“WOW, what a difference staging makes.”
“We SHOULD have staged from the beginning.”
As a staging company, we hear these statements all the time. We often receive calls and quote requests from builders, realtors, and homeowners who are hesitant about moving forward with staging. The value of home staging is sometimes questioned by sellers, but home staging has been proven to sell homes faster and for top dollar. Many sellers feel like they don’t need staging and don’t want to stage.
81 percent of home buyers find it easier to visualize a property as a future home when staged. EVERY home needs to be staged. Home staging can be a small project of de-cluttering, or a large project of bringing furnishings into a vacant home. Home staging may take a few hours and could only require you to neutralize your home. However, it could also take a full day, while larger homes might require more time and monetary investment. Sometimes, when talking to sellers, they are loud and clear about their hesitations about home staging. Below is a list of the top five myths we debunked about home staging.
5 reasons sellers consider skipping home staging:
1. Myth: I’m selling a new construction home, so I don’t need home staging.
What’s not to love about a new build? A home that is brand new and perfect doesn’t need home staging, right? Wrong. Have you ever been in a model home and fell in love? Not only did you fall in love with the architectural details, but staging can also highlight the home’s features. You spend time admiring and visualizing yourself living in the home. Consider that even large-scale builders will stage a model home for buyers to visualize the home’s potential. Home staging showcases livability, ultimately adding value to even newly built communities.
2. Myth: Staging costs too much!
Some sellers are hesitant to stage because of the perceived price associated with home staging. Home staging can be a consultation, occupied home staging, or vacant home staging. According to Bankrate.com, home staging resulted in a 586 percent return on investment! Costs range from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, but the cost of home staging is cheaper than your first price reduction. According to Trulia, within 78 days, the average seller has discounted their home 8 percent in price reductions, while hiring a home stager typically costs 1.5 percent or less. Staging should not be viewed as an expense, but instead a return on investment.
3. Myth: The market is good, so I don’t need home staging.
Good or bad market, the presentation of your home is important. Home staging is simply the preparation of your home for the real estate market. During a seller’s market, the demand and number of buyers is up, so sellers have an advantage and may be skeptical about staging their home. As a seller, use staging in this market to your advantage by increasing the perceived value with a beautifully staged home. Even when the market is hot, a seller can receive multiple offers, offers higher than the listing price, and add value. The real estate market changes but home staging remains to be a great return on investment.
4. Myth: My home is vacant, staging just isn’t necessary to sell a vacant home.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 78 % of all expired listings are vacant. Some homeowners have the perception that home staging is not necessary, and they move out of their homes to leave the home empty while selling. Usually, the seller thinks that leaving the home vacant allows buyers to see the potential of the property. A vacant home with empty rooms can raise red flags such as perceived size, furniture layout questions, and a skewed perspective. The “living room is too small, the open concept doesn’t make sense, the flow of the space is off.” Often times potential buyers make comments about space and layout issues that can be redirected and resolved with home staging. On average, buyers view a home for about 6 minutes, but buyers linger in a furnished home an average of 40 minutes (National Association of Realtors). The impact of a staged home shows that empty houses sell for less and stay on the market longer.
5. Myth: The house will sell itself; my house is perfect!
Let me guess, your house is in the perfect location with all of the right updates and you don’t think you need home staging? Removing clutter, de-personalizing, increasing curb appeal, painting, and cleaning are all considered home staging. Each home needs some work to be real estate market ready, because the way that you live in a home is different than when you are preparing to sell and presenting the home to potential buyers. Staging is not exclusively used for problem houses, problem markets, or luxury homes. All homes can benefit from home staging and the value-added yields a competitive advantage.
It’s time to dispel the myths that home staging is perfectly fine to be skipped in the home selling process. Stage your home and stand out amongst the competition.
Home staging used to be optional. Today, it's a necessity in selling a house."- Barbara Corcoran