AI Real Estate Photo Editing: Is it Worth Trying?

AI real estate photo editing offers faster and more affordable listings while leaving room for constant modifications.

With more and more house hunters turning to online Multiple Listings Services (MLS), the quality of property photos has become a make-or-break factor in attracting potential buyers. For years, traditional photo editing companies helped agents with their listings, but from 2020 onwards, AI real estate photo editing has burst onto the scene, promising faster turnarounds and jaw-dropping results.

Nonetheless, some agents are still cautious about integrating this technology into their workflows due to the ongoing negative attitudes toward artificial intelligence. In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of the main applications of AI in real estate photo editing, as well as its benefits and limitations to see if it’s worth trying.

Solutions Provided by AI Photo Editing

Although AI helps improve pictures in multiple ways, there are four main real estate photo editing services agents should definitely try. Using this technology, they can fill empty rooms with virtual furniture, clear up cluttered spaces, sharpen the details of low-quality images, and alter the exterior ambiance of properties.

AI virtual staging

Over a decade ago, the high costs of physical staging led real estate agents to explore virtual staging. Back then, photo editing companies would take up to two days to furnish a set of real estate photos, charging $30-$80 per photo.

Today, AI virtual staging completes the process in a matter of seconds. This AI-powered tool operates by scanning the image to identify and map out the existing space, digitally inserting furniture and decor that complement the room’s dimensions and style, and enhancing the visual appeal without disrupting the room’s inherent layout.

AI item removal

Indeed, furnished rooms catch the eye more readily, but a photo overflowing with items can make spaces seem smaller, potentially turning off viewers. Fortunately, agents no longer need to wrestle with Photoshop’s steep learning curve to tidy up these spaces. They can now use AI item removal, another widely used AI real estate photo editing tool that allows for whole space or item-by-item decluttering of cluttered spaces.

This feature works by analyzing the image and identifying objects that can be safely removed without compromising the overall structure of the room. Agents can choose to remove specific items like personal photos or excess furniture or unfurnish the whole space in one click.

Just as clients wish to see a room furnished, they can benefit from photos of empty house space to gain an understanding of how it will actually look the moment they move in.

AI Image enhancement

Even when a photo has no furnishing issues–being neither empty nor overly cluttered–it may still require enhancements in lighting, color balance, or sharpness to fully capture the space’s potential. Some photos are not properly lit, some might be noisy, while still others may have skewed perspectives or uneven exposures.

AI image enhancement is another feature that is designed to identify and automatically correct such issues to produce professional-grade results. This feature works by analyzing the image to detect areas that lack clarity or proper exposure to adjust elements like brightness, contrast, and color saturation, enhancing the overall visual appeal without altering the scene’s authenticity.

AI day-to-dusk

There is no denying it! The front shot photos of properties take on an enhanced appeal under the soft, ambient light of twilight. A few years back, your photographer would have to wait for the golden hour to capture that perfect shot, carefully timing the photoshoot to coincide with the fleeting moments when the sun dips below the horizon.

Today, you can use AI day-to-dusk, another sought-after AI real estate photo editing instrument, to digitally transform daylight photos into evening masterpieces regardless of the original lighting conditions or the time of day the photo was taken.

This feature works by analyzing exterior images of houses and adjusts the lighting and shadows to mimic the natural glow of dusk. This too and its editing processes greatly enhance the warmth and appeal of any given property without altering its true appearance.

Benefits of AI Real Estate Photo Editing

Affordability

We mentioned, in passing, that AI virtual staging is much more affordable than virtual staging provided by real estate photo editing companies. In fact, this cost difference applies to all kinds of services offered by AI. No matter which photo editing service you’re looking for, AI-driven tools provide that with just a fraction of the cost required by traditional methods.

For a one-time user, this may not look like a big advantage, but for agents listing several properties per month, it is indeed a substantial benefit. This cost efficiency allows them to allocate their budget more effectively, and invest in other areas of their business while still ensuring top-quality visuals for their listings.

Quicker turnarounds

The same analogy could also be made regarding the time spent on preparing the photos. Instead of waiting for 24-48 hours, crossing your fingers and toes that the final result is to your satisfaction, AI-driven tools produce results in as fast as 30 seconds up to a couple of minutes. The sooner you list a property, the higher your chances of securing a quick sale at a desirable price.

Moreover, with precious time saved, you can fulfill more tasks, helping you to scale a real estate business and list higher numbers of properties in a much shorter time.

Customizability

A good listing should appeal to the taste of house hunters; that’s sort of a  given. And it’s something woven into the DNA of AI property photo editing. AI-driven photo editing tools provide customizations that manual methods cannot ever achieve. Since AI can analyze and process vast amounts of data in very little time, once it’s properly set up, it can give you literally countless customized options.

What’s more, AI tools allow for immediate revisions at any time without additional fees. This means agents can make unlimited modifications and update their listings anytime they wish. This customizability is of more value when new staging themes, design trends, color cosmos, or furniture become trendy.

The Downside of AI Real Estate Photo Editing

With artificial intelligence spreading its wings over and across various industries, every now and then, we hear disputes regarding its practicality.

As far as real estate photo editing is concerned, there is only one justified criticism. The rest are either rooted in misconceptions about AI photo editing or come from our inherent resistance to change!

The one true caveat about AI real estate photo editing is that it is, yet, unable to furnish awkward spaces like unconventionally shaped rooms with unusual architectural features. That’s it. As evident by recent developments, this issue will be resolved sooner than we think. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, meaning that soon it will learn to handle such intricacies as well. We just need to give it some time!

The Bottom Line

AI real estate photo editing presents a compelling array of benefits with an immediate effect on properties’ marketability. Thanks to this technology, preparing listing photos is no longer time-consuming or costly.

However, this doesn’t mean that manual real estate photo editing is an obsolete practice. If you’re in no rush to list a property, or you don’t mind the costs and the wait, you might consider traditional human photo editing or even physical staging.

It all boils down to how fast you want your property to be listed and how much you want to spend on showcasing it. AI real estate photo editing is just another option you might consider with certain listings.