When listing a home, is professional staging necessary?
What’s really being asked here is: can a property be sold without it being professionally staged?
The short answer is, yes it can. There’s a buyer out there for every property if and when they deem the price they’re willing to pay equals the value they will get. What this means is that your listing can be sold without it being professionally staged, but it may take longer, and your client may not always be able to get the price they’re after.
It all boils down to perceived value – by both buyer and seller.
For example, in cooler markets, professional staging could help your listing get noticed first and snapped up, quicker. According to stagedhome.com, home staging can help to reduce a property’s listing time on the market by 30% to 50% and could deliver a price that is 6% to 20% more than a vacant home or a home that’s not properly staged.
But at what cost?
Home staging has been around for a long time for luxury properties, but it really took off and became popular as a real estate marketing strategy in the late 2000s when real estate became a buyer’s market.
Based on stats from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), staging a 2,000 – 2,500 sq. ft. vacant property can run from $3,000 to $7,000 in Ontario. Staging an occupied property of similar size can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, depending on the condition on the homeowner’s furniture.
If your clients have been living in their home for a while and own outdated or uncared for furniture and décor, buyers will have a harder time picturing themselves or their belongings there, especially if the space is cluttered and filled with worn furnishings.
A professional stager’s job is to provide an unbiased viewpoint and offer advice to help optimize the space. The primary objective is to help sellers sell by helping buyers visualize the property’s potential and themselves living there.
If a professional staging service is not within budget, my recommendation, at minimum, is to advise the clients to de-clutter every living space, including the garage, by a minimum of 30% to 50%.
More from CREA Café:
- Home Organization Tips
- Survey: What Should Your Sellers Do to Get Ready to List?
- 12 Spring Cleaning Tips
So, in short, yes you can sell a property that’s not staged, but the more you and your client(s) put into the preparation of the property, the greater the potential benefits.
What are your favourite staging tips? Tell us in the Comments below.
Join Nina Doiron for Staging to Sell, What Every Agent Should Know, a course hosted by the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS® on September 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more.
