You Need to Stage Your House. Here’s Why
Updated: Jan 26, 2021
It's a common question every homeowner looking to list their property ask themselves:
"Should I stage my house before I sell it?"
In our opinion, the answer is a resounding yes if your goal is to get top dollar and sell quickly.
Here are all the reasons why you need to stage your house before listing it on the market.
Stage Your House Because It Will Sell For More
Did you know that staged homes often sell for more money than their non-staged counterparts?
It's true!
According to The National Association of Realtors:
"One-quarter of buyer's agents said that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between one and five percent, compared to other similar homes on the market that are not staged."
If you're hoping to get a full price offer and max out the amount of cash you can pull from a property, staging it is a good idea.
Stage Your House Because It Will Help The Photos Stand Out
Staging your house helps your photos stand out online.
Professional photography combined with professional staging is a great way to get lots of eyeballs on your listing.
A barren, empty living room is far less likely to get someone excited than a well-decorated "family room."
It goes without saying, but the more people who see your listing, the more showings you'll get, and the more likely you are to receive an offer.
Stage Your House Because It Will Help Buyers Picture Themselves Living There
Buyers want to be able to picture themselves living in a house before they move in.
What's it going to be like sitting down for dinner?
Can we BBQ in the summer?
Where can we entertain our guests?
These are a few questions people touring your property may ask themselves.
When your house is staged, it allows them to picture themselves using each area as intended easily.
Do you remember when you went to IKEA to buy a desk or anything for that matter?
There are many displays set up to showcase products in a realistic home setting.
Plenty of the desks will be staged with other furniture to show how they can easily fit into your room.
Stage Your House To Draw Attention To Its Best Features
Are there any features in your house that particularly stand out?
Maybe you recently remodeled the master bathroom to include a jacuzzi tub and rainfall showers.
Or maybe you overhauled the kitchen to include:
All new high-quality backsplash
Brand new stainless steel appliances
And granite countertops
Whatever the case may be, you can use staging to bring attention to the features you want to stand out.
If you hire a professional stager, they should be able to do this for you.
Should you decide to do the staging on your own, I'd recommend using something that puts an eye-catching color near the feature you want to highlight.
For example, if you're trying to show off a new jacuzzi bathtub and rainfall shower, try tastefully hanging a colorful, eye-catching towel to draw the buyer's attention.
Staged Homes Sell Faster Than Their Non-staged Counterparts
Did you know that on average, staged homes sell faster than homes that are not staged?
According to the National Association of Realtors, 25% of realtors:
"reported that staging a home greatly decreased the amount of time the home was on the market."
When you stage your house, it helps potential buyers picture themselves living there, which helps create an emotional attachment.
The longer your house sits on the market, the lower the offers typically get.
So anything you can do to help your house sell faster is in your best interest.
The Average Costs of Staging Your House
According to Home Advisor:
"The national average home staging cost is $1,121. This includes furniture and decoration rental. Many homeowners pay between $505 and $1,864."
According to the NAR, for every $100 you spend on staging, you'll get $400 back.
It's important not to think of staging as money getting tossed in the trash, but as a straightforward investment you'll get an excellent return on.
The Four Ways To Stage Your House
Hire a Professional
Hiring a full-service professional home stager will be the most expensive option, but it will produce the best results.
A professional stager should provide all the materials (furniture and decor), time, and labor it takes to make your house look as good as possible.
DIY Staging
If you're on a shoestring budget, you may opt for some DIY staging.
Should you decide to go the DIY route, and you don't want to deal with:
Purchasing
Moving
And setting up heavy furniture
You can focus on small decor items that will add some flare to the house.
For example:
Accent towels for the bathrooms
Colorful fruit bowls for the kitchen
Vases of flowers for shelves and countertops
Pictures for the walls
You should easily be able to find some inexpensive decor items at a local thrift store.
There's no need to buy expensive full priced items, as you'll likely never use them again.
You might even be able to sell the buyers the items you used to stage the house if you like them.