Why Home Staging is a Worthwhile INVESTMENT
For most of us, our home is our biggest asset. And when we go to sell our homes we hope to make as much money as possible. Properly preparing your home for sale before listing is a smart investment.
Remember, you only get one chance to make a great first impression! Spending just a few hundred - to a few thousand dollars prior to listing could add thousands onto the sale price.
The Real Estate Staging Association or RESA, the national association for home stagers, recommends spending 1-3% of the list price of a home on staging. RESA published that sellers can expect a 5-10% return on that investment in the increase in list price.
So, let’s take a closer look at that. Let’s say your house is a hot mess; cluttered, dated kitchen, dirty exterior and worn furnishings. But you still want to list for top dollar.
Option 1: A home stager can offer recommendations during a consultation for a very minimal fee for a couple of hours. Then the homeowner can choose to carry out as many of those ideas as reasonable for them. This option may save the homeowner money upfront but it could take weeks or months for the homeowner to complete the recommendations on their own.
Option 2: The homeowner may choose to move out completely before listing, then have the home professionally cleaned inside and outside and vacant staged. The cost of professional deep cleaning and power washing will vary, as does the cost to stage a vacant property. Let’s say the interior cleaning was $400, plus power washing the exterior and touch up some paint – round it up to $1000. The vacant stage was $2,400 for three full rooms and a welcoming porch entryway. So the total investment here is $3,400. That $3,400 cost came with little effort from the homeowner other than a few phone calls.
That investment could add $15K-$30K in value to the home!
How much does staging cost?
Hiring a professional stager, is a smart investment. The cost of that investment varies based on the condition and size of the home and by how much you want the stager to do.
A 2 hour consultation is $200. This $200 investment is a great choice for homeowners who have help from friends or neighbors and some DIY capabilities. This is a good fit for homeowners whose furniture is clean and not too dated.
The average cost of vacant staging runs about $2,000-$3,200 for 1 month depending on the number of rooms and scale of the home. This cost would cover one month of the furniture being in the home with additional months available at a reduced rate. This type of staging investment is best for a busy homeowner who doesn’t want to deal with the stress of trying to stage their home themselves, a homeowner will little interior style or a person with mobility or health problems who can’t physically do the work to prepare their home.
Staged homes sell faster and for a higher price than un-staged homes by appealing to the most buyers and standing out from the competition. On closing day, the investment of home staging will have been well worth it.
Still not Sold on the value of home staging?
If you have any questions about home staging, feel free to contact me below. If you’d like to see the information directly from the source, click here to read the report from the National Association of Realtors.
