Why Staging Your Home Is Important

​As you already know staging is a part of my "Design To Sell" process and my Mesa project needed a ton of staging as it was empty to start with.

There are several reasons why staging your home before selling is important.
 
Helps buyers envision themselves living in the space

It can be really hard to gauge what furniture will fit in a room when it is empty. Also, people have the tendency to underestimate the size of rooms when not furnished.  A well staged home takes out all the guessing buyers have to do on what furniture will fit where. All they have to do is imagine themselves living in your home.

​Makes your home stand out online.

Where does the hunt for a new home usually start? Online of course! Photos are very important to selling your home since people are going to preview it first online. No one wants to look at picture after picture of empty rooms. I always have my houses professional photographed after being staged.

Increase the value of your home

The 2021 Profile of Home Staging report from the National Association of Realtors found that 23% of seller’s agents reported an increase of one to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers compared to homes that were not staged.  While 1-5% might not seem like a lot, that’s $3,000 to $15,000 on a $300,000 home. A word of caution, it is important to closely track how much you spend on staging so you don't cancel out the increase in the value of your home. Staging is something I do as a courtesy for my clients as part of the listing process. I'll work with some of the things they have and then bring the rest at no cost to them because I know it makes such a big impact! But if you don't have a James Judge near you, work with your listing agent to understand costs and options accordingly.

Shortens time on market

The 2021 Profile of Home Staging also found that 31% of agents stated staging greatly decreased time on market and 22% said slightly. I mean, who wouldn’t want to immediately snatch up a beautifully staged home that looks move-in ready? Many times now I've staged homes that previously wallowed on the market with other agents, and received offers quickly after re-listing. Often times over asking!

Hot Staging Tips and Tricks

1. Less is more. Remove as much stuff from your home as possible, including really personal items, so that only major pieces of furniture and some accessories remain. You want buyers to be looking at the space and function of the rooms, not all your earthly possessions, including that hand pot you made in kindergarten ceramics.
2. Stay neutral. Ok, this one is a bit hard for me but it is generally true. You don’t want so much color that buyers stop focusing on the home’s features. Stick with furniture and accessories that are on the more neutral side.
3. Get the biggest bang for your buck. If you can’t stage every room, focus on the most important spaces: Living room, dining room, kitchen, and primary bedroom and bathroom. Depending on your climate, I also think that the outdoor patio is super important because here in Arizona we spend so much time outdoors!
4. LET THERE BE LIGHT! Throw open those curtains as far as they will go to make sure each space is getting as much natural light as possible. You might also have to go throughout the home and replace light bulbs and add lamps to areas that need a little extra oomph. When doing this, make sure the lighting matches and don't mix warm bulbs with cool bulbs. 
5. Take the trash out. No really, bad odors while touring a home can be a major turn off. Make sure your home smells neutral by getting your carpets and rugs deep cleaned, and take care of any other smelly problems like cat litter boxes.