Some people are reluctant to spend money on a home they’re selling. Consider this, you really can’t afford NOT to stage your home. While there are no guarantees in real estate, staged homes do sell more quickly and for higher prices.
Tap the cards to flip them.
Why you can’t afford not to stage your house
– while the average home was on the market for nearly 31 days, the typical staged home sold in just under 14 days.
– while the average home sold for a mere 1.6% over the seller’s asking price, the staged homes went for a hefty 6.3% more.
Realestate Agents Opinion
HomeGain conducted a survey in August 2007 with 1,000 real estate agents and found:
– 48.91% said home staging increases the value of a home by $5,000 +
– 29.35% said home staging increases the value of a home by $2,500 to $5,000
As a home owner you may be annoyed at the prospect of spending money to fix up a house you are selling, the other way to consider it is:
Can you afford NOT to invest in selling quickly and for top dollar? Especially in slower markets where you have lots of competition from other homes in your price range. What is it costing you to carry this piece of real estate month after month? Are you putting the rest of your life on hold while waiting for your home to sell? What’s it like trying to live month after month in a house that’s spotless all the time? My bet is you’re spending a fortune in take out meals, restaurants, cleaners, boarding your pets, etc.
Even in the most expensive home staging scenario, where your house is completely empty and you need to repaint and furnish it with rental furniture, your cost will be considerably less than your first price reduction if the house doesn’t sell when you need it to.
And many home staging projects aren’t that expensive if the Stager will be working with what’s already in,,,,the home.
The bottom line is that with an investment of only a few hours and under a thousand dollars for a Home Staging Consultation, you’ll have a complete plan of what needs to be done and much of it may already be done for you.
Again, your home staging investment will be less than your first price reduction if your house doesn’t sell. If you don’t believe this, spend a weekend going to open houses. Notice how drawn you are to the homes that show beautifully and how uninterested you are in the ones that don’t. Notice which homes you remember fondly and which homes you file away in your mind under the general category of “ugly” or “cramped” if you remember them at all.
If you leave your home as is, how will it be remembered by potential buyers after a long day of seeing 8 or 10 homes on the market? Or, are they likely to even remember it at all?