Home staging is the art of preparing homes and houses for sale. It involves doctoring a house to suit a style that any home buyer would feel comfortable living in. This involves including the furniture, accessories, layout, mood and contrast in a way that all blends and seems like one idea. Finding the right home staging professional who excels in all of these areas is one of the more tricky riddles to solve. While in the past, home owners stage their own homes for sale, in the recent past, the practice of professional home staging has become most preferred.
Professional home staging is mainly important for several major reasons.
Benefits of Home Staging to Real estate agents
Professionally staged homes sell at higher prices than other homes in the same economy or the market. According to different studies, when $500 is spent on staging a home the seller will recoup around 343% of the money spent on the staging. This is mainly because well-staged homes are assumed to have been well looked after and given the necessary care in the past. This also automatically leads to increased perceived value.
People buying homes are much more likely to purchase homes that appeal to them at the first viewing. This means that the first impression has to be perfect and right and this what home staging is about is about; creating the first impression that will enable buyers to connect with a home and in the end purchase it. This includes ensuring that both the interiors and the exteriors are in perfect condition. To achieve this, home owners need the services of a home stager.
Professional home stagers help give a home a unique professional image. This also improves their look and general appearance on flyers and websites. This kind of image is especially important for a home that is listed because most people looking for new homes will always turn to the internet before they even think of looking for realtors.
Home staging also gives a home a competitive advantage. This is to say that perfectly staged home helps it stand out from the rest and as a result sell the competition. In easier terms, a staged home will attract a wider range of prospective buyers more often than not compared to other houses and will result in a quicker sale.
Disadvantages of Home Staging to Real estate agents
The cost of home staging may be exorbitant particularly if a professional is involved. The budget for furniture and accessories may also be high. In most cases, new furniture may be purchased to give the house a clean and new look.
Tania Matthews a realtor from Florida says that a more experienced home staging agent will most likely have sets of furniture and accessories available to use in storage because they know that if the home is staged well it will increase the commission they make from the sale, it is not uncommon for them to have a whole array of styles to fit the varying types of homes they sell. Think modern, antique, wooden, contemporary, quirky they need to have something for every situation.
The amount of time involved may also be inordinate. Different people may need to be brought to the home stage the house for potential clients’ walkthroughs. This time may as well have been used to capitalize on other selling opportunities.
Home staging requires constant maintenance of the houses. The clients may take long to trickle in and it is important that the furniture and other accessories are put in good conditions. This cost is always passed on to the buyer which may, in turn, push up the prices of the property.
In conclusion, home staging your home may definitely increase the selling price and the amount of time needed to sell. It is important, therefore, that a professional home staging professional is engaged. The professional will give it a sale-oriented look.