Should You Get Your Home Staged When Selling?

If you’re preparing to sell your home, then one of the questions that you might be asking, is do I need to stage my home? While we all know that it’s important to put our home’s best “foot” forward for pictures, showings, and open houses, is it worth it to have your home fully staged, or is it enough to just declutter and clean? 

We’ll look through the pros and cons of home staging so that you can best decide for yourself if staging your home is worth it for your specific situation. 

What Does Home Staging Include?

First thing first, when it comes to home staging, your things will need to go. A home stager will pick out and arrange modern furniture and home decor to make the space look and feel bigger and more beautiful. They’ll “stage” areas to give potential buyers ideas of how to use the space. There might be popcorn containers and glass pop bottles in a theatre room, a bath tray and candles on a soaker tub, or a bar cart with a decanter set in an area that would be great as a dry bar. 

We know that home buyers need to be able to see themselves living in the space before they fall in love with a house and put in an offer, and home buyers create spaces in your home that help potential buyers see the potential of how they can live in your home. 

Pros

What are all of the pros that home staging brings to the table? 

Neutrality To Appeal To The Largest Set Of Potential Buyers

Your style–the furniture you’ve chosen, the decor you’ve displayed, and even the set up of your rooms–is a reflection of your personal tastes and lifestyle. And while you absolutely might have a beautiful home, it still screams you. A professional stager can set a scene that feels homey, yet entirely neutral. They can create a home that anyone can envision themselves living in. 

Selling Faster

Research shows that homes that are staged tend to sell faster than homes that are not. Especially in a market that has cooled off and is either a buyer’s market or more of a balanced market, anything that you can do to help move your home quicker can be a benefit. 

Appear More Spacious

Home stagers are professional designers. They understand exactly how to make a space look and feel bigger than it actually is. Through furniture choice, placement, and tricks of lighting and decor, they can show off plenty of potential in even the tiniest of rooms. 

Create Potential Spaces That Buyers Might Want

While you have your home set up for what is best for your family’s lifestyle, there could be spaces that other people would want to be able to envision in your home, such as an office, a playroom, or an entertainment space. A stager can create those areas to help buyers see the potential in your house. 

They Understand The Psychology Behind Decor

A professional home stager knows the psychology behind colours and decor to be able to set a mood for your home. They’ll know where to put plants, how much greenery to have, and how to create an environment that evokes a welcoming and homey feeling. 

Your Home Will Look Better 

Visually speaking, a staged home is an attractive home. Unless you’re an interior designer, the fact is that a professional can make your space look better than you can since they have the education and the training to do so. 

Potential For Selling At A Higher Price Point

Research has shown time and time again that it is worth it to get your home professionally staged, as staged homes sell at a higher price point than non-staged homes. 

Cons

So, why doesn’t everyone just stage their home when it comes time to sell? Well, there are some drawbacks. 

It Could Be Costly

Obviously, if you’re getting a professional to stage your home, there will be costs to it. It’s absolutely free to clean and declutter your own home and attempt your own staging, whereas a professional will require payment for their services. 

Your Items Need To Be Stored Somewhere

A home stager is going to be placing modern furniture and decor in place of yours, which means you’re going to need to pack up your stuff and put it in storage somewhere. Some people rent those Big Steel Boxes, others put everything in their garage or unfinished basement, and others rent a storage unit. The bottom line is that your things will need to go somewhere, and you’ll have to figure that out, pack it all up, and move it all there. 

It Will Take Time To Clean House And Stage

If you’re moving, you’re going to be busy packing and unpacking eventually. Plus, while you’re selling, you’re going to be cleaning your home more often for showings and open houses. So selling takes a lot fo your time and energy. Because staging will require you to remove your belongings, it’s going to add even more time and energy to all of the things you need to do to sell. 

You’ll Be Living On Rented Furniture 

Your things will be packed away somewhere, which means that home isn’t going to feel quite like home while you’re there. You’re going to be living on rented furniture and going through your life with things arranged differently than normal. You may even want to stay with family or friends while your house is selling so that the stager can really stage your home to show as well as possible. Either way, it’ll be an inconvenience while your home is selling. 

Worn Areas Might Become More Obvious 

If you’ve had your living room set up the same way for years and years, then when it comes time for staging and your furniture gets moved around your home might start to show those worn-out areas more prominently. As you pack things up you might also discover some spots in your home that actually require a little extra TLC that you didn’t know about before. 

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of pros and cons to hiring a home stager. If you’re unsure what is best for your specific situation, talk to your real estate professional. They’ll have a better idea of what other homes in your area or your price point are doing and can help to steer you in the right direction to keep your home competitive in the market.