RIS Media

10 July 2017

Home staging offers a distinct advantage for sellers: a speedy sale.

Sixty-two percent of sellers’ brokers believe staging a home cuts down the time it spends on-market, with the majority believing it “greatly” reduces the window, according to the new 2017 Profile of Home Staging from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Seventy-seven percent of buyers’ brokers believe staging a home helps buyers envision themselves living in it, and 40 percent believe it prompts buyers who first saw the home online to visit it in person.

Staging can also have a positive effect on home value. Thirty-one percent of buyers’ brokers and 29 percent of sellers’ brokers believe it adds anywhere from 1 to 5 percent, while 13 percent of buyers’ brokers believe 6 to 10 percent and 21 percent of sellers’ brokers believe 8 to 10 percent.

Buyers’ agents caution, however, that staging is only beneficial if the home is staged to appeal to general, not specific, preferences. Most buyers’ and sellers’ brokers believe the living room is a key space to stage, as well as the kitchen, the master bedroom and the yard. They also believe de-cluttering, depersonalizing and a deep clean—beyond staging—are essential for a show-ready home.

Thirty-eight percent of sellers’ brokers stage all of their listings before placing them on the market, while 14 percent only stage listings that require it. A near-even 37 percent do not stage their listings at all.

“REALTORS® know how important it is for buyers to be able to picture themselves living in a home and, according to NAR’s most recent report, staging a home makes that process much easier for potential buyers,” says NAR President Bill Brown. “While all real estate is local, and many factors play into what a home is worth and how much buyers are willing to pay for it, staging can be the extra step sellers take to help sell their home more quickly and for a higher dollar value.”