Home Staging Can Speed Up a Sale

According to a report that was shared by the National Association of Realtors, 62% of sellers’ agents think that staging a home decreases the number of days a home will be actively on the market for sale.

“Realtors® know how important it is for buyers to be able to picture themselves living in a home and, according to NAR’s most recent report, staging a home makes that process much easier for potential buyers,” said NAR President William E. Brown, a Realtor® from Alamo, California and founder of Investment Properties. “While all real estate is local, and many factors play into what a home is worth and how much buyers are will to pay for it, staging can be the extra step sellers take to help sell their home more quickly and for a higher dollar value.”

The report shared that nearly two-thirds of sellers’ agents felt staging decreased time on the market, with 39% stating it greatly decreases the time and 23% stating it only slightly decreases. Sixteen percent stated that it either greatly or slightly increases the time on the market while 8% feel it has no impact.

Regarding the buyer audience, 77% of buyers’ agents report that staging a home makes it better for visualizing living in the property, and 40% are more likely to go visit a home they first saw staged online. Meanwhile, 38% of buyers’ agents believe that staging can add value only if staged according to the buyer’s taste. Therefore decorating should be neutral and designed to cater to the greatest audience possible.

Realtors that work with both buyers and sellers agreed that the living room is the most important room to have staged. The living room is followed by the master bedroom, kitchen and then outdoor space if there is any. Given the outdoor lifestyle in Fort Lauderdale, this should rank of higher importance in this region.

The majority of buyers’ agents felt that staging can increase a property’s value between 1 and 10%. Only 1% of buyer agents think that staging can have a negative impact on price. Seller agents think staging can add anywhere from 1 to 15% in value with no agents feeling it has a negative impact on price.

The findings of how many agents recommend staging and when they like to stage were across the board. They ranged from before listing on the market to only when a home proves difficult to sell. However, the bottom line is that nearly every agent recommends decluttering the home along with a good cleaning and fixing obvious items in need of repair.