Staging a home that is for sale is effective, according to a survey of real estate agents conducted by the National Association of Realtors.
Staging a home that is for sale — with new, but neutral furniture and art to make the home appealing to more buyers — is effective, according to a survey of real estate agents conducted by the National Association of Realtors.
But not a slam dunk.
In its survey, 29% of agents reported staging led to a 1% to 10% increase in the selling price, and 40% said staging helped sell the home faster.
The cost of staging a home depends on whether it is done professionally, and who pays for it, also varies.
“It’s a little different whether or not the seller is using a professional staging service. That cost is around $1,500, and slightly lower if the Realtor is personally staging the home. That cost is around $500,” said Brandi Snowden, director of member survey research at the National Association of Realtors.
Agents are split on the impact of staging. While 60% of agents said it had an effect on some buyers, but not always, 26% said it had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home, and 12% said staging had no effect.
Even so, buyers have expectations, both for the images they see in online listings and the home when they do a tour. A lot of that comes from social media and cable shows like those on HGTV.
“We see that there are those expectations from buyers to see homes that might be staged like they see on those TV shows. We see that buyers are becoming more educated from watching these shows. They have a better sense for what they’re looking for,” Snowden said.
Among Realtors surveyed, 77% said TV shows set unrealistic or increased expectations, but 14% said they result in more educated buyers and sellers alike.
Agents don’t always suggest staging as a first step, with 51% suggesting other steps first.
“We see a large percentage suggest maybe decluttering the home, fixing some property faults instead of going straight to staging. Just having the entire home cleaned and improving curb appeal,” Snowden said.
Staging does not mean resetting the entire home. The most common rooms for staging are the living room, primary bedroom and kitchen. Agents surveyed said staging secondary bedrooms was least important.
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