging effect digitally — at a fraction of the cost, which is why adoption keeps climbing:

  • $16–$75

    per photo is the typical virtual staging price range — AI tools run $3–$15 per image, human-edited services $20–$50, premium agencies $50–$100+.

    Maverick Frame pricing guide · 2026

  • ~10%

    of physical staging's cost — virtual staging can run as little as $35 per room, per Bankrate.

    Bankrate · 2025

  • 8%

    of sellers' agents now only virtually stage their listings.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 26%

    of sellers' agents cite virtual staging options as an important factor when choosing a staging company.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 26.4%

    CAGR — the virtual staging solution market is projected to grow from $0.57B in 2026 to $4.73B by 2035.

    Business Research Insights · 2026

  • 2025

    was the year Zillow added free AI virtual staging to Showcase listings, letting buyers restage rooms in 7 design styles — a signal of how mainstream the technique has become.

    Zillow press release · 2025

  • 71%

    of sellers are more likely to hire an agent who uses interactive media such as virtual tours or floor plans.

    Zillow 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report · 2024

Buyers, photos & online search

Staging matters because the first showing now happens on a screen. From NAR's 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers and photo-performance studies:

  • 100%

    of home buyers used the internet during their home search; 43% made searching online their very first step.

    NAR 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers · 2024

  • 51%

    of buyers found the home they ultimately purchased online — the #1 discovery channel, ahead of agents (29%).

    NAR 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers · 2024

  • #1

    listing feature: photos. 41% of buyers rated them "very useful" — ahead of detailed property info (39%) and floor plans (31%).

    NAR 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers · 2024

  • 73%

    of buyers' agents said having photos was more important or much more important to their clients; 43% said the same of virtual tours.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • 76%

    of agents recommend professional photos to home sellers before listing.

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • $3,400–$11,200

    more relative to list price — what professionally photographed homes ($200K–$1M) sold for in Redfin's canonical photo study; homes around $400K also sold about 3 weeks faster.

    Redfin study · 2013

  • 75%

    more page views (plus 68% more saves and 75% more shares) for Zillow Showcase rich-media listings, which also sell for ~2% more — about $9,000 on the average home.

    Zillow · 2024

What physical staging costs

The cost gap is the whole reason virtual staging exists. What sellers actually pay to stage physically:

  • $1,500

    median cost of a professional home staging service (vs. $500 when the listing agent stages it personally).

    NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging · 2025

  • $837–$2,924

    typical home staging spend, averaging about $1,844 nationally.

    HomeAdvisor · 2026

  • $500–$600

    per room, per month for staging furniture rental — costs keep accruing while the home sits on the market.

    HomeAdvisor & Bankrate · 2025

  • $2,000+

    average cost to stage a vacant home, which requires sourcing every piece of furniture.

    HomeAdvisor · 2026

  • ~1%

    of list price is a common rule of thumb for full physical staging over 2–3 months (1–1.25% for luxury homes), with consultations alone running $150–$600.

    Bankrate · 2025

Cite these statistics

Writers, journalists, and bloggers: you're welcome to use any statistic on this page. Please credit the original source named next to the stat, and link this page as the compilation — it's updated as new reports come out:

Source: <a href="https://yavay.app/virtual-staging-statistics">Virtual Staging Statistics (2026) — Yavay</a>

Want the cost story interactive? Embed our free virtual staging cost calculator in your article, or start with the complete guide to virtual staging.

Virtual staging statistics FAQs

What percentage of buyers' agents say staging helps buyers visualize a home?

83%, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2025 Profile of Home Staging. The same report found 49% of sellers' agents say staging decreases time on market, and 29% report staging lifts offers by 1–10%.

How much cheaper is virtual staging than physical staging?

Roughly 90% cheaper. Virtual staging typically costs $16–$75 per photo (as little as $35 per room, per Bankrate), while physical staging has a median cost of $1,500 per NAR — plus $500–$600 per room per month in furniture rental while the home sits on the market.

How fast is the virtual staging market growing?

Around 26.4% per year. Business Research Insights projects the virtual staging solution market to grow from $0.57 billion in 2026 to $4.73 billion by 2035. Zillow adding free AI virtual staging to Showcase listings in 2025 underlines how mainstream it has become.

Do staged homes really sell 73% faster?

That widely-copied claim has no traceable primary source, so we don't publish it. The verifiable numbers are strong on their own: NAR 2025 found 49% of sellers' agents say staging cuts time on market, and RESA's Q1 2025 data shows professionally staged homes averaging 12 days on market and selling $56,000 over list.

Put the numbers to work

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