Staged Homes: The art of showing off your property

Selling your home can be likened to an elaborate theatre production: you better dress up the stage and put on a good show. Potential buyers are your theatre-goers – they’re here to have their imaginations captured and will shower you with cash for a successful screening.

However, staging your home is so much more than just putting out matching furniture and buying some fresh flowers. It’s the art of appealing to every single person and singling each person out at the same time. This is why most serious property sellers (home-owners and investors alike) hire professional stagers.

What exactly is staging?
In technical terms, home staging is essentially the act of dressing your home to make it more appealing to a target market audience. In more creative terms, it creates an aspirational tableau for the ideal use of your space.

The idea behind staging is to spark the imaginations of the buyers by painting them an alluring picture of what their new home could look like. Property purchases are often just as emotional as they are logical. Stress can run high so anything that you can do to make it easier for them to envision living there, the better.

Why should you get your home professionally staged?
Staging is a delicate balance – how can you appeal to the largest amount of people without erring too far into looking boring and bland? It is the ultimate form of marketing for your home. The way that the property is styled is to maximise its appeal to not just the largest audience, but to your target audience.

When it comes to choosing the right ‘look’ and ‘feel’ this is where the professionals come in play. They will have the inventory of furniture and decorations that they can bring over to your property to generate the ‘right’ look. Quite frankly, regardless of how great you think your taste might be, staged homes are often more appealing, providing better photos drawing more to inspections.

Staging has risen in popularity, especially with large developments and show homes. Many have understood the potential that can be realised through staging but what does staging achieve? Trends indicate that 49% homes that are staged sell more quickly than homes that are not staged, and they sell for a higher price, on average around 7 – 11% more. The statistics also show that they reduce the time that your property is on the market by half.

Is there a cost?
Yes, as with any service there is a cost to having your home professionally staged. Costs vary based on the company that you choose. On average for a property with three bedrooms, one living room you would be looking at around $3000 for a 6-week timeframe. The price and timeframe are dependent on the company that you go with but be sure to make sure that you will have the staging sorted for the entire sale campaign for you home.

Will staging work for me?
The success of staging your home just like everything else in property is dependent on many factors including the area, type of property and your budget. There is no guarantee that staging will increase the sale of your property, but it will increase your chances if done correctly.