Yahoo Finance Why Experts Say You Should (or Shouldn’t) Hire a Home Stager When Selling Your Home
Homeowners interested in selling might wonder if they should clear their homes — or some rooms — and stage their homes to be more appealing to potential buyers. Real estate staging can be a helpful tool for making the most money on their investments while selling quickly.
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We’ve gathered what you should know about home staging or arranging and what it costs.
What Home Staging Involves
According to Bankrate, staging often entails a professional suggesting furniture to rent, assisting with furnishings and addressing maintenance concerns. Moving.com explains that home stagers cover everything from lighting and appliances to wall coloring and curtains.
Home Staging Costs
When it comes to pricing, you’ll likely pay a consultation fee of around a few hundred dollars or more. The staging professional will suggest furniture to rent, which can go for around $500 a room, per month.
Keep in mind, however, that you may not need to stage every room in the house. Of course, the more rooms you have, the more furniture and decor you could end up renting.
There is also a fee for staging the furniture and other accessories. A general rule of thumb is that staging costs approximately 1% of the listing price, though staging fees are often more than this for high-end homes.
One way to save money is to opt for virtual — or digital — staging. In contrast to renting physical furnishings, it can be significantly cheaper and less time-consuming to hire a professional who uses software to adjust the look, lighting and other visual aspects of the home.
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Does Home Staging Make a Difference?
In 2023, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that staging can increase a home’s value by anywhere from 1% to 20% — though this number may be higher. Secondly, staging can reduce the time a home spends on the market by 33% to 50%.
Based on data collected by Redfin, Bankrate points out that the number of days spent on the market differs drastically by location — the average in San Diego is 20, whereas it’s 59 in Austin, Texas.
Investopedia suggests that sometimes selling an empty house is easier because prospective buyers have the opportunity to envision their belongings and furnishings within the space. That said, there’s no denying the wonder of a fully furnished home arranged to show the potential of each room.
Over half of buyers’ agents have said that staging improved their clients’ opinions of the home. And, if the buyer can purchase the furnishings as part of the sale, it could save the time and energy needed to furnish the space themselves.
Ultimately, if you want to stage your home but are limited by your budget, you can always save money by doing some or all of the staging yourself.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Why Experts Say You Should (or Shouldn’t) Hire a Home Stager When Selling Your Home
