What is home staging?

What is home staging? Home staging is the process of decluttering, depersonalizing, and showcasing the listed property so that it can be successfully marketed to the mass public, intending to reduce the days on the market and increase profitability.

Once the home goes on the market, it is no longer a personal home. The home becomes a house – which is a product that must be well-merchandised and marketed. This "product" is a big-ticket item and requires excellent marketing skills to gain the most amount of money for the sale of the property. 

Similar to a big brand name launching a new product, efforts must go into the packaging of the house to provide appeal and desire for the prospective buyer.

It’s a process of first determining the specific target audience so that the staging can line up with the perceived lifestyle of the prospective buyer. The list of items may include:

·         Upgrading the furniture and décor accessories

·         Placing an office within the home

·         Showcasing décor based on lifestyle (such as creating an exercise room)

·         Setting up a game room for a family

·         Creating a dream patio for retired life

Each room within the house must be easily definable for its purpose.

A bedroom would have a bed, end tables, and dresser as a focal point.  Those are easy to determine the room’s purpose!  However, some houses have bonus rooms or little alcoves/nooks. There is a myriad of options for staging these.

A room may be home staged so that buyers can visualize a place for their families to watch TV, or a space for family time and playing games and doing puzzles. The same room may be home staged to feature a workout room, a hobby room, or a baby’s nursery.

The inspiration from home staging helps the prospective buyer imagine how the house can work for them.  An astounding 81% of buyers find it easier to visualize a property as their future home when it is staged with furnishings and accessories. 

Why stage a home for sale

As famed real estate mogul and host of Shark Tank Barbara Corcoran says about why stage a home, “It’s got to look beautiful if you want the buyer to come in and make a bid.” 

The competition on the Internet for a home for sale is fierce. Buying a home is perhaps the biggest investment that most people make. The house, which is for sale, has to stand out and create an emotional appeal so intense that the prospective buyer does not hesitate to make an offer to the seller.

Perceptions are critical to the sale of the home. Home staging successfully allows many of these perceptions to be extremely positive or downplays the negatives and thus influences buyers in their decision-making process.

Staging Studio, in a detailed training course created for certifying Staging Design Professionals, teaches its students that home staging affects the perception of a home in a variety of ways:

·         Increases the perception of size

·         Increases the perceived value

·         Downplays the perceived negatives

·         Accentuates the perceived positives

·         Enhances the perceived condition

·         Promotes a perceived lifestyle

Home staging is effective, it doesn’t have to break the bank, and it’s necessary for making the most profit in a short time on the market.

Staging a home for quick sale

Staging a home for a quick sale is typically one of the two end goals of most homeowners, realtors, and brokers. Of course, profitability is the number one goal, and home staging produces outstanding results.

Without home staging, a house can sit stagnant on the market for months, many times even longer. Realtor.com shares that staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more.

A home staging statistic even more astounding by Bankrate.com is the return on investment for staging which is a staggering 586%.

Home staging tips for realtors

Home staging tips for realtors can help their sellers identify the "to-do list" to prepare for the staging day.  These steps to prepare for staging an upcoming listed property are necessary and vital to the success of the marketing of the house for sale. A realtor should educate their client on the following home staging tips for best results of a fast and quick sale of their home:

·         Declutter all counters, cabinets, closets. Less is more!

·         Start packing early to help minimize the amount of décor, personal items, hobby collections, etc.

·         Remove personal items such as pictures, diplomas, certificates – anything personal that would cause a prospective buyer to not be able to imagine themselves living in the home

·         Clean everything, including carpet, appliances, windows, and ceiling fans.  Seriously, this is a BIG issue and cannot be stressed enough

·         Mow yards, trim oversized bushes, pull dead plants out and replace

·         Make necessary repairs before the house is listed

Home staging has been in effect for more than 40 years, with the self-proclaimed originator being Barb Schwarz.  As an extremely successful realtor, professional speaker, home staging trainer, and extraordinaire home stager herself, her success in staging thousands of homes has prompted the real estate industry to stand up and take notice:

Home Staging works – and it's no longer just a consideration to use a home stager, but it's a necessity for optimum profitability and a quick sale of the property.

Warmest regards,

Alicia Bausley
Certified Staging Design Professional™
Decorating Solutions by Alicia