Main > How Staging Effects The Pricing Of Homes

Wondering how staging can impact the pricing of homes? Maybe you're thinking of selling your home, and not sure if staging will make a big difference. Let me tell you a story, and you'll clearly see the direct relationship between staging and pricing homes for sale!

I recently staged a home for an old organizing client of mine in Westchester County.  As a sign of the times, she and her husband unfortunately needed to sell their family home.  His business had slowed to a trickle, and taxes and expenses were high... So I got the call to come and help prepare the home for sale.

My clients have a beautiful home, with many fine antiques, artwork and books.  After two weeks of staging, and packing, and more staging, and much more packing, the house was ready for market. The agency that the couple decided to use prices homes by consensus.  The agent was to have her top 5 agents come to the house, run the comps independently of one another and come up with a listing price.  The agents would then be polled, and the average price would become the listing price.

Polling time came. The realtor had 20 agents from her agency stop by. Her thought initially was that the house should list at somewhere between $850K and $875K.  The agents came.  They raved - it was a beautiful home, and well staged.  The listing price was $1,005,000.  What a difference home staging makes.  Even if the house doesn't get asking price, starting at a higher price (when it is justified) gives the seller more negotiating room, and they will ultimately get a great roi (return on investment) for the money spent staging!

And as an aside, I was on the deck with an agent who did not know that I was the stager.  He looked at the bistro table set with a bottle of wine and some stems on a copper tray and jokingly said to one of his colleagues as he pointed to the bottle, "add $25K!"  He was only half joking. Staging works!

Neil Bindelglass is a professional home stager in Saratoga Springs and owner of Let Me Organize You. He is an expert article contributer on the topics of Saratoga home staging and home organizing.

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