Statistics roundup
This page brings together the most reliable public statistics on listing photography, virtual staging, 3D tours, floor plans, AI-generated imagery and the wider real estate marketing-technology market, covering the US, UK and Australia. Every figure is attributed to a named primary source and the year it was published or fielded, so the original report or release can be located and checked. We revisit and update this roundup as new industry reports are published.
Key statistics
The eight most striking figures on this page, drawn from the full sections below.
- 51% of home buyers found the home they purchased on the internet, versus 29% through a real estate agent.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - In a 2013 Redfin data study, homes priced around $400,000 that were listed with professional DSLR photos sold roughly three weeks faster and for over $10,000 more than comparable homes with amateur photos.
(Source: Redfin, 2019; US) - 49% of home sellers’ agents said home staging reduced the amount of time a home spent on the market (30% said slightly, 19% said significantly).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - 83% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as their future home.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - Nearly 11% of roughly 40,000 primary listing photographs drawn from Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com in the first three months of 2026 showed evidence of being digitally altered.
(Source: Coraly study, reported by Real Estate News, 2026; US) - In a Texas Tech University analysis published by Matterport in 2020, properties marketed with a Matterport 3D tour closed up to 31% faster and sold for 4-9% more, depending on the market.
(Source: Matterport, citing research by Kelley Anderson and K.T. Manis, Texas Tech University, 2020; US) - 85% of renters report using or planning to use rental listing sites such as Apartments.com, the highest rate in the survey’s history and up 37% since 2023.
(Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026; US) - The global 3D rendering and visualization software market was valued at USD 3.87 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 19.80 billion by 2034, a CAGR of 19.90%.
(Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2025; Global)
Listing photos and buyer behaviour
How buyers actually search for and engage with property listings online.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US)
- Photos were rated a ‘very useful’ website feature by 83% of home buyers who used the internet during their home search.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - 43% of home buyers said the first step they took in the home buying process was to look online for properties for sale.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - Home buyers searched a median of 10 weeks and viewed a median of 7 homes before purchasing.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - 88% of home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker, and 91% of sellers sold with the assistance of an agent (an all-time high), while only 5% of sales were FSBO (an all-time low).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2025; US) - In a 2013 Redfin data study, homes priced around $400,000 that were listed with professional DSLR photos sold roughly three weeks faster and for over $10,000 more than comparable homes with amateur photos.
(Source: Redfin, 2019; US) - Eventual buyers on realestate.com.au spend almost seven cumulative hours on a listing and view 28 times more property images than non-buyers.
(Source: REA Group (realestate.com.au) Buyer Impact Model, validated by Deloitte Australia, 2026; Australia) - 9 in 10 properties listed on realestate.com.au that go on to sell recorded buyer engagement on the platform before sale.
(Source: REA Group (realestate.com.au) Buyer Impact Model, 2026; Australia) - 80% of buyers on Zoopla headed to a property’s floor plan before looking at its photos in 2024.
(Source: Zoopla, 2024; UK) - In a 2013 Rightmove survey, over a third (33%+) of buyers said they were less likely to enquire about a property that did not have a floor plan; 1 in 5 buyers said they would ignore a listing entirely without one.
(Source: Rightmove, 2013; UK) - Over 80% of all time spent on UK property portals is spent on Rightmove.
(Source: Rightmove, 2026; UK)
Website features rated “very useful” by home buyers
Source: National Association of REALTORS, 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025
Virtual staging and staging ROI
What sellers’ and buyers’ agents report about staging’s effect on price, speed of sale and buyer visualisation.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US)
- 49% of home sellers’ agents said home staging reduced the amount of time a home spent on the market (30% said slightly, 19% said significantly).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - 29% of sellers’ agents reported that staging led to a 1% to 10% increase in the dollar value buyers offered for a home.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - The median amount spent on a professional home staging service was $1,500; when the listing agent handled staging personally, the median cost was $500.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - 21% of sellers’ agents staged all of their sellers’ homes prior to listing, while 10% staged only homes that were difficult to sell.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - Among sellers’ agents, photos (88%), videos (47%) and traditional physical staging (43%) were ‘much more’ or ‘more’ important to their clients, while virtual staging was rated as less important by 34% of sellers’ agents.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - Among buyers’ agents, the marketing materials rated important to their clients were photos (73%), physical staging (57%), videos (48%) and virtual tours (43%).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US) - The most commonly staged rooms by sellers’ agents were the living room (91%), primary bedroom (83%) and dining room (69%).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025; US)
Importance of marketing materials to sellers’ clients
Source: National Association of REALTORS, 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025
NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging: cost and impact summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Median cost, professional staging service | $1,500 |
| Median cost, agent-handled staging | $500 |
| Agents reporting staging reduced time on market | 49% |
| Agents reporting 1-10% dollar-value increase from staging | 29% |
| Buyers’ agents saying staging eased visualisation | 83% |
Source: National Association of REALTORS, 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 2025
Generative AI in marketing
How widely real estate professionals have adopted AI tools, and the new disclosure rules governing digitally altered listing photos.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), Technology Survey, 2025; US)
- 52% of REALTORS report using drone photography or video in their business.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), Technology Survey, 2025; US) - Among REALTORS using AI, usage frequency was 20% daily, 22% weekly and 27% a few times monthly, while 32% said they had never used AI.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), Technology Survey, 2025; US) - The most-used AI tool among REALTORS is ChatGPT (58%), followed by Google’s Gemini (20%) and Microsoft’s Copilot (15%).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), Technology Survey, 2025; US) - 82% of REALTORS said client response to technology integration was very positive or positive.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), Technology Survey, 2025; US) - AI pilot adoption among commercial real estate teams grew from 5% to 92% in three years, according to a survey of over 1,000 senior CRE decision-makers across 16 markets.
(Source: JLL, Global Real Estate Technology Survey, 2025; Global, commercial real estate) - Despite widespread AI piloting, only 5% of commercial real estate organizations report having achieved most of their AI program goals.
(Source: JLL, Global Real Estate Technology Survey, 2025; Global, commercial real estate) - Nearly 11% of roughly 40,000 primary listing photographs drawn from Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com in the first three months of 2026 showed evidence of being digitally altered.
(Source: Coraly study, reported by Real Estate News, 2026; US) - California’s AB 723 requires real estate brokers and salespersons who use a digitally altered image in a property ad to include a conspicuous disclosure and a link to the unaltered original image, effective 1 January 2026.
(Source: California State Legislature, Bill AB-723, 2026; US) - Wisconsin’s Act 69 will require real estate licensees to disclose when technology has materially altered a property’s appearance in marketing images, effective at the start of 2027.
(Source: Wisconsin state law, reported by Real Estate News, 2027; US)
State disclosure laws for AI/digitally altered real estate listing images (US)
| State | Law | Effective date | Core requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | AB 723 | 1 Jan 2026 | Disclose digitally altered images with a link to the unaltered original |
| Wisconsin | Act 69 | Start of 2027 | Disclose when technology materially alters a property’s appearance in marketing images |
Sources: California State Legislature, Bill AB-723, 2026; Wisconsin state law, reported by Real Estate News, 2027
3D tours, floor plans and video
The engagement and sales-speed evidence behind 3D tours, floor plans and video.
(Source: Matterport, citing research by Kelley Anderson and K.T. Manis, Texas Tech University, 2020; US)
- In 2022, Zillow reported that listings which included a 3D Home tour earned 81% more views and were saved by buyers 53% more often than listings without one.
(Source: Zillow, 2022; US) - Floor plans were rated a ‘very useful’ website feature by 57% of home buyers who used the internet, ahead of real estate agent contact information (47%), virtual tours (41%) and videos (29%).
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - 12% of home sellers’ real estate agents used video and 16% used virtual tours to market a listing, compared with 86% who used the MLS website and 61% who used a yard sign.
(Source: National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 2025; US) - In the same 2013 Rightmove survey, floor plans were ranked the second most-viewed element of a listing, after the photographs.
(Source: Rightmove, 2013; UK)
New-build and multifamily marketing
What renters and apartment-hunters say they need from digital marketing before they’ll apply for a unit.
(Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026; US)
- 33% of renters expressed interest in virtual tours and 33% in digital lease applications and signing, in a survey of 5,471 renters.
(Source: RentCafe.com renter survey, 2024; US) - 49% of renters said photos and videos of the specific apartment unit help the most among digital services offered by a rental community.
(Source: RentCafe.com renter survey, 2024; US) - 77% of renters want unit-specific photos and 67% want unit-specific floor plans when searching for an apartment, while 35% want unit-specific 3D tours.
(Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026; US) - For half (50%) of renters surveyed, the absence of photos of the specific unit was a deal-breaker: they would not apply for the apartment.
(Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026; US) - 5% of renters used AI chatbots as part of their apartment search, a share the survey expects to grow.
(Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026; US)
Renter demand for unit-specific content when apartment hunting
Source: Apartments.com renter survey, via National Apartment Association, 2026
Market size and growth
How large the architectural visualisation and 3D rendering software market is estimated to be, and why analyst forecasts diverge.
(Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2025; Global)
- The global 3D rendering market was valued at USD 5.23 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 13.92 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 21.63%; architectural visualization captured 41.90% of 2025 application revenue.
(Source: Mordor Intelligence, 2026; Global) - In a 2018 Grand View Research forecast, the global visualization and 3D rendering market was projected to reach USD 5.63 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 22.5%, a forecast horizon that has now passed.
(Source: Grand View Research, 2018; Global) - The global architectural services market was projected to reach USD 523.20 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023.
(Source: Grand View Research, 2023; Global)
3D rendering and architectural visualisation market size forecasts by source
| Source | Publication year | Base/current value | Forecast value | Forecast year | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortune Business Insights | 2025 | $3.87B (2025) | $19.80B | 2034 | 19.90% |
| Mordor Intelligence | 2026 | $5.23B (2026) | $13.92B | 2031 | 21.63% |
| Grand View Research | 2018 | n/a | $5.63B | 2025 | 22.5% |
| Grand View Research (architectural services, broader market) | 2023 | n/a | $523.20B | 2030 | 4.8% |
These figures are not directly comparable: each analyst firm defines the market differently and uses its own methodology, which is why estimates for a similar horizon diverge so widely.
Proptech and marketing spend
How much capital is flowing into real estate technology, and where commercial real estate organisations are directing their tech budgets.
(Source: Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI), 2025; Global)
- $12 billion of the $16.7 billion in 2025 proptech investment went to financings of $100 million or more, with 35 companies accounting for 71.9% of total capital invested.
(Source: Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI), 2025; Global) - Houlihan Lokey reported $5.8 billion in US proptech growth-equity and debt financing plus 109 M&A transactions in 2025.
(Source: Houlihan Lokey, cited by Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI), 2025; Global) - Q4 2025 proptech capital deployment reached $7.9 billion, the strongest quarter since 2021.
(Source: Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI), 2025; Global) - 65% of commercial real estate organizations report experiencing technology budget pressures, while 88% are allocating budget to upgrade legacy technology.
(Source: JLL, Global Real Estate Technology Survey, 2025; Global, commercial real estate)
Frequently asked questions
Does staging help a home sell faster?
According to the National Association of REALTORS’ 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 49% of sellers’ agents said home staging reduced the amount of time a home spent on the market (30% said slightly, 19% said significantly), and 29% of sellers’ agents reported that staging led to a 1% to 10% increase in the dollar value buyers offered for a home.
Is virtual staging as effective as physical staging?
NAR does not rank them on a single scale. Among sellers’ agents, photos (88%), video (47%) and physical staging (43%) were rated ‘much more’ or ‘more’ important to their clients, while a separate question found that 34% of sellers’ agents rated virtual staging as less important. Among buyers’ agents, physical staging (57%) and virtual tours (43%) were rated important to clients. The cost gap is clear in the same report: the median professional staging service cost $1,500 (NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Staging).
Do I have to disclose virtually staged or AI-edited photos?
In some US states, yes. California’s AB 723 requires a conspicuous disclosure and a link to the unaltered original image on a digitally altered listing photo, effective 1 January 2026, and Wisconsin’s Act 69 will require disclosure of materially altered marketing images from the start of 2027. Separately, a 2026 Coraly study found nearly 11% of roughly 40,000 primary listing photographs analysed across Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com showed evidence of being digitally altered.
Do buyers actually look at floor plans?
Yes. Floor plans were rated a ‘very useful’ website feature by 57% of US home buyers (NAR, 2025); 80% of buyers on Zoopla headed to a property’s floor plan before looking at its photos in 2024; and in a 2013 Rightmove survey, floor plans were the second most-viewed element of a listing after photographs, with over a third of buyers saying they were less likely to enquire about a property without one.
How big is the 3D rendering market?
Estimates vary by analyst firm and methodology. Fortune Business Insights values the global 3D rendering and visualization software market at USD 3.87 billion in 2025, growing to USD 19.80 billion by 2034 (a 19.90% CAGR), while Mordor Intelligence puts the 2026 market at USD 5.23 billion, forecast to reach USD 13.92 billion by 2031 (a 21.63% CAGR). These figures are not directly comparable, as each firm defines the market differently.
Sources
Every statistic above is attributed to one of the following organisations or publications:
- National Association of REALTORS (NAR)
- Redfin
- REA Group (realestate.com.au), analysis validated by Deloitte Australia
- Zoopla
- Rightmove
- JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle)
- Coraly, reported by Real Estate News
- California State Legislature (Bill AB-723)
- State of Wisconsin (Act 69), reported by Real Estate News
- Zillow
- Matterport, citing research by Kelley Anderson and K.T. Manis, Texas Tech University
- RentCafe.com
- Apartments.com, via National Apartment Association
- Fortune Business Insights
- Mordor Intelligence
- Grand View Research
- Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI)
- Houlihan Lokey, cited by Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI)
Methodology note
Every statistic on this page was checked against the original report, press release or dataset before publication. Where a figure comes from an older study, we have shown the year that study was conducted alongside the wording that makes its age clear. Where analyst firms produce conflicting market-size estimates, we have shown the competing figures side by side rather than picking one as definitive.
To request the source list or corrections, contact the studio via the contact page.
