When listing a home for sale, I'm definitely a "stickler" for staging. If it's a vacant home, I at least want vignette staging; if it's not vacant, definitely decluttered.
In our market, a staging consultant who will help declutter and rearrange costs in the range of $250 - $400 for a 2,000 - 3,000 sf home. Most stagers say that their fee is "just pennies on the dollar" for the return on the investment. Approximately 95% of staged homes sell in 37 days or less and statistically for 16% more than homes that are not staged.
Many clients feel they are great decorators and claim they know how to stage and declutter a home. My experience has shown that the opposite is true. Decorating and staging are not the same thing. The payoff to engage the services of a professional stager, who stages homes every day, is worth many times the cost of their fee.
Approximately 90% of homebuyers begin their search on the internet. And they love to look at photos of the home. If it's a staged home, there's more interest. Unstaged, they move on with just a click. Our MLS is filled with photos that absolutely do not do justice to the home.
Agents do their clients a disservice when they upload photos into MLS that are unattractive, cluttered, "busy" or distractingly colorful. Buyers will not want to view those homes no matter how wonderful the price or floorplan when the photos are hideous.
If you want your home (or your listing) to sell quickly, have it staged by an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP). The reward is worth the effort.
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