Broadening your home’s appeal

Special to 318 Forum

When you list your house for sale, your real estate agent may recommend staging to show your home in its best light.

This is even more true if you must move out before a home is under contract. Homes generally show better furnished than empty.

How a Home is Staged

Homes are staged by decluttering, cleaning, arranging furniture and adding or subtracting (or both) decor to help buyers visualize themselves in the space. This is often done by a staging company, professionals who may have a warehouse full of furniture and other accessories to pull from. They often use softer, neutral palettes to broaden a home’s appeal and to emphasize the best aspects of a home.

Staging companies may require a minimum contract of, say, three months, even if the home sells more quickly. But bear in mind an empty home is already accruing costs in utility bills and other expenses, so depending on your market, staging may be a good deal.

Who Pays for Staging

That depends on your agent and market. Some agents pay for staging out of their own pocket so that homes sell more quickly. Sellers may also opt to pick up the bill, particularly if they will be moving before the home is under contract. According to Curbio, the average cost to stage a real estate listing is $2,000 or more, and almost a quarter of agents say they’ve paid for staging themselves. Sellers or agents may incur furniture and decor rental costs, which can range from $500-$600 per month.

It could pay off. The National Association of Realtors say 20% of buyers’ agents report that staging a home increased the dollar value offered for a property between 1-5% compared to other, similar homes that were not staged.

Technology

Nowadays, some staging may be done just for pictures using artificial intelligence (AI). AI tools take photos of the property and add virtual furniture and accessories to make online pictures more appealing to buyers. This may be a more cost-effective way to stage a property to entice buyers without having to shell out for the real deal. AI tools have advanced and are often now indistinguishable from real staged properties in photos.