HOME STAGING ROI: WHY HOME STAGING IS WORTH THE COST
by Krystina Maloney
In our first post in our Home Staging Series, guest blogger Lori Matzke offers her advice on why home staging is a good investment when selling your home and why it’s worth the cost to work with a professional home stager.
Read what she has to say and see for yourself:
“When I started professionally staging homes back in 1999, home staging was typically considered a ‘last resort’ for many people. After all other efforts had been exhausted, the price of the home had already dropped significantly or the agent was just days away from losing the listing, they’d finally cave in and give me a call. Many of my clients were unsure of what staging really was. Most of them were willing to try anything at that point and all of them were quite frantic. Home staging was a much tougher sell back then and I never understood why.
The concept of staging a house to sell creates a win-win situation for both the seller and the buyer. In turn, staging contributes toward the sale of the home. The goal for the seller is to gain as much interest in the property from as many potential buyers as possible. They also want to sell the house quickly for the best price. On the other hand, a potential buyer wants to find a house they truly love, would feel good about buying and would be proud to call home. Staging helps bridge the gap between the seller and the buyer, creating the perfect opportunity for both.
As any Realtor can attest, “A home that shows well, sells!”, which is why those first few weeks on the market are absolutely crucial! New listings always generate the most activity and typically see the most showings. For that reason, I am a huge advocate of staging the home first and promoting it to the marketplace second. Once a potential buyer has seen the house, they’ve seen it! And if they don’t like what they see, they won’t be back for a second look. But when a property shows well from the start, it creates a momentum and sense of urgency among buyers, giving the seller a marketable advantage over the competition.
Selling a house is one of the largest financial transactions most homeowners will ever be involved in. Ensuring the home is properly staged to make a positive first impression is the key to grabbing and maintaining a potential buyer’s attention to garner an offer. The last thing any seller wants is for their home to linger on the market, inviting price drops and bargain hunters. Finding the right home stager and making that initial investment not only saves time and ensures a home will show its best, but will be one less hurdle for sellers to overcome between putting a house on the market and actually selling a house.
After staging hundreds of homes, I cannot think of a single house that hasn’t seen the benefits of home staging and reaped the rewards. Most received offers within days or weeks, not months. Many frequently sell for more than the asking price when a bidding war erupts! As for those clients who’ve called me in as a last resort, their number one question has been, “Why didn’t we call you sooner?” Home staging gives sellers the best advantage possible when their home is on the market. Professional staging is a small investment to make considering the potential payback. It ranks right up there with finding a good Realtor® and pricing the house right. It should always be one of the first things anyone selling a home should consider.”