Is home staging worth the investment? The short answer is a resounding YES. IF it’s done well! Professional staging is well worth the money and will nearly ALWAYS net you more than you invested, if you factor in a much shorter time on the market and therefore less monthly carrying costs like mortgage, utilities, and maintenance, it’s a no brainer!

Costs and Benefits of Staging

Staging usually costs between 1% and 3% of the property value and results in sales averaging 5% and 20% more than unstaged properties AND a much faster sale. You don’t even need math skills to see that 1% to 3% is significantly less than the potential value increase of 5% to 20%! And properties that stay on the market too long result in price reductions to generate renewed interest and leave buyers with the impression something must be wrong with the property if it isn’t selling resulting in lower offers if there are indeed any offers at all. The cost of staging is ALWAYS less than the cost of the first price reduction!

Having your home show off its potential and elicit a positive emotional response in a buyer is the whole purpose of staging, so staging well is important. Throwing a couple of pillows and a plant in the corner of a room is not only an ineffective waste of money, it could be worse than not staging at all leaving buyers wondering how the space could possibly be used.

Kinds of Staging

There are basically 2 kinds of staging: Occupied staging is when the homeowner is living there, or at least their belongings are, for the time the home is on the market. And Vacant property staging is just what it sounds like - either a new property or resale property that is empty.

Who pays for staging?

Some realtors offer a consult with a professional stager as part of their selling proposal. We work with several realtors that pay us to do a comprehensive staging visit and make recommendations, select paint colors if needed, and generate a written report with a room by room assessment of what should be done to prepare the property and stage it, but we have also been hired directly by homeowners for this. It is often helpful to have an assessment as much as 5 years ahead of the time you plan to sell - especially if you need updates that you could enjoy for a bit before selling, like the kitchen below did! You can see more pictures of this kitchen makeover here.

For the actual rental of any furnishings or props, and photo-styling for listing, the homeowner generally pays since they stand to benefit the most from the resulting increased value and shorter timeline (though with some higher priced listings, the realtor may cover this cost as well).

A Staging Project

We recently completed a vacant property staging for a client. It was a family property that was empty and had been languishing on the market without any action even though other units in the building were selling. She made the very smart decision to engage us to stage the property. Her realtor had already recommended a few small updates to upgrade the bones.

We came for a staging consultation and selected new paint colors and hardware for the cabinetry to work well with existing appliances and finishes, a paint color for the bathroom walls that would mitigate slightly dated tile, and a couple of new light fixtures in key locations. We also recommended adding an inexpensive subway tile backsplash, and changing out some flooring for better flow - especially important to make a small space feel larger. We did not recommend trying to change out bathroom medicine cabinets and lighting since that would impact tile and other expensive changes - instead we changed out only the glass on the vanity lights to a more streamlined updated profile. Making smart decisions on what to change for the best return on investment is key.

She also engaged us to manage the selection of rental furnishings and to style with our staging props to get the property ready for photos. A consistent color palette is important in a smaller home. We selected neutral furnishings and accented with shades of blue and blue-green throughout the condo. A few vibrant red accents in the kitchen and living/dining area set those spaces apart.

In addition to basic furniture, curated props are needed to tell a story to the buyer of what it is like to live there. Pillows, lamps, plants, dishes, fresh towels, accessories, and pretty bedding all contribute to the story. They provide the warmth and emotional pull needed to get a quick response and great offers!

Check out this short video walk thru at the end of our staging day to see the rest of the rooms!

The bottom line? Professional staging pays off! But don’t just take MY word for it…Here is what our clients are saying…

”…Most recently we put an aged relative's condo on the market for six months with no activity. With Janet's assistance we refreshed and staged the condo and had an above asking price in four days. Amazing! The condo became an appealing, photogenic, happy place with Janet's vision…!”

~ Pam B, Princeton, NJ

Contact us to book YOUR on-site or virtual staging consult!