To Stage or Not to Stage
To stage or not to stage, that is the question.
Staging your home can feel like an added stress to your already-full plate when trying to get your home ready for the market. However, if you're looking at homes on the market in recent years, you've probably noticed staging a home is no longer a nice idea - it's one of the most important things that you can do when selling your home.
The process of staging a home to better appeal to the type of potential buyer a home will most likely draw has become a crucial part of the selling process. We set up our homes as we like to live in them; with our favorite old oversized lounger sitting in that just right position in front of our TV, with pictures of your favorite people scattered across the walls, and favorite gadgets perched on your kitchen counters, and if you're like me, there's an overflowing bookshelf within reach of your favorite comfy chair to grab whatever favorite book you might want to read on a particular evening. However, to the potential buyer, none of this matters. It's actually a distraction for them! A buyer needs to actually see the space and visualize themselves using it. If they feel like they’re in someone else’s house, chances are they will have a harder time seeing your property as their dream home.
So enter staging. Most people love IGTV because they love to see the beautifully designed spaces that they can imagine themselves in. Few of us are lucky enough to live in a home with perfectly matched furniture, paint, and decor down the tiny accessory in the perfect position on the side table that gives you that complete feeling of Zen. So clearing out a room and replacing your comfortable, favorite items with beautiful, professionally-designed furniture and decor to highlight the spaces of your home will reach the broadest audience and invite many more people to view your property with intent to buy. Honestly, most buyers don't have a great imagination. So staging is really key to helping them identify how they can best utilize the different areas in your home. And to boot, it's pretty reasonable. An average staging costs between $1,500 and $10,000, depending on how many rooms are staged and to the extent of the staging. Research tells us a staged home typically sells faster and for between 7-12% more than unstaged homes. So if your home is in the $800,000 range, you could spend $5,000 on staging. And if your home sells for just 7% more, you just made an extra $50,000. Now, who wouldn't want that extra money to take into their next home?
We think the answer is clear, but we understand - every situation is different! Reach out to a trusted REALTOR to discuss what may be the best option for you when it comes to staging your home.