So before we start explaining some of the core elements of Home Staging, let's have a look at some statistics, which are all based, due to the availability of data, on surveys conducted in the United States of America, specifically by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This statistics are really a mouth opener and tell you a lot about the impacts that Home Staging has nowadays in the real estate market.
The top 8 impacts of Home Staging
Higher sales price: In a 2014 survey, of over 3.500 homes professionally staged, over 50% were sold for 10% more than their “unstaged" neighbors homes. Great return on investment: According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is between 1 and 3 percent of the home’s asking price, which generates a return of 8 to 10 percent in higher sells price.
Your house will sell much faster: A recent survey showed that professionally staged homes spent 72% less time on the market.
The longer your home is on the market, the lower the price: According to a National Association of Realtors survey, homes that were sold after 4 weeks on the market, were sold for 6% less than homes which were sold within the first 4 weeks. Do not be in a position where you have to lower your price. Have your home staged first!
Buyers can visualize themselves living there: In a 2015 survey, over 81% of buyers said it was easier to visualize the staged property as their next home.
Online home photos stand out: Professional staging creates a great online presence, drives buyer traffic to the home and brings offers. According to NAR, over 95% of buyers are first looking online at photos of a home before they go visit or call an agent.
Your home’s “flaws” will be overlooked: According to NAR, almost a third of buyers will “overlook smaller property faults when a home is professionally staged”.
Home sellers cannot view their home objectively: If you cannot view objectively your home, you cannot package or market it effectively and it ́s nearly impossible for a seller to be objective about their own home.
Having made the point, why Home Staging is such a great marketing tool for real estate sales, let's have a look at some aspects, which you have to understand in relation to Home Staging.
The 4 key activities to selling your home and its relation to Home Staging
As we all know, the home selling process can be overwhelming as a lot of tasks that have to be carried out. So for example, it is crucial that a homeowner understands the reality of its potential buyers. In most cases, when it comes to buying a home, the first impression is what counts. This first impression starts with the right price, an amazing online presence and ends with showing your home to potential buyers in which case you have just over 1 minute in which potential buyers decide whether they see them living in your home or not. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel because if you narrow it down the whole selling process comes to 4 critical activities which a homeowner has to tackle in order to make the sale of his property as efficient as possible and to get top dollars. So let's have a quick look at these 4 activities and its relation to Home Staging.
Get the price right from the beginning: The right selling price is crucial as a property priced too high will stay on the market for a long time and a property priced too low leaves money on the way. Real estate professionals have the experience, knowledge and tools, such as comparative market analysis, to determine the appropriate market price. Statistically, a staged home sells faster and at a higher price. So investigate first your buyer demographic, stage your home accordingly and put finally your home on the market at a price that will encourage potential buyer traffic.
Make sure your home stands out from the competition: One of the most effective ways to make sure that your home stands out from the competition is the use of Home Staging or in other words marketing your home on the inside. Professional Stagers are experts at marketing and showing your our home at
its best, disassociating and seeing your home through the buyer’s eyes creating an emotional response from buyers to each space.
An additional benefit of a professionally staged home, are the photos for an amazing online presence which is absolutely crucial for the third key, which we will have a look at next.
Don ́t just list your home but make sure it's marked professionally: A picture is worth a thousand words and that is the main point here. Photos of a well prepared staged home give you exactly the advantage, that the photos speak for themselves. The name of the game is, don ́t just list your home but market it professionally which in return, as we have already seen, drives buyer traffic to your home and brings offers.
Make showing as hassle free as possible: You don't want to show every possible client your home, no, you want to show your home only to really interested clients. So use virtual tours of your staged home first and just let those clients into your home which are actually willing to make a concrete offer. Only a well prepared, staged home with amazing photos and hopefully virtual tours, allows you to be “picky” to whom you actually show your home and that is a great relieve for every homeowner.
As you have seen, two elements are critical to comply with these 4 key activities we just discussed. First, the right support to make sure you have done everything possible and that is usually a professional real estate agent. Please refer for further information about the necessity and the choosing of the right real estate agent to our article: 3 key questions to sell your property. And second but not last, you can see now the importance of Home Staging for all 4 keys activities discussed. So, now it is high time to introduce some of the essentials of Home Staging, such as what is actually Home Staging and what does Home Staging consist in.
What is actually Home Staging?
There are many different definitions for Home Staging but the one which seems us the most adequate, and was introduced by Home Staging Resources (www.homestagingresources.com) defines Home
Staging as follows: “Home Staging is using limited funds, practical creativity and extraordinary expertise to professionally prepare a home to sell. The goal of staging is to transform a house so that it becomes infinitely more attractive to potential buyers, sells quickly and for more money, while in turn, becoming a small investment for the home seller with a great return in the near future by generating greater home sale earnings.”
What does Home Staging consist in?
Equally to the many different definitions of Home Staging, there are many philosophies about the scope of Home Staging. We think, that being in line with the general objective of a low-cost, high impact marketing tool, the scope of Home Staging is best explained by using 3 phases:
Phase 1: Maximizing what you have so that it appeals to buyers
Phase 2: Small purchases as “investment” for selling your home
Phase 3: Simple yet dramatic cosmetic updates and changes
Again these phases were first introduced by Home Staging Resources, the best training program for professional Home Stager. But, please note, that not all three phases are always required in a Home
Staging process. A professional Home Stager makes sure that only the phases, which are really necessary, are applied to achieve the goal of selling the property faster and at a higher price. So let's have a look at these 3 phases of Home Staging in more details.
Phase 1: Maximizing what you have so that it appeals to buyers
You will be amazed at the dramatic transformations that can be accomplished using just the things you already have in a new way. Successful Home Staging must make financial sense in order to create buyer traffic and turn those into concrete offers. A lot of things in this first phase are common sense tasks, such as cleaning, organizing, disassociating and the creation of kind of a model home with the things you already have. However, as simple as it sounds, only a professional with an education in Home Staging can prepare a home in its entirety so that it really sells faster and at a better price.
Phase 2: Small purchases as “investment” for selling your home
Working within the budget, it is recommended to purchase only additional accessories that will do more than pay for themselves in the speed and the sales price. Inexpensive accessories can have a dramatic effect on each room of your home.
Phase 3: Simple yet dramatic cosmetic updates and changes
Depending on budget and timing, some cosmetic improvements, as for example new paint, might be worthwhile. Anyhow, one should only consider those improvements with a high return on investment and only after consulting a professional Home Stager.
So what do you think? Could Home Staging be the best investment selling your home? Stay tuned for more articles in our blog about this incredible new low-cost, high impact marketing tool. For the time being we stop here with our last advice: make sure, whatever you do, stage your home first!