Is Staging A Home in Michigan Really Worth It?

Michigan rated #3 in the national foreclosure rates for the year 2007.

Detroit  rated the worst city to purchase a home in. 

The Foreclosure rate has gone up 68% since 2006. Even affluent neighborhoods have the black eye of foreclosure mucking up their images.
With so many people walking away from their property and housing prices dropping to unbelievable prices, why should the average seller bother staging their home?

One word. COMPETITION. It is now more important than ever to let buyers see they are getting what they pay for.  If buyers have the choice of purchasing an AS IS property for dirt cheep or a well maintained home for a fair price, it seems to me that unless they want to enter the black hole of uncertainty risking bad foundations, black mold or other scary alternatives, the smart investment would be to purchase a home that looks and feels like it was maintained and cared for. Buyers are willing to pay more if they know they are getting more, and the only way to convince them of that is to show them. They will not take the time to look past the clutter and rooms overly full of furniture to see the great features of a home. Why should they? With such a backlog of houses on the market they could sit around and wait for just about any property to keep slashing the price. As a homeowner you must make buyers see that this deal of a home may not be here if they wait. The easiest way to do that is to price it right and make it look and feel perfect.

Many buyers are not looking for a fixer upper. Normally, they are a 2-income family with at least one kid and very little time.  They probably do not want to risk buying a foreclosure if they can find a house that meets all their needs and is noticeably cared for. This means turnkey condition, no orange shag carpet or rundown kitchens. Sellers need to spend money to make it in this market. This doesn’t mean renovating a house to get it sold; there are many low cost things that make a huge impact on a property. Staging is by far much cheaper and productive than constantly cutting your price to compete with the foreclosures.