When you list your home for sale, it becomes a product rather than your personal retreat. You want potential homebuyers to be able to envision themselves living in the home, which can be difficult if your family’s personality is still evident. Before going on market, your agent will recommend decluttering and depersonalizing, but you may also want to bring in a professional stager to help guide you through showing your home in its most marketable light.
When done correctly, staging can not only set the right emotional tone for buyers about the home, but can also help highlight the most attractive features of the home. Staging can potentially make you money, too: 77% of listing agents said a well-staged environment increases the dollar value buyers are willing to offer, according to the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Staging. Staging can also shorten the length of time your home is on the market, with agents reporting that their staged homes were going under contract faster than those without.
A professional stager will typically begin with an in-home consultation, where they will walk through your home with you, review the property, and provide a report with their advice for the home. The report will include advice on decluttering, storing items, reorganizing furniture placement, and possibly changing out paint colors in different rooms. The stager may also give tips for improving curb appeal. The most common rooms that are staged are the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and dining room.
Depending on what your home needs, and whether you want to do the work yourself or hire it done, your stager could handle bringing in supplementary furniture and décor items, manage painting or other contractors coming to your home, and have a more hands-on role in getting your home ready to go on the market. The cost of services provided will vary depending how much assistance your home will need.
