An Insider’s Look at the Reality of Home Staging

By Realty Times Published May 17, 2022 03:00 pm

When it comes to home staging, there are typically two buyer camps: The first thinks it’s a waste of money and doesn’t want to pay more to potentially make their home more attractive to buyers—even if their real estate agent says they’ll make it up (and then some) The second realizes the value and is willing to make that smart investment.

But just how do those two contingents break down? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2019 Profile of Home Staging provides some insight. The study was separated into three categories: Buyers’ Agent Perspective, Sellers’ Agent Perspective, and Buyer Expectations. We’re taking a closer look at the key points.

Home Staging: Buyers’ Agent Perspective
According to the study, “40 percent of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home” and “83 percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.” Buyers agents also noted that, “Staging the living room was found to be most important for buyers (47 percent), followed by staging the master bedroom (42 percent), and staging the kitchen (35 percent).”

Home Staging: Sellers’ Agent Perspective
Per the study, “28 percent of sellers’ agents said they staged all sellers’ homes prior to listing them for sale,” and “13 percent noted that they only staged homes that are difficult to sell.” The living room (93 percent), kitchen (84 percent), master bedroom (78 percent), and the dining room (72 percent) were the most commonly staged rooms.

Sellers’ agents offered to do the staging 26 percent of the time, and, “The median dollar value spent on home staging was $400.”

Buyer Expectations
Call it the HGTV effect: “A median of 10 percent of respondents cited that buyers felt homes should look the way they were staged on TV shows,” while “38 percent of respondents said that TV shows which displayed the buying process impacted their business.”

The real effect of staging
Now that we have the buyer’s agent, seller’s agent, and buyer’s perspective, let’s look at some real data about staged homes. According to the NAR study, 22 percent of sellers’ agents “reported an increase of one percent to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers, in comparison to similar homes,” and “17 percent of respondents stated that staging a home increased the dollar value of the home between six and 10 percent. 28 percent of sellers’ agents stated that there were slight decreases in the time on the market when the home is staged, while 25 percent reported that staging a home greatly decreased the amount of time the home was on the market.”

Of course, time on market and sales prices can range depending on a number of factors, like age of home, location, square footage, and price point. The Real Estate Staging Association has found, overall, that staged homes sell “73% faster, on average, than their non-staged counterparts,” said The Mortgage Reports.