Poll: Do you prefer furnished and staged homes? (inspection, townhouse, commercial)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm going to have to agree with Dave on this one - I would say that a group of non-real estate agents who hang out on an internet forum to discuss real estate are unlikely to be that representative of the population at large.
I would say that the 30% who don't care one way or the other are most likely the best representation of the general public, because chances are most of them haven't even thought about it enough to have an opinion!
Interesting that most threads here seem to indicate the agents strongly suggest or even make staging imperative and this poll of potential buyers has fewer than 20% desiring it.
Yeah, REALLY interesting, in light of the fact that staging costs money both for initial setup and for the monthly "subscription." I have heard of two realtors who did not charge their sellers to stage, but it sounds like that is not typical.
I would say that the 30% who don't care one way or the other are most likely the best representation of the general public, because chances are most of them haven't even thought about it enough to have an opinion!
I chose I don't care, because I really don't care. And I have thought about it.
My husband and I last bought 5 years ago in a very hot market. We toured a lot of houses before we got one. We looked past clutter, we imagined our stuff in empty houses, and we both laughed bigly at some of the awkward staging jobs we saw. Just really trying too hard. My hubby still snickers at the immaculate house that no one lived in with the precisely arranged half-played chess game on the coffee table. We ended up buying one that was "staged" with a few pieces of the owners stuff left behind, which had zero bearing on us buying it.
We wanted a house, not the stuff in it. The house we bought 14 years ago in another hot market had only been on the market for a couple of hours, and when we went to look at it the owners were scooting out the back door. They hadn't even tidied, never mind cleaned or decluttered. We put an offer in an hour later. We loved that house and only sold it to move across the country.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
7,646 posts, read 9,920,297 times
Reputation: 16451
The poll doesn't matter. There are studies out there. Staging sells homes faster and for more money. I think professionally done homes do better. Some sell the furniture.
Generally self staged I don't think is as good. We used to keep a bunch of staging materials and furniture to fill around some key pieces fit to the property.
Staging can also distract from negatives, and helps define a space for buyers.
Also, while maybe people "say" they want empty spaces, look at sales data. People don't know what they want. The seller or agent gas to help them realize THIS house IS what they want! In staged homes they are looking at the decor as much as the house.
Status:
"Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!"
(set 22 days ago)
Location: Cary, NC
43,177 posts, read 76,826,386 times
Reputation: 45533
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamies
The poll doesn't matter. There are studies out there. Staging sells homes faster and for more money. I think professionally done homes do better. Some sell the furniture.
Generally self staged I don't think is as good. We used to keep a bunch of staging materials and furniture to fill around some key pieces fit to the property.
Staging can also distract from negatives, and helps define a space for buyers.
Also, while maybe people "say" they want empty spaces, look at sales data. People don't know what they want. The seller or agent gas to help them realize THIS house IS what they want! In staged homes they are looking at the decor as much as the house.
Link to a couple of studies, please?
And, this begs a question:
How much extra should a buyer be willing to pay for staging a vacant house?
It bothers me and disrupts my vision to see stuff.
Me too. I don't like seeing other people's idea of what a home should look like. I would rather it be an empty space. I understand people can't move out before selling many times though, so as long as the home is neatly kept, I try not to be biased against occupied homes. But fake staging provided by staging companies looks, well, fake.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.