4 Secrets Top Selling Agents Will Tell You About Staging Your Home

If you asked top selling agents for their best-kept secrets regarding staging your home, they would provide you with leading strategies to boost your listing’s appeal with buyers shopping your market.

Ask Top Selling Agents: What Do I Need to Know About Staging My Home?

The data is clear on home staging — staging your listing has historically been proven to increase the dollar value offered by buyers as well as decrease the time the home spends on the market compared to similar unstaged homes.

Here are the four most important things that sellers should consider when they are staging their homes that top selling agents would tell you.

#1. Staging Helps Buyers Visualize Your Listing as a Future Home

According to the 2021 Profile of Home Staging published by the National Association of REALTORS®, 47% of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home.

The report also states that 82% of buyers’ agents said that staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

Staging your home creates a narrative within the space that potential buyers can interact with when they visit the home in person or scroll through photos and videos online. Staged homes are inviting, lively, and much easier to imagine as a potential home than an empty or unstaged home.

#2. Focus on the Most Important Rooms

Staging the entire house is optional, but it may not be necessary as it can increase the upfront costs of selling a home since staging services typically charge per room staged.

Instead of staging every room in the house, focus on the rooms that buyers care about the most.

NAR’s 2021 Profile of Home Staging indicated that 46% of buyers found the living room to be the most important room to stage, 43% thought the master bedroom was the most important, and 35% said it was the kitchen.

Focusing on these key rooms — the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen — when staging your home is a cost-effective strategy that top selling agents will tell you. This can save sellers money while still giving buyers the impression of a staged listing.

#3. Top Selling Agents Can Stage Listings for Sellers

Sellers may not need to hire external staging companies when they work with top selling agents.

The best agents will be able to personally stage listings for their seller clients. With their ample experience selling homes in your target market, they are knowledgeable about specific staging details that help homes sell.

31% of agents responding to NAR’s 2021 Home Staging survey indicated that they stage all of their sellers’ homes before listing them for sale. 26% of agents personally offered to stage their client’s homes.

One of the biggest advantages of having your personal top agent stage your home is the potential for financial savings.

According to NAR’s data, the median dollar value spent by sellers working with a staging service was $1,500. When agents personally staged the homes themselves, the average cost of staging was only $300. On average, sellers who had their homes staged by their agents were able to save $1,200 while still reaping the benefits of this listing strategy.

When your agent stages the home for you, they can work with your budget in mind to help you stay on track and not over-spend during the listing process.

#4. Sellers Still Need Online Photos, Videos, and Virtual Tours

When you invest in home staging as a way to prepare your listing for the market, do not overlook the importance of high-quality online imagery and virtual tours.

NAR’s data showcases that both buyers’ and sellers’ agents found having photos, videos, and online tours available is becoming increasingly important since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Association of REALTORS® advised members to work with MLS platforms that enable the addition of high-quality online tours to listings.

When you stage your home, don’t forget to upload photos and videos of the finished product on your property listing. Creating a virtual tour of your staged home will allow more buyers to see the staging, not just the ones who attend personal tours or open houses.

This will help market your home to a larger audience, including international or out-of-state buyers, which may make it easier to find the right buyer.
If you’re ready to learn more secrets that top selling agents will tell you about selling your home, find your best agent through Realestateagents.com. Or, click here to read more real estate articles.