Getting homes dressed to sell
Want your home to sell fast, but too busy working and raising three children? Stagers help put best face on slow-moving houses. Turn to a home stager, who will rearrange furniture and add flowers and rugs to make your home more appealing to prospective buyers!
Professional stagers curb clutter, rearrange furniture and perform minor makeovers aimed at boosting sales prices and shaving the time it takes to sell properties.
About a quarter of homes nationwide were sold last year after being staged by a professional - up from 10 percent five years ago, according to the International Association of Home Staging Professionals.
The trend toward staging has been fueled, in part, by the proliferation of home improvement television shows and the challenge facing sellers seeking to distinguish their houses in a crowded market.
The average charge for a consultation is $100 to $300, which pays for a stager to take photos of rooms and compile a report that lists suggested improvements. Costs rise - $5,000 and up for staging multiple rooms and renting furniture for a couple of months - depending on the number of projects undertaken.
Remember, you have about three to five seconds to grab buyers, and it’s critical because buyers right now don’t want to do a lot of home improvement work.
Homes staged before being listed sold for almost 6 percent more than homes that were listed, staged and then sold, according to a study by stagedhomes.com. Several stagers have noticed a growing willingness among sellers to spend money preparing their home for a sale. The investment, which can range from $86 to paint a room to more than $1,000 to rent and stage furniture - is minuscule compared to the potential drop in a home’s asking price after lingering unsold on the market, stagers say.
You can’t afford not to invest. If you don’t, your house is going to sit on the market. The potential return is worth the investment. In a better housing market, sellers could list their homes with unpainted rooms or dingy carpet. No more now. With more competition, you have one chance to make a first impression.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:41 am
If you ask me whether it is worth “dressing up your home”, I will say YES. Home staging is only one way to maximize your investment that can be done 1) in just a few days, 2) can cost less than a plane ticket, and 3) won’t involve copious amounts of dust and contractor bills.
June 18th, 2007 at 8:22 am
I don’t think staging plays such a great role! For sure, it plays one, but the main thing is about the house itself - walls, roof, windows. It can easily be re-decorated, but not re-built. I really think you overestimate staging.