Statistics show that up to 200% of money spent on home staging can be recovered in the sale of the home.
Streamlining and de-cluttering your home will make prospective buyers feel like they could live in the home, whereas clutter makes them feel like they are invading your space.
Set the Stage for a Fast Sell
By Holly Day
The softening Real Estate market is increasing homeowners’ demands for tools to help bring a profit in the sale of their homes. Home Staging has become one such tool. By properly cleaning, decluttering and preparing a house before it is listed on the market, homeowners have a better chance of quickly selling their home at or above list price.
Staging is the key component to selling fast and for top dollar. When homeowners decide to place their home on the market, the first crucial step, even before calling an agent, is to call an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) for advice on how to get it “show ready.” Poor preparation hurts the agent as well as the homeowner. Often a house has sat on the market for as long as six months and owners have taken a couple of price reductions—which are so unnecessary—and they are desperate to do something. Of course staging at this point is still possible, but it is hard to get people back out to the property if they’ve seen it once and it was not “show ready.” Realtors as well as clients are so busy; they attend an open house and make a judgment on the initial condition and that first impression usually sticks with them. They will rarely return to the property.
When you call an ASP Home Stager to stage your home, several things occur. If the home is vacant, the stager arrives at the home, takes pictures of the outside front and back yards and all the rooms, makes detailed notes of what needs to be done and goes back to the office and creates a completely “furnished” proposal down to the linens in the bathroom. The stager will possibly make suggestions for both the interior and exterior. The house may need new paint, carpets cleaned, and dead landscaping pulled up and replaced. If the home is occupied, the stager comes in and works with what you already have, perhaps doing some rearranging and bringing in outside things to complete the picture. It’s a great opportunity to get rid of items you no longer need and pack up things that will go with you to your new home. Streamlining and de-cluttering your home will make prospective buyers feel like they could live in the home, whereas clutter makes them feel like they are invading your space. The key to selling a home while it is occupied is to realize you are not selling a “home.” A “home” is what you live in day to day and those things will go with you to your next home. You must realize you are selling a “house” that must become a marketable “product.”
The benefit of staging is that you, the homeowner, are not out several thousand dollars worth of furniture and accessories that may or may not sell with the home. A staging company provides the furniture package and accessories and makes your home a “show home” and you merely pay a staging fee and monthly leasing fee for the furniture package. It will always be less than your first price reduction! It is a win-win situation because the house showcases all the positive aspects of the property, while you get help packing up early and walk away with top dollar. Statistics clearly show staged homes are on the market for much less time.
In a 2004-2006 study conducted by Stagedhomes.com, 300 homes that had spent an average of 163.7 days on the market, were staged by Accredited Staging Professionals (ASPs™), re-listed and sold in an average of 13.7 days. Homes that were staged before being listed, sold in an average of 8.9 days. Of the same 300 homes, those that were staged after spending time on the market, had an average equity of $14,074, compared to homes that were staged prior to being listed, which saw a 5.8% increase for an average equity of $16,784. On average, staged homes sold 50% faster and for 6.9% more money than homes that were not staged.
An ASP Realtor understands the necessity of doing it right the first time around and will always call in a professional stager to set the scene for their new listing. Statistics show that up to 200% of money spent on home staging can be recovered in the sale of the home. You are placing “equity” in your home when you stage. Again, the way you live in your home and the way you market and sell your home are two completely different things. You would never put your car in the paper for sale without detailing it first. You will not sell your car for top dollar with two-week-old French-fries between the seats or the baby seat in the back stained with spilt milk and Kool-Aid. Why in the world then would you put your home on the market without first getting it “show ready?” You have only one chance and fifteen seconds to make the first impression. You want to hear “Wow!” when they walk in not “Whoa!” 
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Winter 2007