About Home Staging
Home staging is the art of preparing a home before listing it to show it off in its best possible light. Staging involves de-cluttering, de-personalizing, updating old or unattractive fixtures, cleaning, painting, rearranging, sometimes adding rental furniture, and accessorizing. Today more and more sellers are expecting their real estate professionals to guide them through the staging process.
With staging, homes:
- Appear more appealing and desirable than the competition
- Are likely to appraise higher
- Present as “move-in-ready”
- Show off their strengths and positive features
- Sell more quickly for the highest value
Real estate professionals have always used staging as a marketing tool, but since the 1990s, staging has become an integral part of selling homes. Statistics show that staging can decrease the number of days a property is on the market by up to 50%, and can increase the final selling price by 10 to 15%.
Home buyers decide if they are attracted to a home within the first few minutes of seeing it. The practice of staging a home’s exterior (also known as curb appeal) is key to enticing the buyer to want to see the interior of the house. Homes staged with furniture and accessories sell more quickly than vacant houses, because buyers can more easily imagine seeing themselves, their family, and their belongings in that space.