Stage Vacant Homes For Sale
Two weeks ago I hired a stager to prepare a home for sale. It had been vacant for 3 months and prospective buyers liked the house but no one made an offer. Last week, with staging complete, I held an open house and received an offer the next day. I always knew the importance of staging, but had not seen such a huge difference in buyer reaction before and after this important step. During the open house, buyers interacted with the rooms better, asked fewer questions and had a lot more compliments on the home - not the furniture. I even heard people suggest that it was underpriced. Two months ago, I was hearing the exact opposite. The total cost to stage this vacant home was $3,500, including 6 weeks of furniture rental. After 6 weeks, an additional $1,000 will keep the furnishings rented for another 6 weeks.
For this particular house over 3,000 square feet, it was crucial to stage it. Buyers in this price range want to see the house in it’s full glory. They don’t want to have to visualize the spaces, they want to see them being used well and they want to emotionally connect with it. In addition, when competing properties are being staged, expect buyers to get spoiled by it and disappointed when it is not present.