It’s a well-known fact that quality home staging is not cheap. From the original consultations to basic home repairs to paint and light alterations to furniture rentals to minor accessory purchases, a seller who invests in home staging can run up pretty quickly. One expert estimates the average cost of a “full soup-to-nuts home staging for an occupied house” to be between three and five thousand dollars. However, staging is an investment, not an additional expense—one that can translate into thousands of dollars in savings. Take a look at a few of these statistics:
• The U.S. Housing and Urban Development reported a staged home sells for up to 17 percent more compared with a non-staged home.
• According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is between 1 and 3% of the home’s asking price, which generates a return of 8 to 10%.
• Staged homes spent 83% less time on the market than non-staged homes. (HomeGain.com)
• In controlled tests selling identical homes, professionally staged vs. those not staged, the non-staged houses sold in 102 days, while the staged houses sold in 45 days. (Real Estate Staging Association)
• A 2009 Home Gain Survey of over 2,000 realtors showed that home staging typically provides a 586% return on investment.
• Professionally staged homes sell in an average of 35 days (compared to 175 days for non-staged homes), according to StagedHomes.com.
Think of it this way: Your home is on the market, and your asking price is $500,000. Most homeowners reduce their price by ten percent after three months on the market—a $50,000 decrease in this example. However, if you invest one percent of your asking price, or $5,000, on a staging investment, and your home sells in the first three months, you save yourself $45,000. 95% of our staged homes sell in 32 days or less. Sounds like an easy decision to me!