Staging & Presentation

A friend recently commented “Andrea, selling a home these days is like a beauty contest!”.  I chuckled, but then there definitely seems to be some truth to this …

I am a realtor and see hundreds of homes each year.  I am convinced that staged homes tend to fare better in our market than their un-staged counterparts.  

IS FREE STAGING INCLUDED WITH MY LISTINGS?

Light staging is, YES.  My seller clients in YYC area receive a basic staging package, which includes 8 hours of onsite work + use of dozens of staging items completely FREE.  This entails my hiring of a stager and working with sellers’ own furniture PLUS complimentary use of $500-$1500 value of staging accessories I bring into the home for duration of listing.  The vast majority of homes I list are prepared for market this way, thereby not costing my clients anything.

Full staging & furniture rental –  If you are looking for more than basic staging, meaning more than the 8 hours of onsite work and/or more than $500-$1500 of complimentary staging accessories, then I will work with you to plan out the best strategy for your home.  This may be anything from grabbing a few items secondhand (off of Marketplace) that you can resell down the road for sae price, to renting out furniture from a rental agency (though this can cost between $1800-$2500 per month and can add up).  Whatever you choose, my goal is to make the most impact with the least amount of expense.

See photos below of basic staging & full staging of both vacant and owner occupied homes I prepared, listed and sold at the bottom of this page.

DOES STAGING MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

YES!  Home staging is the act of preparing a home for sale. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers as possible.  In the buyer’s market that we currently have in Calgary area, there are more houses for sale than buyers looking to buy … meaning  that not all homes will sell. The ones that will sell are the ones that are the most appealing to buyers in terms of  looks, location, and price.

RESA’s (Real Estate Staging Association) research shows that:

  • Staged homes sell for up to 6% higher than their non-staged counterparts.  This is simply because homes that appeal to buyers sell faster, while others with less appeal sit on market for longer and can face several price reductions before they sell.
  • 90% of buyers will decide whether to book a showing or not based on the appeal of the photos they see online.
  • Occupied homes – staged homes sell 73% faster than non-staged homes
  • Vacant homes – unstaged vacant homes sold in an average of 184 days; while vacant homes that were staged prior to going on the market sold in an average of 23 days.

Below are some fun transformation photos showing both the complimentary ‘Light Staging Package’ and other ‘Full Staging Packages’.


LIGHT STAGING (OCCUPIED)

LIGHT (OCCUPIED) 1 – Downtown Condo 

This downtown condo had great bones, stunning setting, and awesome furniture to work with.  All we had to was add a few things to complete the look.  Clients purchased a handful of new items they wanted to keep, and we brought in the rest for temporary staging … and within four hours the space was transformed.  Professional photos & video, followed by aggressive marketing in a tough market did the trick, and in the end this was one of only two listings sold of the 27 active units in this building.  Presentation makes all the difference! Link to my listing with all photos is HERE.

Entrance Before/After

Living Room Before/After

Bedroom Before/After

Den Before/After


LIGHT (OCCUPIED) 2 – Bungalow Villa 

Clients were frustrated by lack of offers after being on the market for many months prior to me meeting with them.  Rather than dropping the price, we made a plan to make a few changes and put home back on market for same price as it had been marketed a few months before with another brokerage.  Changes included the painting of main floor and the purchase of a second hand sofa.  We then staged, using sellers’ own furniture mixed in with my staging accessories (chairs, canvas prints, mirrors, cushions, throws, greenery, trays, art, etc).  Painting started on Monday, and home was completely ready and staged by Friday.  We received offer within few days of hitting MLS.  Link to my listing with all photos is HERE.

  • Improvements prior to staging – painted main floor ($2000)
  • Second hand grey sofa (purchased then resold $400)
  • Cost of staging to seller – $0
  • Total preparation time – painting 4 days, staging 1 day
  • Offer received – four days after listing home

Living Room Before & After

Dining Room Before & After

Master Bedroom Before & After

Basement Bedroom Before & After

LIGHT (OCCUPIED) 3 – Small Two Story Home 

After meeting with home owners for a consultation, we decided that best plan for this listing was to paint main floor area followed by a light staging package that wouldn’t cost my sellers anything.  Home was thus staged using seller’s furniture as well as temporary staging items.   Link to all photos & listing is HERE.

  • Improvements prior to staging – painted main floor ($1000)
  • Cost of staging to seller – $0
  • Total preparation time – painting 3 days, staging 1 day
  • Offer received – within 1st week

Living Room Before & After

Dining Room Before & After

Master Bedroom Before & After

Bonus Room Before & After


LIGHT STAGING (VACANT)

LIGHT (VACANT) 1 – Large Family Home

This home had been rented for a year and renters had just left when sellers called me.  Sellers had a couch and love seat in living room to work with, as well as a couch and a bed in the basement.  We made a plan to find a three more items (dining room set, mattress for master bedroom, and one area carpet) for the house, and that I would bring in the balance of items to stage the home free of charge.  We then did a simple ‘vacant stage’ using a few key furniture items, dozens of cushions & throws, over 15 pieces of canvas art and plenty of artificial greenery.     It took one weekend for my sellers to paint and clean after renters vacated, one day to gather some basic furniture pieces on Marketplace, and one day for my team to stage & photograph the home … we listed it a day later, and had a firm sale within two weeks.  Link to my listing with all photos is HERE.


LIGHT (VACANT) 2 – Townhome 

Client painted interior walls with light colours throughout.  We then did a simple ‘vacant stage’ using porch furniture, cushions, canvas art and artificial greenery.     It took a few days to paint and clean, and about four hours to stage the home … received an offer within a few weeks of being listed, despite slow market at the time.  Link to my listing with all photos is HERE.


BASIC (VACANT) 3 – Acreage Bungalow 

Clients had their home on market for five months without a sale (with another agent), so after taking it off the market they decided to switch gears and explore a new approach.   Home was painted with light colours throughout, and once vacant we did a simple ‘vacant stage’ using porch furniture, cushions, canvas art and artificial greenery.     It took just over a week to prepare home.  We received seven showing requests within first 24hrs of listing, and an offer on fifth day.  What made the difference visually?  Painting and staging.  Link to my listing with all photos is HERE.

  • Improvements prior to staging – painted home ($6500)
  • Cost of staging to seller – $0
  • Total preparation time – painting 1 week, staging 1 day
  • Offer received – five days after listing home


FULL STAGING

While most seller clients choose my complimentary ‘Basic Staging Package’ as this option doesn’t cost them anything, there are those who decide that an entirely new look will yield best results.  This can be helpful if the home has been a rental home, if the home is vacant, or if interior is very outdated.  Renting furniture for a home can range between $1500-$2500/month.  See two examples below, one for an executive home and the other for a starter home where full furniture package was rented by my clients.

FULL 1 – Executive Home 

This home in Valley Ridge had been renter-occupied and was furnished with older style furniture … while some rooms weren’t furnished at all.  The home looked ok, but given that this was in an estate area with high priced homes, owners decided to ask renters to leave and to do a full furniture rental and staging to appeal to estate home buyers.  They chose to do this rather than painting, as they felt that properly setting up the rooms will be a better bang for the dollar.  Note this home sold in a very difficult market where many homes in this price range ($900,000-$1,200,000) didn’t sell at all.  Link to original listing with all photos is HERE.

  • Improvements prior to staging – none
  • Cost of staging to seller – $2000/month for 3 months
  • Total preparation time – 1 day
  • Offer received – in 3 months

Living Room 

Fireplace Sitting Area 

Dining Area

Study 

Master Bedroom 

Bonus Room 


FULL 2 – Small Townhome

This final example is of a small townhome in NW Calgary.  Homeowner was already in the process of redoing flooring and moving out by the time I 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 for significantly more than other identical units within the complex!  Link to original listing is HERE.

  • Improvements prior to staging – painting (about $2000)
  • Cost of staging to seller – $800 
  • Preparation time – 1 week for painting, 1 day for staging
  • Offer received – within 3 weeks

Living Room Before/After

Dining Room Before/After

Master Bedroom Before/After:



Staging a home matters.  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 my listings to make it an easy decision for seller clients.