The Benefits Of Staging Your Home Before You Sell
If you are considering selling your home, you know you need to have it looking its best before prospective buyers come calling. Sure, the furniture and knick-knacks they see during the open house don”t come with the property. But these impressions matter, and can tilt the scales between a sale and no sale in an exceedingly tough seller”s market.
Recently, sellers and realtors have increasingly contracted the services of a professional home stager to prepare their homes for viewing. A home stager is a professional with design training that will prepare the home for sale. More than a specialized home decorator, home stagers have in-depth knowledge about buyer demographics and how to appeal to serious buyers. They are trained in how to highlight your home”s assets, while minimizing flaws or potential value detractors.
You may be thinking, “Why should I take on the added expense of a third party stager? Can”t I or my realtor spruce up my home sufficiently?” In the case of the latter, many realtors lack the time or training in how to successfully stage a home. In the case of the former, homeowners can benefit from the objective perspective a stager brings to the table. Many homeowners are unable to view their spaces without bias, while a stager can enter the situation from the perspective of a prospective buyer, and make changes accordingly.
Opening their homes to strangers can be unnerving for some people. Many home stagers will arrange to have your belongings placed in safe, self secure storage during the selling process to ensure none of your valuables are damaged or stolen during the selling process.
The value of a home stager is supported by the numbers. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that home staging typically costs between 1-3% of the home”s total asking price, while a staged home generates a return of 8-10%. A Home Gain Survey of more than 2,000 Realtors found that home staging provides an average of 568% return on investment.
Staged homes also sell faster, and less time on the market means a higher return for the seller. The NAR found that homes that stayed on the market for less than four weeks sold for 1% above their asking price, versus 10% below their asking price in homes on the market for 24 weeks.
With record numbers of homes on the market, every effort to separate your home from the pack may be beneficial to you. With such fierce competition from sellers, buyers are extremely particular about which home they settle on. With a professional home stager, you can relax knowing a trained professional is making your house look its absolute best, decreasing your stress level and resulting in a higher sale value.