Rob Raham – Real Estate Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
To sell your home fast, get rid of clutter, depersonalize, clean it thoroughly and paint it inside and out. But is that all you need to do? You can have your home professionally staged and sell your home for more than enough to cover the cost.
A recent survey found that found that 49 percent of participants who work with buyers say that staging has an effect on the buyer’s view of the home, while 47 percent believe that staging only sometimes impacts a buyer’s view of the home. A low 4 percent of Realtors® said staging has no impact on buyer perceptions.
Of the Realtors who believe that staging works, 83 percent said staging helps buyers visualize the property as a future home, while 46 percent said it makes prospective buyers more willing to walk through a home they saw online.
In other words, the real purpose of staging is to get buyers into your home. It’s simple human nature – we want what we see. That leads 45 percent of agents who work with buyers to say that a home decorated to a buyer’s tastes positively impacts its value. The question is – how do you know you’ve staged to please the most buyers? It’s all in the results.
The Real Estate Staging Association conducted a survey of 13,000 staged homes and found that 85% of them sold for between 5-23% over list price. Approximately 75% of sellers saw an ROI of 5-15% over asking price. This dovetails nicely with real estate professionals who say staging helps sell homes faster.
Homebuyers want homes to be as immaculate and stylish as the homes they see on TV. So how can you get your home to stage successfully?
Be willing to spend some money. Sixty-two percent of sellers agents offer home staging services to sellers. One-third of sellers agents stage all their listings.
Accept the fact that your home may be a challenge. If your agent offers to help you stage your home, grab the opportunity. Every home has problem areas. You could turn a “too small” area into a cozy enclave that looks intentional and desirable.
Stage the most important rooms first. Realtors® representing both the buyer and seller ranked the living room as the number one room to stage, followed by the kitchen. Rounding out the top five rooms were the master bedroom, dining room and the bathroom.
There are other benefits for sellers besides a quicker closing for more money. You’ll learn a lot about making rooms flow, creating focal points, improving lighting, and how to use color. And, if your furnishings are hand-me-downs, out of date, or not your taste, why take it all to your next home? Staging can help you determine what you love so you’ll have far less stuff to move.
Staging is absolutely one of the most important services that we offer to our seller clients, and we are exceptional at making your house look it’s absolute best.