Most vacant homes for sale aren’t staged. Generally, most properties listed for sale are not staged. But your home isn’t just any ordinary home.
You own a luxury home. Luxury homes require the most amount of attention, care, and diligence.
That’s why I strongly recommend you take the route of staging your home when listing it for sale. Let’s go through the reasons why.
We Sell Lifestyles, Not Homes
I’ve made this point before, but I’ll reiterate because it remains within the mantra of Berri Properties.
We sell lifestyles in luxury real estate. Not homes.
Staging your home means that you’re showcasing the lifestyle that buyers could have when they step inside.
From the enticing fifteen foot-foyer to the minimalist living room with oak finishes to the clean and pure, white master suite, maximizing the feeling of serenity and peace.
Staging covers all these areas and allows buyers to feel the property. Not just walk through it. Which in turn, significantly increases the chance of selling at a higher price quickly.
In fact, in 2017, the National Association of Realtors released a report stating that 49% of buyer’s agents said staging a home increased the price their buyer clients offered. Another 77% said that staging gave the buyer’s an easier way to visualize the lifestyle they could have at the property.
Those are numbers that favor sellers. That’s why it’s crucial to your success as a seller to stage your home or condo.
Masks the Imperfections
One of the reasons we stage homes is to distract the buyer from the elements that could cause them to lower their offering price, or worse, not offer at all.
If you ever walk into a vacant home, what do you have to look at?
Nothing, there’s literally nothing to look at.
So naturally, buyers resolve to look for what’s wrong with the property, because, at this point, it’s easier to spot the imperfections.
I was hosting an open house once that didn’t have staging (not my listing) and some prospective buyers spent a solid forty-five minutes inspecting the home, only to leave without making any indication of purchasing it.
When I asked them for their opinion, I was unsurprised for them to tell me that they liked the layout and amenities but saw too many issues and couldn’t imagine themselves raising children there.
They couldn’t visualize the lifestyle they could achieve.
If that home was staged, I would bet you that they bought it, but they simply weren’t sold.
Stage for Psychology
Everyone has a personality and it translates into what and where we purchase items. Perhaps the most psychological based purchase anyone will make is one in homeownership.
Buying a home means you’re investing in what will likely be your largest asset. It’s also where you’ll likely spend most days of the year.
Buyers want homes that compliment their personality. They want homes that speak to them from the second they walk in the door.
Sure, interior designers can transform a luxury home into anything, but you need to win the buyer first, and that means you’ll need to identify your target buyer and stage in accordance to their personality.
Of course, the information you need is available by consulting your luxury real estate broker, which hopefully you found yourself an exceptional one.
If you are still searching for one though, I wrote this handy article on what to look for during your search.
Your broker can help you identify your target buyer, since they’re the ones doing the marketing. They should also help you bring in a staging team for a consultation, where they’ll go over the options you can select.
What Will the Costs Be?
On the lower end, staging fees can run around the $3,000-$5,000 range for luxury homes priced $500,000 -$1,000,000.
Once you start to venture in the higher price ranges, staging fees can start to become very expensive, going up to even $50,000-$75,000.
There are product rental fees to consider as well, which are usually billed monthly and can become costly, from $300/month or more depending on the home.
If you would prefer to keep the costs as low as possible, then I recommend virtually staging your home, which you can read about here.
Who Pays?
This depends on the situation.
You as the seller could pay for the whole thing from the initial consultation and everything else.
Your broker could pay for the consultation, which can run for about $300-$500 and an hourly wage for overtime.
Or you could go with a 50/50 split for the full staging cost with your broker or have the broker pay for everything.
Talk it out with your broker and see what you can agree on.
It Will Be Worth It
Staging homes increases sale price and lowers the length of time your home stays on market. It’s worth the investment as it typically provides a worthwhile ROI.
So, before you go to list your luxury home, do the right thing and first find a good luxury real estate agent, and second, stage your home.
