Why Do I Need to Hire a Home Stager?

What exactly is a “Home Stager” and how can that person help me-- you ask when the real estate agent you’ve hired to sell your home suggests you need one.

Don’t I just have to clean the house, fix some of the holes in the drywall in my children’s bedroom where they’ve practiced catching their baseballs? Well I guess I should also clean out the garage—so why do I need a “Home Stager”.

Yes it is true that years ago when you got ready to sell your home, the things listed in the above paragraph were all you needed to do. However in the new arena of competition for homes and getting the best price, you do need to do more and that is why your real estate agent suggested hiring a stager.

According to a study done by the Real Estate Staging Association, homes that are professionally staged spend less time on the market. This can be important when you’ve already found your new “dream” home and are anxious to sell your current home. For the sake of brevity, the following are two important facts from that report.

“In California, we studied 81 homes that were staged prior to going on the market. On average, they sold in 20 days.”

“We also studied 17 homes that were previously on the market (un-staged) and those homes sat on the market, on average, for 62 days. Once staged, they sold, on average in 28 days.”

The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers. A home stager can help you to make sure that your property will stand out from others by suggesting things from de-cluttering your home to removing and then rearranging the furniture to make sure your home appears as spacious as possible.

The purpose of “staging” is to make potential buyers see themselves living in your home. So that means de-personalizing your home of family photos, and knick-knacks. It means getting the home into a “ready to move in” condition.

A stager may bring in art work, and home accessories that will give your home that up to date look and “Wow” factor.

Can you do these things yourself? Maybe yes, if you are willing to be honest. You’ve lived with that crack in the drywall for years, so why didn’t you fix it? Because you overlooked it. That art work is faded, why didn’t you replace it? Hmmm—maybe you do need a stager. 

You may just need a consultation with a stager who can suggest what needs to be done to get your home in shape or suggest what accessories you should shop for that will update your home.

However if you are busy like so many people today, you don’t have time, talent, or the desire to find new accessories. You don’t see why a potential buyer might not like your macramé hanging plant holders that you made in the 80’s. You don’t know which pieces of furniture should be moved out to make your rooms look larger. You don’t understand why a buyer might not like a bright red bedroom.

Well a professional stager can help you with all of the above. Check with your tax person as you may be able to deduct the staging fee as you are preparing your home to be sold.  Remember the fees you pay a stager you will get back in return because it means your home will certainly sell before one that is not staged. Why pay your current mortgage longer than necessary?

Hire that stager!