Is staging your home necessary or more the cherry on top of the sundae? That depends on a few things, mainly the price range of your home. Most homes under $850,000 can probably do with professional cleaning and light staging with owners current furniture depending on the condition and style of furnishings.
My first bit of advice to a homeowner looking to put a home on the market is to start the staging process by removing clutter and depersonalizing the home. Staging is what you do after you’ve cleaned, decluttered, painted, made minor repairs; it’s all about dressing the house for sale. Home staging is like makeup. The lipstick, the mascara, and to top it all a beautiful, single strand of jewelry.
The reason why there is no definite answer to this question is that staging and leaving it empty can both have benefits to the sellers. To choose you will need to weigh specific factors. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
Starter homes have the most buyers because a lower sales price means a lower barrier to entry. That means those homes will generally sell with the basics done. As homes get more expensive, naturally, it then becomes necessary to make your home more appealing to compete with other homes since the pool of buyers is smaller and more selective.
It also depends on the current market, in a seller’s market where we have less than 90 days of inventory of homes in the price range and area a seller is less likely to need to stage. However in a highly competitive buyers market where every impression counts a seller will need to make the absolute best first impression both online and in showings.
Staging makes a house look move-in ready. When buyers are touring a house that is beautifully furnished they spend less time looking for defects. They see how beautifully everything is arranged and begin to see themselves living in the same as they see it rather than looking for issues.
Advantages
Statistic reflects that staged homes sell 30-50% faster in most area. The buyers feel like staged home is more welcoming that’s why they tend to sell more quickly. The more they can see themselves living in the house, the more likely they’d want to purchase it.
Staged home sells faster and closer to asking price which means, less carrying cost and the sellers can move on. The longer your home is in the market, the lower the selling price will be.
Another essential benefit of a staged home is it makes the listing photos look appealing. The listing photos usually are the first glimpse of a potential buyer, so having your home staged gives you the advantage of attracting buyers.
The last but most significant benefit of staging your home is that you can use the rooms in your house to its full potential. Usually, buyers don’t like rooms that are small and strangely shaped, but with you having it home staged gives you the advantage to maximize its full potential and make it pleasant to the buyer’s eye.
Disadvantages
The two disadvantages of staging home are time and money. A staged home takes time and effort and may become expensive in homes that are hard to sell.
Many stagers charge consulting fees and have minimum contracts of 2 or more months.
If you stage a home while you’re still living in it you want to make sure you leave the staged items undisturbed.
When talking about an investment property, home staging is not practical. A good investment is spending one dollar and getting two dollars in return and that simply isn’t the case when it comes to staging.
Home Staging Is Not Necessary to Sell Home
Staging a home has both advantages and disadvantages, but it is essential to understand that staging a home does not sell the home. It is necessary to know when you should and when you should not stage your home.
Home staging can be great and you should know that furniture and decorations are not the most critical tools for selling houses.
Professional real estate agents can sell homes whether they are staged or not without any issue. One of the most significant factors to consider for home staging is your target market.
Before making a decision answer these questions:
- Is the house owner occupied or vacant?
- Does the home have deficiencies that staging will minimize?
- Will your home be competing for the attention of buyers?
- Is inventory of homes like yours LOW?
- Is the inventory of homes at your price point low?
- Does your home have undefined space that will be unclear to buyers?
- How quickly do you need to sell your home?
