Staging Pays Off!

A home for sale needs to look its best so it will sell for top dollar.  Buyers want houses that are clean, spacious, well maintained, and with space to accommodate all their needs.  In the past, sellers were personally responsible for prepping their own homes prior to listing.  However, times have changed!  An entire industry of  professional home stagers now exists to provide precisely this service.  A properly staged home appeals to a wider pool of buyers, which in turn allows it to sell more quickly and for more money than it would otherwise.

When realtors suggest staging, sellers may initially question whether this additional out of pocket expense is really needed when the market is good.  Well, the numbers don’t lie – staged homes spent 83% less time on the market than non-staged homes according to HomeGain.com.  Trulia says that listings that are staged and priced competitively sell at minimum 50% faster than non-staged properties do.  Both those statistics are significant since the longer a home stays on the market the more likely a price reduction may be.  According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is between 1 and 3% of the home’s asking price, but generates an average return of 8 to 10%.  That’s definitely a worthwhile financial investment!

Incredibly, most buyers form an opinion about a home within the first 7-10 seconds of arriving.  And yet, its estimated that only 10% of home buyers can visualize the potential in a home. That means 90% just can’t see past personalized wall colors, clutter, poor furniture placement and other minor imperfections.  Nearly 90% of buyers now research homes online before visiting them – and the internet is where visuals really matter!   Bottom line?  Making a strong first impression is always vital whether the market is slow or strong.

Experienced stagers with an unbiased eye can quickly and effectively transform a home to highlight its strengths and downplay weaknesses.  (Often, after living in your home for years, you’ve grown accustomed to seeing things a certain way and you might easily overlook negatives that a buyer would notice immediately).  With all the many tasks involved in moving and selling homes, hiring a professional also means one less headache for an overwhelmed homeowner.  Some 0f the most effective things stagers do is reduce clutter, depersonalize rooms, maximize furniture layouts, strategically accessorize, improve lighting, add curb appeal and suggest paint colors that best show the spaces.  For empty properties, stagers can also supply attractive furniture to decorate key rooms.  This important step helps buyers visualize how a room might look if they lived there and it may well mean the difference between them passing on a home or buying it!

Remember, not all homes need all these services.  Your realtor has seen enough properties to know what staging steps might benefit your property.   No matter what you decide, it’s a worthwhile conversation to have when thinking about selling one of your most valuable assets!

To discuss whether or not your home could benefit from staging, please contact us at Mendosa-Balboni & Associates Fine Properties.  www.mendosabalboni.com, 978-341-5400