Setting the Stage for the Sale

It’s no secret that your house should be clean, decluttered, and organized before inviting prospective buyers, but what else can you do to capture the sale? It’s all about staging. 

What is staging? 

Well, if you want the dictionary definition, it’s “the activity or practice of styling and furnishing a property for sale in such a way as to enhance its attractiveness to potential buyers”; however, when done well, it can make or break your sale. Staging is creating a clutter-free, engaging, inviting environment. It allows your potential buyer to see themselves in your space; great stagers increase the functionality of a space and give a personalized touch to the space. 

“Staging is all about the initial perception and allowing the buyer to mentally unpack when they get into a space,” said Nicole Canole. “Buyers spend an average of six minutes in a home, but form an opinion in the first 15 seconds.” That’s not a lot of time at all, so you want to capitalize on those few minutes. Staging is the perfect way to do that. 

What are the benefits?

Staging keeps your potential buyers in your home: Buyers will stay in a vacant home an average of five minutes but will linger in a furnished home an average of 40 minutes. You don’t need to be a real estate agent to know that the longer potential buyers linger, the more likely they are to make an offer-- and, if multiple buyers are lingering, that translates to multiple offers. 

In 2019, 83% of buyer’s agents said that staging made it easier for their clients to visualize themselves in the home. In addition, a Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation survey discovered that staged homes spent half the time of unstaged homes on the market and they sold for more than 6% above the asking price. On average, the US Housing and Urban Development reported that a staged house sells for, on average, 17% more than an unstaged home. Calculations from Bankrate.com found that the return on investment, or ROI, for staging is an average of 586%-- that is a huge payoff for a relatively small investment. 

The bottom line: staged homes sell for more and faster than unstaged homes. 

How much does staging cost?

Obviously, the larger your home is, the more it will cost to stage, as there are more rooms to “fill,” but the price is relatively affordable. Typically, the cost of a home stager is 1% or less of the market listing price of your home. If you choose to not stage your home, however, you could be losing money. For example, a survey from Trulia states that the average seller has discounted their home by 8% when it has been on the market for about ten weeks.  Let’s say your home is listed at $550,000. 8% of that would equate to $44,000 in reductions. If you staged that home, it would cost you approximately $4,500 or less (about 1%). Two additional months of your home on the market comes out to about $6,000 or more. Your total amount saved for that home would be approximately $45,500+. 

If money isn’t enough to convince you, how about time? A staged home sells 67% faster than a vacant home, according to the National Association of Realtors Survey. Less time on the market also translates to less stress for you as the seller. You will also avoid the additional costs of keeping your house listed. 

Bottom line: the benefits outweigh the minimal costs. 

And that’s exactly why East + Ivy Staging was created in 2018, and why Nicole Canole, CEO, made the decision to bring Qawnana Crockett, COO on board recently. With the separate company, East + Ivy can focus attention on “serving more clients” and allowing “future growth in all of our companies,” Qawnana explains. 

How does the process work exactly?

Convinced that staging is worth it? Selling a home 67% faster and saving money in the process both sound fantastic, so what can you expect? 

Well, every home, condo, or apartment ready to sell will start with an initial visual consultation, but it does depend on the type of staging that is needed. East + Ivy Staging offers both vacant and occupied staging services, as Qawnana explains: 

“The stager will make any needed recommendations to the physical home, [such as] paint, flooring, etc., to enhance the sellability of the property. After the consultation, we provide a recommendation on which furniture package (for vacant staging) would best suit the property, or schedule additional time for an occupied consult as needed. Once the best course of action is established, we complete the stage within 72 hours.” 

An occupied staging is a little more intensive, as Qawnana and her team “work with the homeowners to rearrange the current pieces in the home in a more suitable way for selling.” The team will then either “tag what needs to be removed” or “explain where the current pieces need to be relocated,” or “we bring in the team and do it ourselves-- it depends on what the homeowner chooses,” Qawnana explains. Again, the team will work with each client to determine the best course of action based on individual needs. 

Should every room be staged? 

This would be something that the staging team considers, however, there are three rooms that make the biggest impact: living room (93%), kitchen (84%), and master bedroom (78%). If you’re on a budget, these would be the areas on which you should focus your attention. 

Once everything is decided, the team gets to work and you can expect your house to fly off the market-- especially with the current trends. 

So, what are you waiting for? The market is on fire and the team at East + Ivy Staging is ready to meet and exceed your expectations; their staged houses consistently sell above market value and bring in multiple offers. Give them a call today!