We all know if we want to make money, we have to invest some  to get started. Whether it is stocks, mutual funds, a home, or a business, we need to spend a little to make a lot. The key is to pick an investment that we can get a good return on for the price we pay for it. Home Staging is a marketing tool for selling your home that uses decorating to show off a home’s best features while downplaying its flaws. Done right, staging creates an emotional connection between home and buyer, leading to a faster sale at maximum value.

When homeowners or Realtors approach me as a professional home stager, their initial query often revolves around the cost of home staging.

However, the focus should ideally shift from “how much will home staging cost?” to “how can home staging enhance my property’s value and reduce its time on the market?” Think of home staging as an investment, not just an expense. The extent of this investment varies based on factors like home size, whether it’s occupied or vacant, and the division of tasks between the stager and the homeowner.

Typically, stagers offer a consultation for a fee and provide an estimate for additional services, either as an hourly rate or a set fee. If furniture or accessories are rented, there’s an added monthly charge.

Prices can range with consultations averaging between $400-$700 and subsequent staging services around $125/hour. The cost of renting furniture and accessories differs based on specific needs. It’s essential to remember that selecting a stager isn’t about finding the cheapest deal but ensuring quality. After all, in home staging, as in many things, you often get what you pay for.

The concept of home staging and its impact on the sale price of homes has been extensively studied by various associations and organizations. Here are some more detailed findings, particularly from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and other entities, As of September 2021 the following information is available.

 

National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2019 Profile of Home Staging:

1. Impact on Sale Price:

   • 29% of seller’s agents reported a slight increase (1%-5%) in the dollar value offered by buyers for staged homes compared to non-staged ones.
   • 21% of respondents stated that staging increased the seller’s dollar value by 6%-10%.
   • 28% felt staging had no impact on the dollar value, and 2% reported a decrease in the value.

2. Impact on Speed of Sale:

   • The faster sale of staged homes was also highlighted, with 39% of sellers’ agents stating that staging greatly decreased the number of days homes stayed on the market.

3. Rooms Benefiting Most from Staging:

   • According to the NAR report, the living room was considered the most crucial room to stage, followed by the master bedroom, the kitchen, and then outdoor spaces.

4. Staging Cost:

   • While the value of staging was acknowledged, the cost was a consideration. About 28% of agents reported their sellers paid nothing because the agent provided the service. For others, the typical cost ranged depending on home size and market.

Real Estate Staging Association:

1. Time on Market:

   • Staged homes, on average, stayed 72% less time on the market compared to their non-staged counterparts.

2. Investment Return:

   • Various staging professionals have cited that the investment in staging often returns more than the cost. The exact ROI can vary but is often justified by a quicker sale and increased offer prices.

Other General Insights:

1. First Impressions Matter:

   • Many buyers first see a home online, and staged homes typically photograph better. This can increase interest and result in more showings.

2. Vacant Homes:

   • Staging can be especially crucial for vacant homes. An empty home can feel cold and uninviting, and it’s harder for buyers to visualize how they might live in the space.

3. Staging and Home Condition:

   • While staging can enhance a home’s appeal, critical repairs and home condition remain pivotal. A beautifully staged home with significant structural issues might still struggle on the market.

It’s worth noting that while these findings provide an insight into the potential benefits of home staging, the actual impact can vary based on various factors, including location, the current market condition, and the specific property in question. For the latest data or more specific regional insights, consulting up-to-date industry reports or local real estate experts would be beneficial.

 

I have found that home staging usually costs 0.5%-1% of the home’s value.  Considering it may increase the value a buyer may pay up to 10% or more, while also saving money on holding costs with a quicker sale, this is a pretty good investment!

 

Your results will depend on the quality of the home stager you hire, how well your realtor does of marketing your property, market conditions and you. Learn more in my article Why Your House Won’t Sell.

Let’s do the Math

If the median home price in your area is $479,000 as it is in my town, Seward Alaska:

1% increase is $4790

5% increase is $23,950

10% increase is $47,900

 

So what does this all mean? Let’s look at a three examples.

1.  Make 1% More with Home Staging: Say you spend $4000 on home staging and only make a 1% increase ($4790) over the sale price of $479,000.  You have paid back your home staging costs and made $790. You likely have also sold your house faster because it looks better than the competition. If you sell in a month, compared to three months for example, and your holding costs such as utilities, mortgage and taxes are $2000 a month, you have also saved yourself $4000.  Total increase or savings, $4790.

2.  Make 10% More with Home Staging: Say you spend $5000 on home staging and make a 10% increase ($47,900) on the sale.  You sell your house in a month instead of three months. You have paid back your home staging costs and made $42,900 plus your savings of $4000 in holding costs. Total increase or savings, $46,900

3. You choose not to invest in Home Staging:  You save the $4000-$5000 on home staging. You list your house for the average price of $479,000. If you are lucky and sell in a month at full asking price, your increase or savings would be $4000 on holding costs compared to not selling for three months.  This is still $790 less than had you staged and got a minimal 1% increase in the sales price as in scenario #1.  A more likely scenario is that your house does not sell in the first month because it will not outshine the competition, and your realtor recommends a price reduction of $5000 or more.  If your house is on the market for three months, and each month you go through another $5000 price reduction, at the end of the three months you have lost $15,000 from price reductions. You will also lose  $4000 in holding costs.  Total loss of $19,000.

In my experience, my average home selling client sells within a few days or weeks on the market and makes about 10% more.

A recent client had 2 over-asking price offers in 24 hours, 15 offers in 3 days and sold for $30,000 over asking which was 10% over asking. She paid about $1500 for her staging and made $30,000 from it, at a profit of $28,500 for her investment.

Does Home Staging Work in Every Market?

While it’s true we’re in a seller’s market, home staging holds value regardless of market conditions. Remember, even in favorable markets, some homes linger unsold. Staged homes consistently captivate more online and in-person interest, offering a modern, spacious, and turnkey appeal. This allure often results in elevated offers, possible bidding frenzies, and ultimately, a heftier profit for you

What is the Bottom Line?

Staging always cost less than your first price reduction.

Consider this: the boost in your home’s sale price, a swifter closing, and minimized holding expenses will often outweigh the initial outlay on staging. Moreover, a significant portion of the staging expense can likely be tax-deducted as an advertising cost for the home sale.

In essence, without staging, your home could witness a price reduction of 1-20% the longer it stays on the market. On the flip side, staging can amplify your selling price by 1-10% or more.

Think of home staging as a strategic investment.  A quicker sale reduces ongoing costs like mortgages and utilities and, importantly, eases the stress of the selling process.

How Does Home Staging Work?

Now that you know how home staging can help, if you are interested in knowing how much it costs and how it works, check out this videol

https://northernlightsstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Home_Staging_How_it_Works.mp4

Ready to Sell Fast and For More?

Get your online home staging consultation or staging service today. Click on the pictures to learn more. For in person consultations or staging, call for a custom quote.

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When it is time to sell our home, we all want to sell fast and for the highest price. One of the best ways to make that happen is to stage your home. Home staging uses decorating to highlight the home’s best features and helps buyers visualize how they can use the space while making an emotional connection with them so they can see themselves living there happily.

When it comes to home staging, there are several ways to go about it. You can:

1. Get a consultation with a professional home stager and get advice on everything you need to know to successfully stage it yourself.
2. Hire a pro to do the staging for you or with you, either working with what you already have if you will be living there while on the market, or bringing in everything and staging a vacant house.
3. You can virtually stage the space to show buyers the “potential of the home” and “what it could look like” if it was furnished in a particular style.
4. You can also use ” virtual design” to show how it could look if it were remodeled to have different paint colors, lighting, flooring and more.

What is Virtual Home Staging?

Virtual home staging is a computer rendering of what a vacant space might look like if it was staged with furniture and accessories.

Here are two examples of virtual staging where good quality photos of a vacant home were virtually staged to show the potential of a vacant property for sale. These examples could be used on the MLS for your listing if allowed in your state and should be clearly disclosed that they are virtual photos. A good way to do this is to show both the vacant photo and staged photo together so buyers know what to expect when they see the property in person. Notice in both cases, the condition of the walls and carpeting looked in very nice shape, so the staging was not covering up any obvious “problem areas”.

Virtual staging could even be used to advertise rental properties that the renter is expected to bring their own furniture to show them the potential of the space and give them a sense of scale and how furniture could fit in the space.

What is Virtual Design?

Sometimes a seller or realtor wants to show the potential of a space. Below is an example of one of the rooms above where the paint color was changed, the lighting updated and flooring was changed. The area rug was changed to work with the new paint color.

This type of rendering entails more work because in addition to adding things, you are also changing items such as color, lighting and flooring so would be more expensive. This type of rendering that shows cosmetic changes is more an example of “virtual design” than “virtual staging”.

Virtual design can help if the property for sale will need work such as repainting, new flooring and lighting and the seller is willing to sell for a lower price and allow the buyer to do the work and make their own selections for those items. This would be a nice addition to materials you are showing buyers at an open house. It is not recommended for use on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) because the cosmetic conditions of the home have been changed and you do not want to mislead buyers about the actual condition.

In addition, virtual staging or design should never show changes of things that cannot be changed (such as removing powerlines or highways from the view). Check to see what is allowed on the MLS in your state. Even if allowed, you may be opening the door to having buyers feeling ‘misled” by the listing when they see it in person, especially if they do not read all the “fine print” on the listing.

Sometimes, you may not have good photographs to work with due to the lighting or angles they were taken at, or the photos are filled with furniture or other items that need to be removed. In those cases, a 3D render can be created from scratch from room measurements. This type of render takes longer so is more expensive. Because these do not use actual photos, I would consider this “virtual design”, and it is critical to make it clear to buyers that this is a virtual rendering so they are not surprised.

The Pros of Virtual Staging and Design

• Virtual home staging usually costs less (often half the cost or less) than physical home staging because it takes less time and there are no rental fees for furniture and accessories.
• If the seller cannot afford in person staging, virtual staging can still help buyers or renters visualize the possibilities of a vacant space.
• Virtual home staging is better than no home staging, because it helps the buyer to visualize how big the space is, how furniture can fit in the rooms and the purpose of each room.
• Some homes may need a lot of remodeling, updates or exterior or interior painting and the seller may not be able to afford to do it, or may choose to leave that to the buyer so they can do it their way and sell at a lower price point. Helping the buyers see the possibilities at an open house with “virtual design” is a great advantage as the majority of people can not visualize how the space could look with major or even minor changes.
• Virtual staging can show higher quality furniture and accessories, or specific styles to attract the target buyer that might not be available for in person staging. This might be beneficial for high end properties.
• Virtual staging could be used to advertise rental properties where the renter is expected to bring their own furniture.
• Virtual design can be used in combination with regular home staging. For example, if you have a home that needs exterior painting due to the color or condition but cannot afford to do that before selling, you could show a render of the house with a new paint color and still physically stage the interior.

The Cons of Virtual Staging and Design

• I always recommend in person staging over virtual staging so buyers can make an emotional connection and envision themselves living there. The emotional connection is what causes buyers to make an offer. Buyers will never make the same emotional connection with a computer or paper image of a space as they will when seeing a beautifully staged home in person.
• When using virtually staged images on an MLS listing, it is critical to make sure it is allowed in your state, and make it clear to buyers that this is a representation of the space. Buyers may get angry or be very disappointed when they visit the home in person and it looks nothing like the advertised image. Some buyers buy online and do not get to see the home in person. Be sure you are not mis-representing the space to buyers that cannot visit it in person. Showing a photo of the real space next to the virtual space with a detailed description can help make that clear.
• If the rendering is not done accurately and to scale, it may give a false impression of how big the space is and how furniture could really fit in the rooms. Be sure to have your renders done by professionals that will make it to scale.

Be Sure to Disclose

Home staging,  virtual staging and design are great tools to help you sell your property faster and for more, or help you rent a property and attract your ideal renter.

Be truthful with buyers on the condition of the house. Check with the MLS for your state to know what is allowed before listing. And remember that all buyers do not read all the details or fine print. Things to consider:

• For realtors and home sellers, be clear and disclose that the photos you are showing are virtually staged and the property is actually vacant.
• For those creating the virtual renders, be sure not to cover problem areas with staging items.
• Be clear if the photos have made cosmetic changes and show the “design possibilities” rather than what the house actually looks like now.
• One of the best ways to disclose are to show the actual photos side by side with the virtual photos. You do not want buyers to be surprised or angry when they see the actual property.
• Photos should be realistic and not cropping out or changing things that cannot be changed, like power lines or other actual physical features surrounding the property.
• Photos should represent the actual scale or size of the space in relation to the furniture and accessories added.

Need Help?

If you would like help selling your home faster and for more, I can help you with an in person home staging consultation or staging of a vacant or occupied home, an online home staging consultation for your home or vacation rental property and virtual home staging and virtual design.

Click on the pictures to learn more about my online services and give me a call for a quote for in person staging in my service area (south-central Alaska).

Virtual Staging and Remodeling Services

I always recommend in person staging over virtual staging so buyers can make an emotional connection and envision themselves living there. Sometimes though, a space may need a lot of remodeling or updates and the seller chooses to leave that to the buyer so they can do it their way. Or the seller can not afford in person staging. Virtual staging can help buyers see the possibilities of the remodeled space or visualize the possibilities in a vacant space.  Learn more about the Pros and Cons of Virtual Staging in my blog article. Drop in renders use your well lit great photo of the vacant space. 3D renders use measurements of your vacant space with a suitable photograph for guidance. I also offer your buyers 10% off an Interior Design consultation for their new home that you can give them as a gift. See examples and Learn More.

Drop In Render- $100 per room photo. 2 Photo Minimum

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3D Render- $210 per room

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Floor Plan Added to either Package above. $30.00 per room

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Interested in learning more home staging and design tips? Get my monthly award winning blog articles and get a free report on Top Paint Colors for a Speedy and Profitable Home Sale or My Top Ten Interior Design Tips in appreciation.  Never miss a great idea!

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