Home Staging Essentials: What is it? Is it needed?

Many a people have a hard time understanding home staging essentials. “What is Home Staging anyhow”, you may ask?

According to Barb Schwarz, “Home Staging is the act of preparing a home for sale so the buyer can mentally move in.” I could not come up with a better definition of what Home Staging is!

Another question that I hear all the time is: “Do all houses need to be Staged?

All houses need to be staged prior to sale, if you want to sell for top dollar and be in the market for a short time. Secondly 90% of the population can not visualize or imagine spaces. That means 90% of buyers can not visualize spaces or imagine themselves in the house you wish they buy from you.

Home Staging is equivalent to car detailing (the male reader can totally identify with this); you never try to sell your car, whether it is a Kia or a Ferrari, without detailing it first. If we are willing and open to spending money on something that is a liability, (our vehicle), why are we so closed to the idea of investing on maximizing the return on something that for most of us is our most valuable asset (our house)?

“But my Seller has great taste and therefore Staging is not necessary”, is something else I hear quite often from Realtors.

Staging has nothing to do with a Seller's taste and a lot to do with the buyer’s wants. So the Seller and the Real Estate Agent/Realtor would need to answer the question- who the buyers are and what they want and look for in the specific area or neighborhood- and package and merchandise the house (i.e. stage the home), accordingly.

I went to an open house a few days ago in THE most desirable and affluent neighborhood in my city. The architecture of the house is very traditional-Mediterranean as a matter of fact- and the interior decorating and furnishings are very modern which makes the house very eclectic. First thing you notice as you walk thru the main entrance, are the beautiful expensive art work and furnishings. What happened to highlighting Real Estate (almost 7, 000 sq. feet of Real Estate?). And that is what Staging would do-highlight Real Estate. After all that is what the buyer wants to buy, the house and not the Seller’s possessions.

This particular house has been on the market twice in the last two years and did not sell, and now it has been on the market a third time for over 60 days and they have yet to have an offer. Never mind the price reductions of the 7 figure type…The architecture of the house is beautiful (traditional Mediterranean), the interior design and art work are beautiful (ultra modern, minimalist). Spaces “speak” to us and this property speaks “single bachelor who has a very incredible eclectic taste”. There is nothing wrong with ultra modern, minimalist design. Personally I love it, as a mater of fact…but I highly doubt that house appeals to the young family who wants to make it a home so they are able to raise their children in the most desirable, affluent neighborhood in the city.

So yes, Staging is needed, if you want to sell quick and for top dollar!

As a seller you can not afford to not Stage because your online photos will stand out (which means more showings/traffic-therefore more offers), your house will sell faster, you will make more money therefore you will get your Return on your Staging investment back-at least a 200% return and up to 576% of it. And did you know Home Staging cost may be deductible in the State of Texas?

Cheers,

Keti