Staging

We have all seen ‘Sell this House’. Roger the stager works magic, with very little money. The homes sell quicker and for more money than homes that are not ‘staged’. So what is this all about anyway?

Staging is the preparation of your home for sale. It involves the de-personalizing of the space and the optimization of the home for appeal to the widest spectrum of potential buyers. This means, among many other things, that all the family clutter and photos get packed away; the wallpaper borders will usually come down, any unusual or odd wall colors are neutralized; design principals are applied to furniture placement and the interior and exterior of the home is made to appear at it’s finest. As an interior decorator I can say that the main difference between what I do and what stagers do is that an interior decorator strives to make the space personal to the homeowners; the stager must strive to make the space appear impersonal, yet still inviting, to as many people as possible. The design principals are the same for both professions. Traffic flow is still traffic flow. As an interior decorator, I am aware of decor trends but they are not my prime focus; a stager must be very aware of what is selling in her particular area; what trends are catching the eye of potential buyers. Interior decorators have an eye focused on the long-term; stagers must work quickly and often with a small budget; knowing that their work may very well be short-lived.

What does it cost? That depends.. some stagers work for a flat fee that could be based on hours of work or square footage of the property. Some stagers work for a percentage of the budget for the staging. Some stagers can supply furniture, rugs, linens or accessories, for example, and charge a rental fee for these items as well as a consultant fee and some stagers will rent the items for the homeowner. An in-home consultation is the first step.

According to some statistics I uncovered, staged homes sell faster than unstaged and for 7% more. Staged homes appeal to a broader range of buyers than unstaged; buyers feel staged homes are well-maintained, inspectors often believe the home is better cared for and staged homes often get better appraisals than unstaged homes.

So,., it might be a good idea to get that consultation if you are considering selling.