Staging your home helps it sell in a saturated market

Today’s housing market is saturated with inventory: homes for sale or in foreclosure. So how do you set your home apart from the rest? Most real estate agents will agree staging is the answer.

Contrary to what you may think, staging isn’t cleaning, painting and repairing. It’s what you do after that’s all done. It’s manufacturing an atmosphere; be it brighter, warmer or homier. Of course, giving each room ambiance is an art. Professional home staging can cost as little as $400 or as much as $5,000 or more. If you choose to do it yourself, visit one or two new home models and take notes. You’ll undoubtedly see large bowls of vibrant fruit in the kitchen with colorful cookbooks on the counter. Bathrooms commonly have spa treatment baskets and towels tied with ribbon. You get the idea. It’s all about fantasy; creating an illusion.

But does staging really work? According to stagedhomes.com, from November 2008 through May 2009 94.8% of ASP (Accredited Staging Professional) staged homes sell on average in 37 days or less. The average sell time for non-staged homes was 182 days.

“You deserve to get the most money for your home”, says Michelle Morris of Home Staged Designs in Baltimore, Maryland. “Staged houses sell for 7% more and in half the time. That’s $35,000 more on a $500,000 home. [Additionally,]93% of staged houses sell in under one month.”

In today's tough real estate market, many Marylanders are finding it necessary to sell and feel that putting a few thousand dollars into staging is not an option. However, before you decide if staging is right for you, consider: the investment in staging is far less than a price reduction on the home and, if time is an issue, the additional cost of keeping your house on the market longer.