Realtors have long touted the benefits of home staging to their listing clients. Whether sellers are planning to vacate, or occupy their home throughout the sale process, data provided through the National Association of Realtors estimates that staged homes can fetch upwards of 10% more than it might have without staging. Additionally, homes that are professionally staged usually spend less time on the market, saving the sellers from the frustration and inconvenience of living through weeks or months of open houses and showings.
For some homeowners, the cost of staging is prohibitive. For others, they aren’t convinced the ROI will be there. For owner-occupied homeowners, the hassle of preparing the home for partial staging can be daunting – plus there is the added cost of having to store most of your belongings to make room for the staged items. In the end, the vast majority of sellers who decide to take the plunge have a more successful selling experience, and do not regret it in the end.
Recently, I had the pleasure of working with two different sellers who would be occupying their homes during their sale, who were on the fence about staging. After spending time discussing the pros and cons, both sellers decided it was a worthwhile investment, and took the plunge.
After spending countless hours boxing up most of their belongings, getting rid of things they didn’t need, and ordering storage pods to get their excess belongings off-site, the stagers (Inspired Spaces) arrived and worked their magic. Both sellers were floored by the end result! Their homes were almost unrecognizable even to them, looking and feeling more like a suite in the Four Seasons than the family homes they resembled just the week before. The new home design allowed potential buyers to envision themselves in the home, rather than the the previous occupants. Those, of course, were the intended results.
The unintended benefit is less obvious. Most GOOD home stagers double as interior designers. In both cases, the stagers created a completely different (and far superior) layout and style than these homeowners enjoyed during their residency. There were new seating areas, new focal points, and new places to enjoy. Sitting where they hadn’t before, they enjoyed new views from the same old windows, new places to socialize with their family and friends, new places to enjoy a meal. It wasn’t just a different look, it was a completely different FEEL than it was before. Both sellers admitted they would be hiring designers for their next home.
Lastly, hiring professional stagers forces owner-occupied sellers to better prepare for their upcoming move. Once the home sells and the moving date arrives, most of the work of packing, decluttering, organizing, and cleaning are a distant memory – and the seller is able to focus on the exciting path ahead.
Food for thought, for anyone on the fence about home staging.
