A well-staged home stands out among its competitors and can sell faster and for more money than unstaged homes. Home staging highlights a home’s strengths and involves curating and arranging furniture and decor in each room to ensure it appeals to various buyers. A staged home needs to look great when you show it in photos and video tours, including the house’s exterior.
Read my top 12 home staging tips for real estate agents to promote their listings and encourage a quick sale for their sellers.
1. Set a Home Staging Budget With the Seller
It’s important to discuss the home staging budget with your sellers when you begin the process of listing their house. The cost of staging a house for sale depends on the location, square footage, type of home, and how much the stager uses the seller’s belongings. In addition to staging fees, there could be costs for the seller to move and store furniture and belongings, so you want to discuss the budget before putting plans into place. An article from Homeguide says that the average cost of home staging is $1,500 to $4,000.
According to the 2023 Profile of Home Staging report by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), 81% of buyers’ agents agree that staging a home enhances a buyer’s ability to envision the property as their future home. Additionally, an article by Architectural Digest states that approximately 75% of sellers who opt for professional home staging before listing their homes for sale observe a return on investment (ROI) of 5% to 15% above the asking price.
Considering the cost and potential ROI, ensure that staging the home is in the seller’s best budgetary interest. You can do so by reviewing the seller’s net proceeds worksheet and deducting the home staging, moving, and storage expenses from the gross proceeds of the sale. Download our net proceeds worksheet below to use with your clients:
Home staging is best for homeowners who can afford to hire a professional or have the right skills and aesthetic to do it themselves. However, real estate agents can advise sellers on staging without using a professional home stager. They can also bring in a few small decorative items to enhance the rooms in the home.
If your seller is on the fence about hiring a home staging company or doing it themselves, you should go over the pros and cons of each. This way, you can work together to find a solution based on their budget, time, and preferences. Here are some disadvantages and advantages you can present:
Hiring a Professional Home Stager | Stage a Home Yourself |
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2. Define Each Room
After confirming the budget with your clients for staging the home to sell, conduct a walkthrough of the house with your clients and/or stager to determine the function, style, and necessary changes for each room to align with the staging design. Remember, while not every room needs to be staged—especially if budget constraints exist—all areas must still be cleaned and decluttered, and any necessary repairs must be undertaken to ensure the home is presented in the best possible light.
Most people consider kitchens and baths essential to upgrade or stage. However, according to the NAR, buyer’s agents said the rooms used most frequently, such as the living room and master bedroom, are what they prioritize the most. The following are some home staging tips for the rooms in a home that are most important to buyers:
3. Make Necessary Repairs
It might be more fun to focus on making the home’s decor look great for buyers, but nothing will tank a sale faster than a home needing repairs. A well-maintained home conveys quality and care. Sellers need to fix significant issues first. If the roof or plumbing leaks or if there are heating or electrical issues, these take top priority over staging homes.
After significant repairs, sellers must fix anything broken or not functioning. Loose stair railings and crumbling walkways can be hazardous. They should address torn or missing window screens. Squeaky doors that don’t close right will attract a buyer’s attention more than the beautifully staged room behind them. If appliances don’t work, they need to be fixed or replaced. It’s easy to become blind to minor repairs, so as your seller’s real estate agent, you can help them by pointing out repairs they may have missed.
4. Declutter, Depersonalize & Store
Clutter creates a stressful atmosphere and is hard for buyers to overlook. When buyers attend your open house, they will look in closets, cabinets, the pantry, and the appliances that will go with the house. Buyers want to imagine themselves living there and see where they will put their belongings. Hence, homeowners must remove excess clutter and personal items, such as family photos and vacation memorabilia.
One key tip for staging your home effectively is to manage overflow items carefully. It might be tempting to simply move excess belongings into closets, cabinets, the basement, or the garage. However, sellers should avoid this strategy to prevent giving the impression of inadequate storage space. Renting storage space to keep excess belongings is a great way to avoid clutter in the house.
If it’s not in their budget, they can ask a friend or family member to store a few items temporarily until they’re ready to move. If they must store things at the house, large plastic bins stacked neatly look better than a variety of boxes in different sizes. It is also a good time for the seller to discard, donate, and sell items they no longer need.
5. Do a Thorough Cleaning
Once your sellers remove the clutter, staging the house becomes significantly more manageable, which is a critical step encapsulated in tips for staging your house. With the clutter out of the way, it’s much easier to clean the property thoroughly. Freshly mopped floors, gleaming appliances, spotless countertops, and clear windows can transform a home, making it look and smell fresh.
Should the sellers clean the entire property themselves, they must scrub it from top to bottom and keep it clean through the final walkthrough and closing. Opening the windows for a few minutes before a showing to let fresh air in, even in the winter, is an easy way to combat odors and refresh the home.
6. Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint
Repainting is one of the most budget-friendly ways to stage a home for sale. Sherwin Williams recommends choosing neutral colors like beige, gray, off-white, cream, soft yellow, or any combination, such as greige or tan. These colors are soothing and make the home look fresh and move-in-ready. Darker neutral colors make rooms feel cozy, while light, bright, airy colors convey a larger space. Your sellers can either hire a professional painter or do it themselves.
When discussing the painting strategy for the house with the homeowner, it’s crucial to incorporate key tips for staging your home to sell, which often highlight the importance of choosing the right color palette. Advise homeowners to avoid vibrant colors, even if they are personally fond of them. Vibrant colors, such as vivid reds and oranges, are very personal and may not appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers. Sellers should aim to select colors that have universal appeal to enhance the home’s attractiveness to various buyers.
7. Rearrange Room Layouts
After you’ve made repairs, cleaned, and painted, the homeowner should arrange the furniture according to the room’s purpose. Professional staging and design companies often use design software to create the layout. The seller doing “at-home staging” may need to move things around a few times to find the perfect layout or draw a mockup of a room layout. It’s a bit of trial and error. Remember, the goal is to create an inviting atmosphere devoid of clutter that appeals to buyers.
Here are a few tips to give your sellers for a home staging DIY layout:
- Start with a blank canvas: Measure, then sketch the room on paper and mark off doors and windows.
- Decide on each room’s function: Bedrooms are for relaxing and sleeping, living rooms are for TV viewing and socializing, and dining rooms and kitchens are for meals and entertaining.
- Choose a focal point: Orient furniture around a focal point (i.e., a fireplace, built-in bookshelves, television, or a wall of windows).
- Start with the rugs: A living room rug should be six to eight inches longer than a sofa on both sides and a minimum of six inches from the walls.
- Bring in furniture: Put the front legs of the living room furniture on the rug with the rear legs off. Large bedroom rugs can go under the bed with the legs of the headboard resting on the floor and two-thirds of the rug under the bed.
- Furniture spacing: Ensure the furniture arrangement supports the room’s traffic pattern. Walking through without interrupting conversations or bumping into anything should be easy.
- Don’t forget curtains and drapes: Don’t block natural light. Raise drapery rods above windows to convey ceiling height. Use longer drapes for a more elegant look. Make sure the curtains are clean and complement the room colors.
- Add art and decor: Don’t overload walls and furniture with art and knickknacks. One or two items per table, neat bookshelves with space, and art hung at eye level are good guidelines when staging a home for sale.
8. Add Flair to Showings & Open Houses
Open houses and showings are an excellent opportunity for real estate agents to showcase their listings and attract leads. Even though the sellers should already have the place clean and tidy and the staging complete, real estate agents can add additional flair to the home to stand out from the crowd.
Keep a few decorative items like throw pillows, plants, candles, and small area rugs to do light staging before showings and open houses to make the home more appealing. Brighten up the home with fresh fruit and/or flowers for a pop of color and a sense of freshness. Some agents put out cookies, bottled water, coffee, and tea with disposable cups to stage the home for an open house.
Part of real estate staging for open houses and tours includes signs, disclosures, and marketing materials you give to guests. You also want to place open house signs where they’re visible to direct guests where to go.
For your open house staging, put a visible copy of your agency disclosure relationship, your listing packet, and business cards on a table near where people come in.
Use a paper open house sign-in sheet or a digital one like Curb Hero, a free digital resource for open house sign-in sheets. You can edit the sheet with your brand, and there’s a QR code to showcase the home.
9. Consider Virtual Home Staging
More buyers are touring homes virtually than ever. Therefore, successful real estate agents provide high-quality media for their listings. People love to look online at professional pictures and ideas for staging houses when they’re thinking of selling or decorating their homes, so the quality of your listing photos, videos, and the words you use in the description matter.
Virtual staging provides a way to fill your vacant listing with stylish decor at a fraction of the cost of professional staging. Virtual home staging companies offer a range of style options to stage your listing to suit the type of home. Here are a few of the best virtual home staging companies with their pricing and features to help you decide if virtual staging is the way to go.
Virtual Staging Companies | ||||
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Best for | Real estate agents who work with various types of properties | Agents who want a quality design with virtual furniture available for purchase | Agents who list new construction and want 3D floor plans and architectural renderings | Real estate agents, and homeowners who prefer DIY virtual staging |
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Starting Price | $1.60 | $1.50 | $29 | $7 |
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10. Use Natural Lighting
Natural lighting plays a crucial role in staging a home for sale, significantly enhancing its appeal. It makes the home appear brighter and fresher, contributing to a warm and welcoming atmosphere that is highly attractive to potential buyers. Using natural light in staging a home for sale can also simplify the viewing experience during open houses. It eliminates the need for buyers to search for light switches, allowing for smoother and more intuitive navigation through the home.
If you want to take good pictures during the open house event, using natural light can also make a huge difference. So open the curtains or blinds and let the sunlight in. This will also make the rooms feel more open and spacious and make your home look its best.
11. Enhance Your Curb Appeal
The home’s exterior is the first thing a buyer sees of the home and can significantly affect their first impression. Power wash the exterior of the house, walkways, and driveway. Clean the windows and gutters and remove any debris or clutter from the yard. You can also trim bushes and trees, plant colorful flowers, and mow the lawn.
Another simple way to enhance your home’s exterior is to replace the old or outdated house numbers with new ones that are easy to read and match the style of the home. Installing outdoor lighting can also improve the home’s safety and beauty. Adding lights along the walkway or highlighting the home’s architectural features can make it look more inviting. These things can make a difference in the home and can increase your chances of attracting buyers.
12. Add Subtle Fragrances
What guests smell as they walk into the home can significantly influence how they perceive the space. A good scent can evoke positive emotions and create a welcoming environment that attracts potential buyers and leaves a lasting impression. Conversely, an unpleasant scent can evoke negative emotions and cause adverse reactions in some people. So use soft, neutral, and subtle fragrances only, such as freshly baked cookies, vanilla, lavender, or citrus.
Place diffusers or scented candles in key areas such as the living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms. You can also use natural air fresheners such as freshly cut flowers or herbs. Simmering a pot of water with citrus fruits and herbs can create a refreshing and natural scent throughout the home. Remember to use scents sparingly and avoid going overboard or using strong or artificial fragrances.
Home Staging Statistics
- According to the NAR, 81% of buyer agents said staged homes show better than unstaged homes, making it easier for buyers to visualize themselves living there.
- 20% of buyer agents said staging a home increased the dollar value offered between 1 and 5%, compared to other similar homes on the market without staging.
- 23% of seller agents said they stage all their listings.
- 31% of buyer’s agents said virtual staging was equally important with other ways to prepare a home for sale.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Home staging is the process of preparing a property for sale by making it more appealing to potential buyers. It involves decluttering, rearranging, and sometimes adding furniture and decor to create an attractive and inviting environment. The goal of staging a home is to showcase the property’s best features and help buyers envision themselves living in the space.
According to home staging statistics, staging a home for sale can increase the dollar value offered by between 1 and 5%, compared to similar homes on the market without staging. Additionally, 81% of buyers’ agents said staged homes show better than unstaged homes as it makes it easier for buyers to visualize themselves living there. Therefore, it can be worth it to stage a home as it can help it sell for more money in less time.
To stage your home on a budget, start by decluttering and cleaning thoroughly. You don’t need to purchase new furniture; you can simply rearrange what you already have to create a more spacious feel. For a fresh look, paint the walls using neutral colors. You can also make use of natural light and decorate using simple items such as books, fresh flowers, or candles. These can also add a pleasant fragrance to your home.
Bottom Line
Staging a house can help it sell for more money in less time. It creates an atmosphere where buyers can see themselves living in the home. Discuss the cost, advantages, and disadvantages of staging a home with your sellers to help them decide if they need professional home staging or prefer to do it themselves. In either case, they need to define each room and make it appealing to the majority of buyers. Most importantly, repairs, decluttering, and cleaning are top priorities.