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I live in an over-55 community, 30+ years old, with modest 1- and 2-bedroom condos that are in the range of $100K to low $200s. Some have the original almost-with-wood-trim cabinets and fluorescent lighting, and some have been upgraded with tile or laminate floors, granite countertops, stainless appliances, etc. I check the listings often just to keep track of prices. I have never seen a professionally staged unit for sale in this complex.
Until recently. I noticed that one of the units had been listed at $144K but sold for $150,500 in 13 days. I checked the photos (professionally done) and saw that it had been staged. I could tell because the contemporary artwork was not something you normally see in these places, the furniture was sparse, the bed linens were designer-style, etc. It was beautiful!!! So it turns out that the agent's photographer actually paints and that's her artwork in the unit. Anyway, there had been a bidding war, which is what drove the price up.
Now, I have not seen a bidding war here either. I've seen people get full-price but never $6K OVER list. I believe that the professional staging was the difference-maker.
That said, what does that type of staging usually cost? It was a 2-BR, 2-BA, about 1300 sq. ft.
I'm sorry I can't tell you what a professional staging costs (our realtor used one but paid it out of her share of the commissions), but I'm sure a lot of it can be DIY. De-clutter. That's about 90% of it right there. "Curate" your collections- artwork, penguin figurines, books. Leave only a few on display. Remove family pictures. Any remaining artwork should be "neutral"- nothing religious, specific to an ethnic group, semi-nude, etc. Buy bunches of big, fluffy white towels for the bathrooms. As my DH put it, make the house look as if no one eats, bathes or sleeps there! Get it professionally cleaned if necessary. Throw mulch over the weeds in the garden. Paint any corroded outdoor fixtures- flat black is fine. Repaint the front door if necessary. I freshened up our place by replacing all the drawer/cabinet pulls in the kitchen and bathroom with whatever finish was popular at the time. There were a lot of them but it still wasn't too expensive in dollar terms.
You can probably get more ideas by looking at on-line listings and seeing what works. I personally think it's a shame that buyers lack the vision to see through the superficial, but it's been proven over and over again, so you may as well do what the competition is doing.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone has the “vision” to stage their houses for sale
OP, stagers usually charge by the hour around me. Depending on the budget they can do anything from give tips for an hour to fully staging the property with their own props or rental pieces etc and even arranging for any contracting (paint, etc). The ones around me charge about $100 an hour for their time
Probably a middle ground works pretty well. Somewhere between a professional designer and the "won't change anything including my rag rugs and my wall-full of samplers 'cause it's mine" you sometimes hear around here.
Usually your agent will offer good advice, up to you whether you take it.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone has the “vision” to stage their houses for sale
OP, stagers usually charge by the hour around me. Depending on the budget they can do anything from give tips for an hour to fully staging the property with their own props or rental pieces etc and even arranging for any contracting (paint, etc). The ones around me charge about $100 an hour for their time
Thanks. Right, I've never had a problem staging my own places, right down to removing all the shampoos and loofahs, half the clothes in my closet so it looked more spacious -- I know all the tricks.
And yes, many people don't have the vision to do that.
In the professionally staged condo here, I believe the furniture was brought in. There was no TV, the furniture was small-scale so as to make the space look larger....I noticed there wasn't even a bed frame, but they made up for it by adding a whole bunch of pillows and an enormous piece of artwork above the bed. Rooms were painted in soft soothing colors. The only thing they hadn't changed, which kind of surprised me, was the old 80's chandelier in the dining room. Guess they know where to spend their staging budget.
My realtor just came back with a staging quote of $1350 for a 1300sqft house that we hope to sell in the $300K range. I much prefer looking at empty houses, and yes, it was a rental, so right now it’s empty.
I’m having trouble swallowing that, as I prefer to see empty houses so you know what you are getting into. No unforeseen holes in the walls or marks on the floors. He swears he’ll get it back in the offer.
It doesn't make a difference with me. I've seen some nice pictures of empty houses and staged houses with furniture, my eyes are drawn toward the size of the rooms, the kitchen, master bath, etc...
Staging quotes ranged anywhere from $1200 a month to an hourly fee and furniture rental charge. We have sold properties in WDC, NYC, San Francisco and a bunch of places you have not heard of.
Because I do some freelance decorating, we have only hired a stager twice, and that was just a convenience/distance thing.
It works, in our experience. But many would argue that leaving old furniture and grandma's tatty afghan is some kind of point of honor in the "we won't do anything to get our house sold, so take it or leave it" stubborn C-D crowd. A lot depends on the expectations of your market. What the OP described is a classic example of where staging can make a big difference.
My realtor just came back with a staging quote of $1350 for a 1300sqft house that we hope to sell in the $300K range. I much prefer looking at empty houses, and yes, it was a rental, so right now it’s empty.
I’m having trouble swallowing that, as I prefer to see empty houses so you know what you are getting into. No unforeseen holes in the walls or marks on the floors. He swears he’ll get it back in the offer.
It really doesn't matter what you prefer, it's what the Buyers in your market are doing.
Have him show you what the staged homes do - speed of sale, % of list price, etc and compare them to the "come as you are, iphone 7 photos taken" homes look and sell like. Your answer should be pretty clear.
We had two neighbors with the same model (about 1300 square feet).
One couple spent a lot of time fixing up the house and had it professionally staged; it sold for $615k.
The other flat-out refused to change anything or fix anything or even declutter, much less stage; they just showed the house as it was and sold it as-is. They agreed to drop $10k from the price so the buyer could make some necessary repairs, but they still pocketed $605k. In their case they considered it worth it not to hassle with repairs and what-not, because the wife was ill and they were in a hurry to move.
So I suppose it depends on your market and your situation, whether it's worth it to go to all those lengths for a few thousand dollars.
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