The question I get asked more than any other is… what is the cost of home staging? It’s a reasonable question, and a smart one. After all, you want to make sure that your investment is well spent and going to serve you well — with a fast property sale and high profit.
But before we talk numbers (yes, we will), let’s cover the basics...
Most people will tell you that home staging is the act of visually preparing a home to attract and appeal to the property’s target buyers. This is true, but more importantly, home staging is strategic marketing. It is NOT decorating.
Preparing a home to whisk buyers off their feet is not about matching decor. It’s about a design that speaks to these specific buyers’ tastes, interests, and priorities. For example, if our client is listing a family-sized home in a great school district, we will design and present that home far differently than we would for a home in a neighborhood of working couples.
To truly get the highest offer for your property, we need to prepare the home in a way that entices target buyers, addresses their needs, and above all... represents the lifestyle they dream of living.
Don’t worry, I’ll get to home staging investments shortly, but I know that there’s a common misconception that vacant homes don’t need staging. False. Vacant homes need staging just as much, if not more, than an occupied home. Why?
Convinced? Okay, let’s look at what’s involved in staging a home. After all, you should know everything that your home staging investment is getting you…
Before we can discuss the costs associated with home staging, you should know what’s included. First, there’s a home staging consultation, which is a 2-hour on-site meeting where we nail down a home staging strategy. During this meeting, we will...
Once a plan has been approved, and after any necessary or optional renovations, we will stage the home with furniture, bedding, accessories, art, decor, and more.
We also offer professional photography services for an additional fee. I highly suggest this step, because it’s more than having a photographer come through to point and shoot.
By that point, no one knows your property better than I do! I will be on-site with our trusted photographer providing art direction services. Being that I myself only have put in a good 8 to 12 hours working on your home, I know the best angles the property will show and will make sure you get them captured for MLS photos.
Okay, let’s answer the big question: what does home staging cost? First, even though I will give you a general ballpark estimate, please know that it is very difficult to estimate the cost of home staging without seeing the property.
No, I’m not making excuses — this really is the truth. Each home has its own positive and negative aspects (to highlight or minimize) and its ideal price point and buyers, which we would need to address through staging.
Yes, once we speak on the phone and discuss your property, we will give you a general estimate for your project. However, we will give you an official home staging plan and quote only after we have seen the property ourselves.
But hey, we’re not on the phone right now. You’re reading this blog post and eager for a number! So, what can you expect?
Well, generally speaking, the cost of home staging hovers right around 1% of the listing price of the home, give or take.
So, how do we judge the cost of home staging for our clients and create a quote? There are three items taken into consideration when determining the investment range for staging a vacant property:
1. The price point of the home
2. The number of rooms we are staging
3. Similar homes we have staged in your area
It's important to know that staging should reflect the price point of the home. A $200K home will be staged very differently than a $2M home, even if we are to stage the same rooms. As you can imagine, the size and style of a $200k home vs. a $2M home vary drastically. This means we are filling more space, using more elevated furnishings, etc.
Generally, we will stage the living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom, and perhaps an entryway. Sometimes, we will stage a home office (highly desirable right now), or an additional bedroom if we know that it will make the home more desirable.
As I mentioned above, before I set foot on your property for our home staging consultation, I will give you a ballpark estimate based on other projects and homes we have staged in the past that are similar in price point. I will do my best to outline the investment you can expect.
Once we set foot on property, however, we can actually work on a staging blueprint and design plan. As these are presented and finalized, you’ll receive an official quote personalized to your project.
For sure, home staging costs a whole lot less than the first price reduction you will have to make if the home doesn’t sell within two weeks or so. Staging your home costs less than having to carry the property and still pay the mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance, plus all other maintenance fees.
As one of our investor clients put it:
I couldn’t agree more! As far as ROI goes, you are very likely to see your investment made back… and then some. We recently staged this project, which saw an ROI of 150%. That is money well spent!
I will wrap things up here, but I hope this overview has been helpful for judging your expected investment and the home staging process in general. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
And if you have a property that you would love to sell quickly and for profit, let’s talk.
— Keti
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