Matt's November Hot Take - The value of STAGING a home for sale

In past musings, we’ve covered home preparation for sale, such as fixing a roof leak (obviously!), touching up paint and flooring, and the famous “de-cluttering”.  Once a home is vacant, in today’s market, the most important final preparation step is Staging!  In case this term is new to you, staging is simply renting and placing furniture from a design-savvy company for the duration of the home sale.  Staging covers up small imperfections in a home almost magically.  If the flooring is old, or the kitchen is a little dated, nothing pulls a buyers’ eyes away better than a cozy, well-designed staged room!   Importantly, staging helps prospective buyers who may lack a creative vision imagine themselves living in the home.  The number and scale of the individual pieces are just as important as the layout and orientation, so I trust the staging companies I work with inherently.  Staging is money well-spent - its cost is typically recouped 2-3x in my experience. You may have heard of Ai-assisted "virtual staging” which is now free.   My opinion is that virtual staging is passable in a few unique circumstances, but I rarely rely on it.  I’ll virtual modify one or two images to highlight what a remodel could look like, or if home is occupied and clients’ furniture isn’t ideal, virtual staging can be a big help.  But taking a vacant home and fully staging it virtually tends to backfire in my opinion.  It looks pretty good on the computer screen, which may get buyers through the door, but REAL staging shines in person!  A virtually staged home is such a disappointment in person when prospective buyers enter a cold empty house. Staging costs can vary from $3,000 up to $15,000 and more for bigger and higher end homes.

Call me and let's discuss how staging can increase your home’s value during a sale.

- Matthew

949 677 3618

matthewf@sevengables.com