Staging Your Home in a Good Real Estate Market
Should you stage your home in a good real estate market is the question asked at every listing meeting.
The answer to this question is always the same for every seller. Maybe? And yes we are now in a very good real estate market.
Why stage a home in the first place? They way we live in a home and the way we present it to the public can be very different. Your rooms may not flow or the colors may be colors that only you could love. The bottom line is that you are trying to present the home for sale in the best possible way and appeal to the widest possible audience. Many times this means making changes.
Staged home
Let’s face it staging your home in a good real estate market is not always necessary. My philosophy is and always has been why spend money unless you really need to. To be totally honest some homes just don’t need staging while others need staging plus a lot more. We all have friends with the “perfect home.” Their homes don’t need anything and already show like a model home. Other homes are showing their age with deferred maintenance and carpet and furniture from the 1970’s. See Best Tips for Selling Your Parker Home Fast.
“Staging isn’t cheap but staging a home to sell has a proven track record for getting sellers more money for their homes and generally selling with fewer days on market.”
If you look at the trends of the current real estate market homes are selling really quickly. Supply is low and demand is up so the need to have the home staged to attract buyers is not really there.
Staging your home in a good real estate market may be needed if you are trying to sell at the very top of the listing price range. Who reading this article doesn’t want to go to your neighbor and tell them you just set the record in your neighborhood for highest sales price? That would be fun!
The reality of this situation is that in every case the answer is different. A professional Realtor that is actually selling homes in the market you live in will know the answer.
- If you live in a neighborhood with 300 homes in a highly desirable area you probably would only consider staging your home in a good real estate market to hit the maximum sales price possible.
- If your house is 15 years old with 10 year old carpet, old paint and hand me down furniture you will need to consider staging your home in a good real estate market to attract buyers and also gain a higher sales price. You will also need to spend money on correcting the deferred maintenance like paint and flooring before the house is staged.
- If your friends regularly tell you that you live in a show home then you probably just need a little cleaning and you are good to go put your home up for sale.
Deferred maintenance is one of the number one deal killers in real estate. Staging cannot overcome years of neglect on a property. The house must first be clean and well kept before you can stage it. Staging is not the “golden pill” to selling a home but it can be an important piece of the puzzle to getting a home sold faster and for more money.
Here are a few examples of home staging.
- I’ve seen just one room staged in a house. I don’t really agree with just staging one room.
- Some home staging companies come in and stage the entire house from top to bottom. This is expensive and can be a good idea for some sellers depending on your budget.
- Vacant home staging with a virtual tour and computerized graphics can be an option too. It’s much less expensive and at least it gives the buyer an idea of what furniture will fit in the rooms.
- The most popular and best [in my opinion] is when a staging company comes in and rearranges your current furniture and accessorizes the house. This is not as expensive and can really make a house pop if you are working with a good designer.
The costs associated with proper staging can be in the many thousands of dollars so you better be working with a competent Realtor and Home Staging Company that can tell you whether spending the money will be worth it.