Your home for sale is a product on a highly competitive market. If you want to sell your product, you have to make it remarkable. According to HGTV, the number one seller mistake is not staging the home for sale.
Benefits of Home Staging
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Home Staging has a 586% return on investment (HomeGain´s 2009 national survey). A professional home stager knows which improvements provide the greatest benefit and have the greatest ROI.
- Vacant and occupied homes spend 78% less time on the market when staged. Staged properties will sell faster when compared with houses that have not been staged, even in a slow real estate market.
- A staged house sells on average 17% higher than an un-staged house (US Housing and Urban Development)
- In a 2004 survey by Joy Valentine, staged homes averaged a 6.5% increase over the list price (Coldwell Banker on 2772 homes in 8 cities).
Don’t wait to see if your property sells without home staging! A national Association of Realtors found that the longer a home stays on the market, the further below list price it drops. Homes that sold in the first 4 weeks averaged 1% more than the list price; 4 to 12 weeks averaged 5% less; 13 to 24 weeks averaged 6.4% less than list price; and 24 weeks averaged more than 10% less than list price. If you stage your property AFTER it’s been on the market for several weeks, you have lost potential buyers who will not return to see your house.
How do buyers buy?
- Over 90% of buyers will see a picture on the MLS before determining if they want to view your property. Photos of professionally staged listings will look better in print and web media and stand out amongst the competition. This first impression is crucial. Prospective buyers will see 10-12 properties on average and your listing will be on top of their list. In their minds, your house looks promising and they hope not to get disappointed by repairs or unappealing features.
- 82% of realtors are now recommending staging. You must appeal to the real estate agents as well as the buyers. Agents recognize that professionally staged houses are “move-in” ready and the best properties to see. If your house doesn´t appeal to agents, they will not show it and favor a house they think they can sell.
- A potential client has made up his mind within seconds of walking through the front door, and many of them have already formed an opinion by just driving by. You only get one chance to make a first impression and get a positive emotional response from a potential buyer. A professional stager knows how buying decisions are made and sees what the buyer sees. Home staging creates the appeal and the feeling you want to draw buyers in and make them fall in love with your home.
What do buyers want?
- 63% of buyers are willing to pay more money for a house that is move-in ready (2005/2006 Maritz Research Staging Polls). Most buyers can’t imagine the house in a different state than it is. They want a house that is bright, clean and carefree where they can just move in and relax for a while. If the home is cluttered, the buyer will not be able to identify himself with it and shut down.
A professionally staged home is appealing and gives the impression that it has been well maintained and well cared for. It reduces the chance for buyers to offer a lower price for your property. Furthermore, buyers often do not have the funds to purchase a home and pay more more money to address repairs, painting, etc. They realize and appreciate the benefits of purchasing a professionally staged property.
- Buyers want a house that is spacious. Potential buyers 86% said that storage space is important to them (2005/2006 Maritz Research Staging Polls). Professional home stagers know how to present a home so that the buyers feels he is getting the most space for his money.
