Haley Chang

Home staging is not about covering up flaws, or about selling something that isn’t there;   the immediate experience of falling in love is reactive, not reflexive.  One must consider that psychology and play into that feeling. A prospective buyer may find faults, but they are less likely to break a deal, or to send asking price downward, if you’ve succeeded on capturing them on an experiential level.

A property that appeals draws in all the senses; it is about arranging space to create an environment and an experience that is conducive to a sale, coaxing all the best qualities of a property so that they pop out at prospective buyer and linger longest in their memories.

As with everything else in this business, first impressions carry tremendous impact. You take a great amount of time to pay attention to your own image, so why should it be any different with a property that you are selling? You dress for success; shouldn’t your listed property do the same?

Numbers don’t lie

According to RESA (Real Estate Staging Association), a North American member governed trade association, statistics that support staging a property are overwhelming.  In their 2010 study, results showed that homes that were not staged were on the market an average of 78% longer than homes that were staged.  Additionally in the study, they included results from a Realtor survey that identified the top 12 improvements needed to both increase home price and reduce time on market and the associated return on investments for these improvements. These ranged from 872% for clean and de-clutter, which requires a minimal financial investment, to updating bathrooms, which they calculated brought in a 172% return on investment with the ultimate selling price.

Is it worth the investment? According to Canadian Staging Professionals, there are three major factors that influence the sale of a property: condition, location and price. In staging a home, the benefits are numerous.

Sound investment

Yes, home staging is appealing to the eye and is very fashionable at present, given the myriad and popularity of home design shows but, according to many, home staging is also probably one of the most sound investments when setting out to sell a property. 

There is a direct relationship between the value, both tangibly and experientially, of staging a home and the eventual direct impact on your bottom line.

There is tremendous value to staging a home for everyone involved, from buyers to sellers to realtors. According to Tanya Nouwens , Montreal Real Estate Broker & Canadian Staging Professional™  for JJ Jacobs Realty Inc,  and blogger for Propertywire.ca , the benefits are many; "I have long argued that home staging is good for home sellers AND home buyers.  It helps remove the obstacles to someone falling in love with a property (which is good for sellers) and it helps show the true potential in a property (which is good for buyers).”

When you break down the numbers, it just makes sense. Says Nouwens; "For a few hundred dollars, give or take, you can have a home staging professional go through your home top to bottom and provide you with a list of recommendations about steps you can take to have it appeal to the widest possible audience of buyers.  It's about numbers - do you want your home to appeal to 20% of buyers or to 80%?  In which scenario are you most likely to receive a good offer quickly?”

General rules

While there are different ways to approach staging a house, there are some general guidelines to follow. Consider things like removing clutter, fresh neutral paint, yard and landscaping, and finishing “projects”.  Remove personal items like family photographs so that prospective buyers can envision themselves in the space. Remember to make the experience multi-sensory; bake cookies or something with cinnamon prior to showings to create an atmosphere of comfort and warmth.

Nouwens likes to use a customer centric approach; “I start with the potential buyer.  Who is most likely to buy this house?  Everything else flows from this.  What a single professional dreams about is different than what a young family will be hoping for.  The goal is not to please the homeowner, nor the real estate agent, nor me (as a home stager).  The goal is to think like the potential buyer for this particular property and to gear everything we do towards what their expectations and desires will be.  I also focus on the key areas first: entry, living room, kitchen, dining room, family room and master bedroom. 

Staging as Strategy

Given the recent economic slowdown and the associated softening in the resale markets, staging a home can hold even more value as a competitive edge.  Although the pace of the market is beginning to show signs of recovery, no doubt homes in some regions are staying on the market longer. The inclination is to drop the price when a property isn’t moving but the problem may not be with the price itself- it could be with the perceived value of the property.

Staging a property provides another option.  It is about merchandising and repackaging an old product so that it is new again, at least in terms of perceptions.

The same strategy holds true for vacant homes. Statistically, vacant homes sit on the market for a considerably longer time than those that are staged. Again, it comes down to perception- and houses that are empty and cold, are, well, empty and cold.  You need an atmosphere of warmth- a canvas upon which prospective buyers can build their own memories.

Home decor shows: Help or hurt?

With the current craze of home decorating shows, is it a case of homeowner empowerment, or is it a case of being woefully undersupplied with information to do a big job? Nouwens agrees that there is some disparity between what is shown on TV, and on what has to happen in real life to sell a property:; "They (television shows) have helped raised the profile and benefits of home staging, but they have also created unrealistic expectations in terms of the cost of staging (because labour is often not included in final totals) and the turnaround time for some home renovation projects.”

Know your market

Staging a home is not just about appeal for prospective buyers when they walk in the door; it is as much for prospective buyers doing their home shopping online.

It is well known that most people now, at least preliminarily, do their viewing of homes online.  It is essential to your market strategy to meet your prospective buyers where they are, and to deliver them a compelling product and a reason to choose it.  Home staging accomplishes all of this, by providing the necessary polish and sleek packaging that makes properties look their best in photographs and will help drive traffic from online to in the door.