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As someone who is not planning on moving furniture if we decide to move one day...
I understand if the house is being shown before the current owners move out. I can envision a home empty.
But please don't clear a home only to bring stuff back in that will again be removed. That's like putting out a hot tub in the back, only to have it hauled off after sale.
The staging should be offered with the home (for a fee, or however it is decided to structure the cost) because there are buyers out there whose furniture will not fit (or look right) with their new place.
Here's a piece about how staging supposedly dramatically transforms a room. and perhaps could make or break a sale?
In this particular example, the owners were worried potential buyers would forget to look at bay window and fireplace.
So they hired decorators to put a bench by the bay window, and change the frame hanging above the fireplace.
The only reason the "after" photo looks better is that it is professionally photographed and color corrected, giving potential buyers a view of what it could look like with abundant lighting of the right color temperature.
It's not that the bench by the window or watercolor artwork add any value.
There was nothing wrong with the old setup, and I don't see how anyone could miss such a large bay window and fireplace. When you look at a house, don't you look everywhere anyway?
The added bench just gets in the way of me standing by the window and looking outside, and makes the place feel smaller.
You don't need extra furniture. You just need to declutter and take professional, well-lit photos.
I am not in real estate, but I was helping a friend buy a house earlier this year - going out with her, and her agent. She was downsizing after a divorce to a simple 3/2 ranch or cape. with her 20 year old daughter.
Most of the homes at that price point "starter homes", at least around here, tend to be bland, post WWII cookie cutter type homes. No eye catching architectural features, fairly bland.
The staged ones were MUCH more appealing. Especially when they used trendy but subdued back drop colors - walls usually a pale grey and sometimes an accent wall, updated lighting fixtures, small scale, modern furniture that made the rooms feel more spacious. Not sure if this is part of staging, but the ones with re-done, gleaming hard wood floors were so much more inviting.
The homes with, generic, overstuffed, bulbous reclining sofas, heavy wood furniture, religious plaques, nick nacks, too many photographs, heavy carpeting, needless entertainment centers, collections such as dolls. figurines or sports swag made my head spin. These were smaller houses to begin with. Overstuffing them may have made them feel cozy to the home owner, but cluttered and confusing to the prospective home buyer.
She ended up buying a staged one story ranch, white a pretty white brick fireplace that was obviously recently painted. The sofa was a narrow mid century knock off in a sunny yellow with yellow and grey throw pillows. The kitchen was barely eat in, but who ever staged it got a tall bistro height dinette that was round. A vase full of real daisies, and a plate of lemon squares made the small kitchen very inviting.
She ended up buying it with the furniture - which was not how it was offered.
With modest "Plain Jane" homes, I think staging is worth the effort.
With higher end architecturally unique homes, I don't think it matters as much. That's my observation.
My realtor uses a virtual staging company. He asked if was going to be living in my condo while it was listed.
I wont be, so he showed me the latest tech he is using to stage and it was wonderful. He takes photos of the vacant rooms and has items added to the photo.
The before picture looks dead. The staged photo makes the room come alive. It isn't about selling any particular aspect of the room, it is getting people who see the photos through the actual door. I don't think professional staging is always necessary. Home sellers can just use some of the same techniques....set the table, bowl of lemons, orchid near the bath, fresh white towels. some blooming plants on the deck.....etc.
As someone who is not planning on moving furniture if we decide to move one day...
I understand if the house is being shown before the current owners move out. I can envision a home empty.
But please don't clear a home only to bring stuff back in that will again be removed. That's like putting out a hot tub in the back, only to have it hauled off after sale.
The staging should be offered with the home (for a fee, or however it is decided to structure the cost) because there are buyers out there whose furniture will not fit (or look right) with their new place.
To me, THAT option is the ULTIMATE convenience.
That's ridiculous.
You should know when looking at houses only the house, real property and items permanently attached to the home convey (and window treatments). Furnuture, art don't convey unless explicitly stated in listing.
It seems to me like this is the most subjective focal point of selling a home, and the lowest hanging fruit to critique. Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer almost every time. Some people argue that your home should be almost completely void of any personal belongings and furniture. Others will argue that your home should give the buyer an idea of how it could look with decor and furniture set up in various spaces. I've had everything critiqued, from pet odors from a hidden litter box to too much decor, to too much furniture. I've also sold a home in three days for five over asking that was small, had a visible cat litter box in the master bedroom closet, and just about the same amount of decor as we have in our current home for sale. So who's really to say what works and what doesn't?
My experience dealing with real estate transactions is that you attempt to throw everything up on the wall to see what sticks and works. A positive and successful transaction boils down to trial and error, timing, traffic, and a little bit of luck. Professional staging? Yeah, sure, if you're selling in the millions.
When I walk into a house I'm interested in purchasing, I don't even look at anything that's on the wall or the furniture in rooms. I'm concerned about room sizes, closet sizes, condition of the "bones", updated amenities, yard size and condition, and the amount of storage. Apparently other people spend too much of their time criticizing the owner's decor even though it will be gone after they move out. To an extent, it makes me wonder if they were serious buyers to begin with, or did they wake up that morning with the intent of denigrating someone else's style.
Staging a home makes sense if the house is a million plus. Lower priced houses don’t really need it, unless the seller is truly clueless, bright yellow walls, mismatched towels, etc. Sellers can read a few articles on staging and DIY. It’s simple, neutral paint and fluffy white towels in the bathroom, decluttered and everything fresh and clean. I like to add fresh flowers but it’s not necessary.
People can be insanely picky when it’s your house they’re viewing. And some of the comments are wild. A friend’s brother was selling his condo, and he said a woman turned down the house, because she didn’t like his choice of window treatments. Having heard similar silly comments myself, it’s always best to present your house in the best possible light, but people will still find something to pick through. Anyway, professional staging is best left to the higher end homes.
My next dream house will be a seventies or eighties house with good bones that I can fix up to my taste. Staging is not even on the radar. My type of buyer is rare, most people do seem to want ‘perfect’ when looking.
Staging a home makes sense if the house is a million plus. Lower priced houses don’t really need it, unless the seller is truly clueless, bright yellow walls, mismatched towels, etc. Sellers can read a few articles on staging and DIY. It’s simple, neutral paint and fluffy white towels in the bathroom, decluttered and everything fresh and clean. I like to add fresh flowers but it’s not necessary.
People can be insanely picky when it’s your house they’re viewing. And some of the comments are wild. A friend’s brother was selling his condo, and he said a woman turned down the house, because she didn’t like his choice of window treatments. Having heard similar silly comments myself, it’s always best to present your house in the best possible light, but people will still find something to pick through. Anyway, professional staging is best left to the higher end homes.
My next dream house will be a seventies or eighties house with good bones that I can fix up to my taste. Staging is not even on the radar. My type of buyer is rare, most people do seem to want ‘perfect’ when looking.
Hi Taz22, I appreciate your thinking about staging, but sagging is way why which you can sell your home or property in a faster way, with good amount of money.
Hi Taz22, I appreciate your thinking about staging, but sagging is way why which you can sell your home or property in a faster way, with good amount of money.
Hi Andre, I’m not against staging, but if a house is lower priced, then it’s cheaper to read how to articles and DIY. I’ve watched a utube video to learn how to properly roll washcloths and hang towels, so they would look nice in the bathroom. I agree, a clean house, with pretty touches will sell faster.
If you’re a stager, there are plenty of people out there who would benefit from hiring you. I’ve seen some awful houses on the market.
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