Home Staging by Interiors Defined, Inc.

Why should I bother staging my home?

The simple answer is that staging will help you sell your home more quickly and for more money.  But there are many benefits to staging your home.  See the information at right to learn some of the statistical facts about why staging makes sense and works!

How does home staging make more money for the seller?

Price is ultimately determined by you and your realtor based on market conditions and other factors.  However, there is also the perceived value factor which, for a buyer who loves your home, can be totally subjective.  Home staging goes a long way toward helping increase a home’s perceived value.

Research shows that staged homes sell for more money than homes that have not been staged.  Consider this scenario:  Your home is for sale for $300,000 and it has been sitting on the market for a while.  In an effort to sell it you reduce the price by 5% ($15,000).  If you spent just 1% ($3,000) on staging to make your home more appealing and didn’t drop the price, you are $12,000 ahead of where you would have been had you dropped the price.  Every time you drop your price you lose money.

How much does it cost?

A variety of factors determine what staging your home will cost including the amount of work that may need to be done, who does the work and whether or not you need to change or add things to your home to make it appealing to buyers.

What is the best use of my staging budget?

The best use of your staging budget is to hire a stager.  A home stager will give you advice and make recommendations that will go a long way in helping you improve how your home is presented to buyers on-line and in person and that generally translates into more money in your pocket.

Why should I hire a stager to do something I could do myself?

With a trained eye as well as an understanding of the real estate market and buyer motivations, a professional home stager brings experience and a fresh, objective perspective to preparing your home for sale.  Since we are not emotionally connected to the home we can offer a more objective point of view about what needs to be done.  Most homeowners do too much or too little because they cannot objectively look at their home from the buyer’s perspective.

Does home staging mislead buyers or create false perceptions?

A home stager knows how to properly focus a buyer’s attention on your home’s best features. That is what ultimately makes a buyer fall in love with your home. While we may draw attention away from the home’s less attractive features, a professional stager should never try to mislead a buyer.  Rest assured that if something is truly wrong with a house, a capable inspector will still find it.

Does staging make more sense in an up or down real estate market?

Home staging is a valuable resource to sellers in any market condition.  While sellers don’t like the idea of putting money into home staging in a slumping or buyers market, the fact-of-the-matter is that in a down or stagnant market the buyer has far more options to choose from so your property must standout from everything else buyers will see.  Research shows that home staging makes a difference in how long your property sits on the market, and at what price.

The same idea applies in a robust or sellers market.  While in this situation demand exceeds supply, buyers know they don’t have the time to ponder a decision and generally become more aggressive about their desire to have a home they love.  Studies show that in a robust real estate market a staged home can frequently generate offers at or above the asking price.  Additionally, you may be looking to acquire a different home which may not be available if you have to sit around and wait for your home to sell.  A staged home that stands out above the others clearly has a competitive advantage and will generally command a higher and faster offer.

Remember that for every month your home sits on the market it’s costing you money.  Not only are you carrying the costs, but the longer it sits on the market the more likely you’ll be facing price reductions.  Both of these situations mean losses to your bottom line.