I’ve been selling property in Sydney for 25 years, and few topics generate as much heated debate among agents right now as virtual staging. The technology’s improved dramatically and the costs have plummeted. Yet I still see the same disappointed faces at open homes when buyers realise the gorgeous furniture they saw online doesn’t actually exist.

Let’s talk real numbers. Not vendor estimates—actual costs I’ve seen across dozens of campaigns in the last twelve months.

Physical Staging: What You’re Actually Paying

For a standard three-bedroom house in Sydney’s inner west or eastern suburbs, physical staging runs between $3,000 and $8,000 for a four-to-six week campaign.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Furniture hire: $2,000-$5,000 depending on package tier
• Delivery and installation: $500-$1,000 (more for multi-level properties)
• Styling consultation: $300-$800
• Removal: Usually included, but check your contract

A two-bed unit in Surry Hills might be $2,500 all up. A five-bedroom family home in Mosman? You’re looking at $8,000-$12,000 for a premium package.

If your campaign stretches beyond the initial hire period—which happens more often than anyone admits—you’re paying weekly extensions of $400-$800. These costs come out of the vendor-paid advertising (VPA) budget, competing with your Domain listing, photography, and floor plan costs.

Virtual Staging: The New Economics

Virtual staging costs between $150 and $500 per room. For a full property—living room, master bedroom, kitchen, outdoor area—you’re looking at $600-$2,000 total. Turnaround is fast, usually 24-48 hours.

Here’s the price range:

• Budget AI tools (automated, minimal customisation): $30-$80 per image
• Mid-range services (AI-assisted with human review): $150-$300 per room
• Premium virtual staging (custom furniture selection, colour matching): $300-$500 per room

Good virtual stagers will match furniture styles to the suburb demographic and avoid the “uncanny valley” problem where everything looks just slightly too perfect.

Virtual Wins on Cost. But Here’s the Problem.

Buyers form emotional connections during inspections, not while scrolling through listings. When someone walks into a virtually staged property and finds empty rooms with scuff marks on the walls, there’s a psychological letdown that’s hard to recover from.

I’ve tracked this across my own listings. Over the last 18 months, physically staged properties averaged 22 days on market. Virtually staged properties of similar quality in similar locations averaged 31 days. That’s nine extra days—more open homes, more VPA spend, and often a weaker negotiating position.

REA Group data shows staged properties attract 20-30% more buyer inquiries than empty ones. But their data doesn’t separate physical from virtual staging—and that distinction matters enormously.

When Virtual Staging Makes Sense

I’m not anti-virtual staging. There are clear use cases:

Investment properties with tenants in place. You can’t stage a property someone’s living in. Virtual staging works well for off-market or pre-market campaigns.

Low-value properties where VPA budget is tight. Selling a $650,000 unit in Parramatta? Virtual staging at $800 total makes more sense than $6,000 physical staging.

Pre-market testing. Virtual staging lets you test different styles before committing to a full staging package.

When You Need the Real Thing

For properties above $2 million in Sydney, I almost always recommend physical staging. Buyers in this bracket are sophisticated—they’ve seen hundreds of properties and can spot virtual staging in seconds.

Same goes for properties that photograph badly empty. Some rooms don’t translate without furniture—awkward proportions, dated finishes, unusual layouts. Physical staging gives buyers permission to imagine living there.

My Recommendation

For the majority of Sydney listings in the $1-2 million range, I now recommend a hybrid approach. Virtually stage the listing photos for online marketing, but physically stage the key rooms—living area and master bedroom—for open homes.

This typically costs $2,500-$3,500 total. It’s not the cheapest option, but it solves the disconnect problem. Buyers see appealing photos online, then walk into a property that delivers on that promise where it matters most.

The clearance rates don’t lie. Properties that present well sell faster and for more money. The question isn’t whether to stage—it’s how to stage smartly within your VPA budget.