Reasons Why You Should Stage Your Home, Even in a Sellers Market
We’re going to be bold here and say - staging is a must-do for Sellers. Why? Even if it sells quickly, staged homes sell for far more than un-staged.
Real Estate and homeowners alike are likely feeling the effects of a Seller’s market at the moment, with houses not lasting too long at all on the market before they go under contract.
What do we mean by a seller’s market’? It means more people are looking for homes than homes are available. As such, it may not feel like staging properties is really worth the effort as homes are selling like hotcakes at the moment.
But there is good reason - let’s discuss:
People buy homes with their hearts. And a staged home makes the buyers fall in love - which can trigger a bid war between interested parties. At everly, we will make your property eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing for potential buyers. A staged home increases the perceived value of the home and makes buyers more likely to exceed the asking price and yield higher offers.
Staged homes make it better for under-contract retention. During times when the market is really hot, potential buyers feel the need to act quickly and go under contract to secure a property asap. As a result, this can often result in sacrifice or compromise of a buyers’ wishlist. If the home is not arranged or aesthetically pleasing in a way that keeps the buyer interested, they may very well pull out of a deal after further consideration. Oftentimes, buyers will keep an eye out for other properties and if one catches their eye and looks more appealing, they may go for it. The trick is to make sure your home *is* that more aesthetically pleasing and appealing option - and the one that feels inviting, warm, and cozy.
Staged home are also more likely to move forward with a contract even if inspections come back with issues. If the home is dead-beautiful, and the buyer loves it, then they may agree to invest in repairs or compromise on issues that arise due to inspections. If the buyer has already pictured themself in the home, then it will be harder for them to let go of property based on less than perfect inspection result. There is an old adage of people buy with their hearts not their heads, and this certainly rings true in real estate. The risk will be around another home looking far more enticing, and if your contract falls through it can result in huge disarray of plans, and wasted time and energy. Not to mention that buyers will be privy to information and data around previous contracts falling through, which can plant seeds of doubt before they even view. According to the National Association of Realtors® 2021 Profile of Home Staging, over a quarter of buyers are willing to overlook property faults if a home is staged.
In line with inspections - staged homes can also help buyers look past cosmetic or other needed repairs of a home. When homes are selling in a hot market, it means buyers are stretching their budgets as far as they’ll go to compete with other buyers. This can leave little for renovations or repairs, and if the home is staged really well then those minor repairs can seem less imminently necessary. Staging will guarantee you’ll get the highest possible ROI for your property.
Properties that are uploaded with staged photos get more views. 99% of people start with online visual cues for whether they want to view a property, and this is the first impression to that potential buyer. With more views comes more demands, and higher demand means price will stay high or go up if buyers begin to bid over-asking price. As part of staging your home, we also manage the photography and nothing short of picture-perfect photos will be taken and uploaded for your home’s online listing.
Ironically - empty homes can feel smaller than staged homes. It makes it harder for potential buyers to use their imagination and see the potential of a property. Regardless of whether your home is vacant or not, a staged home will feel bigger and appeal to more buyers if it is well-staged.
In summary - the ROI is undeniable:
Let’s say you have a home for sale at $500,000, and you spend 1% to stage your home ($5,000). As we see time and time again, your staged property should sell for 5%-15% over asking. That’s a profit of $25,000 - $75,000. Subtract your original investment of $5,000 and you’ve just made an additional profit of $20,000 - $70,000. That is at least a 400% return (up to 1400%) on your investment. We see this kind of ROI day in and day out. So don’t hesitate to rehaul your home. We take care of everything including moving furniture in and out. Let us stage your home and you won’t regret it!