Home staging seems to have taken the real estate world by storm. 15-20 years ago, homes were pretty much sold “as is” – empty or furnished, take it or leave it. Staging was all but unheard of, but over time, the rise of technology and social media has created a new kind of buyer – the millennial buyer. This new generation of buyers are used to seeing gorgeously styled dream home pictures online and on TV. Apps like Pinterest, Instagram, and HGTV have opened up a delight for interior design and home styling in our buyers, and so empty homes, or homes sold “as is” just don’t do it for buyers these days.
Today’s buyer is shopping for homes in stages. First stage: you guessed it – looking at pictures online. If your home isn’t beautifully staged, buyers can easily skip past it, or forget about it after looking at other listings. Beautiful staging is almost expected these days. Good home styling is so important to allow the buyer to imagine themselves living in the type of dream home they’ve seen on HGTV.
Beautiful staging, home styling and professional photography has elevated your home and attracted some potential buyers. Now what? Second stage of shopping for a home is going to see the home in person. This is when staging is even more important. Most buyers have a hard time imagining themselves living in a home if it’s empty, and it tends to make people feel a little sad, or just detached, at the very least. Two emotions you don’t want your buyers feeling when walking through your home. Worse, if you’re selling it as-is, with your personal furniture in there and no staging, the buyers have an even harder time imagining themselves living there.
I have noticed that people can look past other imperfections in the home if its staged with contemporary styling that makes it look like the pictures on TV. However, I have also noticed buyers find it more difficult to look past out-dated or old-fashioned furniture when home shopping.
The way your home is styled creates the atmosphere for the sale, so when it’s filled with your old furniture, the atmosphere tends to read more “someone-else’s home”, not “could-potentially-be-mine home”. When sellers don't stage, they are sending the message to buyers that this is an old home, and so the offers (if there are any) will reflect that.
Now of course, you don’t have to stage your home, that’s your prerogative. Just don’t expect those over-asking offers if you don’t! Home staging has the largest ROI (return on investment) over any other upgrade you might put into your home. Almost every home I have staged has sold for over the asking price, and many buyers have said that the staging directly impacted the sale. Makes sense – staging is what creates an emotional bond for today’s shopper. It’s no wonder un-staged homes don’t sell for as much or as quickly as staged homes!
In a buyer’s market, there are many homes to choose from, so staging is the best tool sellers have to elevate their home and make it stand out amongst the rest. Allow the young couple, or family to imagine themselves living in your four walls. Even in a seller’s market, when homes are scarce, and buyers have less options to choose from – staging is still the best investment you can make to make your home stand out, create an emotional connection with the buyer, and bring in those offers!
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