What is Home Staging?
Home staging is the act of preparing a private house for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money.
Vacant Homes:
Buyers are able to visualize spaces and imagine themselves living in a home when houses are furnished. The following statistics are interesting to ponder from a recent RESA study of 1081 vacant homes that were listed and later sold:
- Unstaged homes – sold in an average of 184 days.
- Homes that initially hit market unstaged but were later staged – sold in an average of 41 days after being staged.
- Staged homes (that were staged prior to going on the market) – sold on average in 23 days.
Occupied Homes:
Occupied homes can also be staged by improving room layout, simplifying spaces, and adding contemporary accessories (area carpets, canvas prints, room decor). Occupied homes can be transformed into showhome-like houses with relative ease. RESA’s (Real Estate Staging Association) research shows that:
- Staged homes sell 73% faster than non-staged homes
- 90% of buyers will decide whether to book a showing or not based on the appeal of the photos they see online
- Some stats say that staged homes sell for up to 6% higher than their non-staged counterparts.
There are many statistics and articles on the value of staging, but the point of the matter is that staging will make a difference in how potential buyers will like your home. If your home appeals to buyers then it will sell quickly and as close to your asking price as possible … and if your home does not appeal to buyers then your home may see several price reductions over the course of time, with each price reduction being significantly more costly than the initial cost of staging would have been right at the get-go.
There are many types of staging services, ranging from a simple redo of one’s home using accessories and furniture already within the home … to complete house outfitting including all new furniture and accessory items. Prices start at a few hundred dollars and go up to several thousand depending on what you are after.
Staging a home matters as it makes a difference to how fast a home sells and what price it sells for. It is optional of course, but the basic package is included at no charge with each of Andrea’s listings to make it an easy decision for seller clients. Andrea knows some of the best staging providers in the Calgary region and will be happy to connect you with them for a free consultation.
Examples of before/after staging are shown below:
Example 1 (no paint; full furniture rental package for three months)
First example is of a home in Valley Ridge that was fully furnished with older style furniture. The home looked ok, but owners decided to do a full-refurnish of the home using more contemporary furniture and accessories to appeal to younger buyers. Home was not painted nor were there any other improvements prior to staging. Staging company came in and house was set up in less than a day. Approximate cost was $2000/month and home sold within three months after after being staged in a very difficult market where many homes in this price range didn’t sell at all.
Living Room:
Master Bedroom:
Study:
Bonus Room:
Example 2 (full paint; no furniture rental; helped owners shop for new furniture/accessories):
Second example is of an Air Ranch home in Okotoks. This one had an old-world beauty in its original form, but after a brief consultation with owners we decided to freshen it up using new paint and new accessories to appeal to younger families who would likely be on the market to purchase something like this in the spring. Home was repainted using a very light shade of grey. Owners didn’t want to rent furniture from a staging company, but were open to buying new accessories to freshen up the home for re-sale (and they were keen to use these accessories in their new home they were moving to). We spent several days with them shopping and subsequently set up the home using their new items. The transformation was incredible … and the home sold within two weeks! Cost of painting home was about $6000, while cost of staging items purchased for the home is unknown but all items were kept by home owners for their own use.
Example 3 (full paint; furniture rental for one month):
Third example is of a small townhome in NW Calgary. Homeowner was already in the process of moving out by the time we looked at this home, so after a brief consultation we decided to paint it to freshen up the space and also to stage it using furniture and accessories in all main spaces of the home. The transformation was yet again incredible … and we sold within three weeks (at $15,000 higher than other identical units within the complex)! Cost of painting home was about $2000, while cost of staging to home owner for one month was approximately $800.
Living Room:
Dining Room Area:
Example 4 (no paint; no furniture rental; basic staging using owners’ accessories):
The fourth example shows a home that had a light staging package, where home owner chose to not bring in new items from a staging company but simply to use furniture and accessories already in her house. This included space planning, moving around of furniture, removal of personal items, decluttering, and finding accessories suitable for a younger buyer. This was 6 hours of staging, and as Andrea covers the first six hours of staging time it didn’t cost anything to seller client.
Living Room:
Master Bedroom:
Example 5 (full paint; full furniture rental for one month):
This example shows how empty homes show better furnished than unfurnished … and therefore sell faster and for a better price. Before photos show original state of home before buyer bought it … this person than subsequently repainted a few rooms, installed a few new fixtures, staged it and sold it within two weeks a few months later for significantly more money.
Living Room:
Master Bedroom:
A few more examples, provided by Transcend Staging & Interiors:
Photos below are before-and-afters done of various homes by local staging company Transcend Staging & Interiors. Transcend takes on both vacant homes where full furnishing plans are implemented as well as occupied homes where they partial furniture plans are implemented (incorporating these with owners’ own furniture).
Does staging matter? Yes, it does. Staging makes homes more appealing to potential buyers, and therefore staged homes tend to sell faster and closer to original asking price than their non-staged counterparts. Staging can vary greatly from the addition of a few accessory items to full furnishing of entire home.
Connect with Andrea to see what options may work for your home. Andrea offers a complimentary basic staging package with each of her listings to her seller clients.
