# New Zealand Real Estate Authority — photo-editing training virtual-staging disclosure

- Status: Explicit requirement
- Applies to: Licensed New Zealand real-estate professionals preparing property marketing photographs
- Last verified: 2026-08-09
- Next review: 2026-11-09

## What the source says

REA training material says a photograph cannot be edited to make a property look better when the result misrepresents it. It distinguishes ordinary brightness or sky corrections from edits that change property facts.

## Disclosure wording

The training material does not prescribe an exact virtual-staging disclosure phrase.

## Prohibited or limited edits

- Editing a property photograph in a way that makes it look better by misrepresenting the property

## Stylst practical guidance—not policy

Use brightness and color correction only when the result stays truthful; label virtual staging, provide the original, and do not change property condition or permanent facts.

## Primary source

[REA Marketing Facilitated Meeting — photo editing scenario](https://www.rea.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Resources/4521_REA_Marketing-Facilitated-Meeting_FA2_web.pdf)

Corrections: hello@stylst.app