Designed to sell
Last year I was the listing agent for a home for sale in a subdivision of houses that were all the same, you know what I mean. Homes in the subdivision were on the market for an average 42 days and the average sale price was $138,000. In preparation for putting the house on the market I highly recommended to my sellers that we stage their home. We discussed home staging costs and the potential return. They agreed and I staged. My sellers received a full price offer within a few hours of going on the market and were under contract within 24 hours. The sale price was 18% over the average in that neighborhood. Oh, I almost forgot! There were 5 other houses for sale in the same neighborhood. Boom!Home staging costs
The hardest thing for home sellers to accept is the upfront home staging cost. Home staging costs can vary but according to National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) home sellers should expect to pay about 1-3% of the listed sale price. (NAR survey reveals that a 1 – 3% investment on home staging yields 8 – 10% return). As a home stager I generally agree with the percentages from NAR but I must add that staging your home for sale is unique from staging any other home and pricing completely depends on what each home styling calls for.
Paying for home staging
Nationally there are different statistics on how and when the service of home staging is paid for. Speaking only for my business practice. I collect payment for house staging at time of providing the service.
Home staging statistics
In my experience as a realtor, yes! But I am also a stager, so here are some convincing statistics. According to homestangingresource.com “over 3,500 homes sold this year, homes that were professionally staged sold on average for over 10% more than the comparable, unstaged homes in the neighborhood!” Let’s do the math, if you’re selling your home for $200,000 you make $20,000 more than if you didn’t stage it. Real estate staging association – professionally staged homes spent 72% less time on the market. Sell it faster in a slower market and get more offers in a high demand market.
I stage homes because I love it! See my last blog, stellahome.com/home-stager. Why should you stage your home? Because it draws buyers in and has proven to sell homes faster and! for a higher price. Please share your experiences with staging your home. Or let me know if you have questions about staging your home for sale.
