In other markets across the country, like Seattle, Portland, and many cities in California and Florida, sellers wouldn’t think of listing a property without staging. They do not want to leave that much equity on the table!
What has shaped our perception of home staging…
The first shows I remember were Sell This House and Design to Sell in the mid-2000s. A team came in and transformed and occupied property with a limited budget by using paint and simple decorating updates to make the space appear more spacious and appealing to buyers. If you’ve watch episodes of that show now – WOW, how things have changed! It looks SO dated…but 15 years is a long time!
Next in the late 2000s came Flip This House that featured properties being completely gutted and updated. There was a formula for flooring, cabinets, and paint color that made up that magic formula to keep reno costs down to maximize profits. The fixed design selections stayed relatively neutral so buyers could move in and their décor would work in the space. The furnishing used to stage the property were simple intended to show the space. Then we moved deeper into the reality TV realm where the shock factor came into the picture with Zombie House Flipping and Flip or Flop. There always seemed to be something major going on that could derail the project.
From there we moved into full blown property renovations about 7 years ago – Property Brothers and Fixer Upper. Shows that went beyond staging to influence design trends, decorating styles and furniture selections. Now every cable channel has a rehab show (or multiple shows) in cities/towns around the country that refers to “staging” as the last step before listing the property for sale where they bring in all new furniture for the final 5 minutes. After binge watching many of these shows being stuck at home in 2020, this is now a common perception of "staging".
Somewhere along the way, cable TV shows evolved from simply providing sellers with tips to refresh their property using their existing furniture to appeal to buyers with simple updates, to full knock-out-wall renovations and completely updated décor. Now when we think of selling our property, we all feel a little inadequate because we haven’t completely renovated our property. Then when we hear the term “staging”, we immediately think we need to replace all the furniture and decor in our house to be like what we see on TV.
Good news…you are not inadequate, and you do not need to completely gut your property to sell!
The goal of home staging is simple:
- Appeal to current buyers – address the key elements they want in a property
- Accentuate the architectural features / minimize attention on less desirable factors
- Maximize the space – through decluttering, pre-packing, and furniture placement
- Create an emotional connection so the buyer sees themselves living there – this includes removing personal items like photos that remind them it’s still your house.
Reality is…there are levels of home staging
A professional stager is trained to deliver results for all levels of staging.
Occupied Staging – selling a property where the owner is still residing, or furnishing are still present.
All Occupied scenarios begin with a comprehensive consultation/discovery session to identify any equity leaks that could negatively impact the offered price. The recommendations are reviewed compared to the budget and determine an action plan/timeline to complete the tasks or the “work”.
Seller Styling - Seller purchases any items needed from a shopping list of accessories (bedding, throw pillows, rugs, towels, accessories, artwork) provided by the stager and executes Staging for photos based on detailed consultation notes – including furniture and accessory placement in the recommended locations.
Photo Prep – Stager returns prior to marketing photos to arrange furniture and purchased accessories to enhance presentation for great photos. The seller has the option of purchasing items from a shopping list or having the stager shop for the items needed and add the cost to the invoice + sourcing fee.
Full Showcasing – Same as Photo Prep, but also includes a combination of newly purchased and rented items from the stager’s inventory. The Stager creates a complete plan by room and provides a customize plan of curated items to modernize the existing seller’s furnishings. Purchased items become property of the seller.
Vacant Staging – no one is living in the property being sold and there are no furnishings. This is the staging as seen on TV. Furniture and accessories are brought in to fill in the rooms being staged. The consultation is optional based on the scenario.
- If the property were rehabbed, a consultation would not be needed.
- If the property has not been yet updated, it would benefit from the consultation to properly prepare it for sale to appeal to current buyers to receive the highest offer.