One of the biggest lessons we were taught as children was to not judge a book by it’s cover but that is not the case when buying a house! First Impressions can make a world of difference on a buyer’s decision making process.
Home staging is one of the most effective decisions you can make to maximize the selling price of your property and get it sold faster. According to a report by BMO Financial Group on the “Psychology of House Hunting,” 80% of prospective buyers know if a home is right for them within the first few seconds of stepping inside. Which means you have one shot to get it right. Staging provides that extra oomph to direct your potential buyers into imagining themselves in the home to get your home sold.
Sell Your House for More Money
Staging a home makes your house more desirable to buyers, which translates to a higher perceived value of the home and higher offers. According to The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), 85% of staged homes sold between 5-23% over list price. RESA found that with a typical investment of 1% of list price with a professional stager has given 75% of sellers a Return of Investment of 5-15%. A professional stager’s job is to provide an unbiased viewpoint and offer advice to help sell fast and for the most money.
Buyers find the staging of the living room (47%), master bedroom (42%) and the kitchen (35%) to be the most important when viewing a home. Staging helps them to visualize themselves living in and using these spaces most. They want to be able to answer questions like: “Is the home an ideal place for a growing family?” “Is this room perfect for a live-work space?” and, most importantly, “How will my furniture work in this room?”.
Your first priority when selling your home is to make it look as inviting as possible, in-person and online. A buyer’s first impression starts at your online listing, and the expectation is carried through to the showing. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 95% of buyers use the Internet during their home search, with 40% more willing to tour a home that was staged that they viewed online. If your listing photos are too cluttered or don’t show the space properly and proportionately, they might not go look at it in person.
Before After
Sell Your House Faster
When you want to sell, you want to sell ASAP. The longer a listing sits on the market, the lower the offers will be. RESA found that staged homes spend 90% less time on the market than unstaged homes. Their study looked at 1,081 homes for sale and found that staged homes before listening sold in an average of 23 days, compared to completely unstaged homes, which sold in an average of 184 days on the market. The longer your house sits on the market, the more likely you are to have to consider a price reduction – one that very likely outweighs the cost of staging.
Before After
Great Houses Deserve to be Staged
Prepping your home for sale with staging not only offers the opportunity for a quick, easy, and immediate return on your investment, but extremely necessary in some markets. When a buyer can see your home as their home and get excited about each space without the distraction of poor styling, they are more likely to make a competitive offer.
Staging sells! So what are you waiting for? Contact us for a consultation.