In a tight market, home staging grows as a real estate trend

If you’ve ever been house-hunting and have attended open houses on weekend afternoons, you have, no doubt, been amazed at the magazine-perfect decoration of some homes, as well as their immaculate appearance.
Do people really live like that?

The short answer is: “Yes, for as long as it takes to sell the home!”
Realtors believe that the proper appearance and interior decor of a home can add enormously to its sales potential. It can greatly speed up the sale in many cases and can even help get a higher price for the home.

However, many of us simply don’t have the time to assess what needs to be done to make our homes market-ready, much less the time to actually do the work. In addition, some folks have a knack for interior decorating, and some don’t. In the latter case, it’s best to call in reinforcements.

Enter the stager – the professional who will come to your home and determine what needs to be done to give it the best presentation. That may involve painting, papering, furniture arrangement, accessorizing or just basic cleaning and maintenance—all designed to minimize the home’s flaws and showcase its positive attributes. Think of it as residential theater, preparing the set (your house) for its appearance on the market. It’s a process through which a home is “neutralized” so that it will appeal to a wide variety of buyers who, with any luck, will mentally see themselves moving in and finishing out the home with their personal belongings.

Industry experts tell us that potential buyers make up their minds about homes within the first 10 seconds after stepping through the door. It doesn’t take long for them to decide whether they will spend time there or go onto the next location. The proper staging can make a big difference in whether you get them past the entry foyer.

Staging is a relatively new industry but one that is rapidly on the rise. Nationally, it is estimated that one in five homes on the real estate market has been “staged.” Historically real estate agents have provided sellers with advice about enhancing the salability of their homes, and that advice is solid and based on years of experience. However, not every Realtor is a designer, so acquiring the services of someone with a flair for look and feel is a great benefit. Stagers are adept at looking at the flow of a home, arranging furniture to capitalize on that flow and enhancing curb appeal.

Professional stagers report that staging can speed sales up in a sluggish market and can enhance sale prices by up to 10 percent in most markets. The biggest advantage is found in luxury homes or in a bidding war over a property, when careful staging can boost the sale price by up to 50 percent. Staging can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000, depending on the needs of the residence, so many will find it to be an excellent investment.
Some stagers maintain an inventory of “props” that can be placed in homes on a temporary basis to enhance their appearance. Others can make easy changes without adding a thing. Still others may ask you for a budget to hire painters, landscapers or maintenance people. In some cases, the Realtor will actually pay part of the staging expenses.

For new construction, some stagers make arrangements with local furniture and home accessory retailers to “borrow” items for the homes, complete with tags and marketing materials for the retail locations, which allows them to feature their inventory outside the store. Many times, buyers will buy the homes including the items on loan, making it a win-win for seller, stager and retailer. Homes sell better when they appear lived in.

The competitive real estate market makes it increasingly important that homes have a professional “edge” when compared with other properties. Staging is a new industry that offers opportunities for those talented in design at the same time it adds fluidity to the marketplace and keeps properties moving. v

Virginia Wilson is a counselor with the Missouri Small Business Development Centers in the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Reach her at 882-7096.