Who picks up the bill?
Home Staging: Who Picks up the Bill?
If you’re looking to sell your home quickly and for the highest possible price, you need to hire a professional home stager. Staging a home is more than adding or arranging furniture, positioning decor, or making rooms appear larger and more inviting. Home staging is marketing your home to potential buyers by making the space as appealing as possible.These days, so many first impressions of homes for sale take place online. Using engaging photography of tastefully staged rooms will draw a buyer in and separate your home from the unfurnished competition. A staged home allows buyers to more easily picture a future there, appreciate the possibilities, and even see the room presented in a thoughtful, sophisticated manner they would never have imagined otherwise.
Staged homes spend drastically less time on the market and sell for much more. But who pays to stage a home? This article will walk you through the options.
The Seller
More often than not, the seller picks up the bill (and it’s worth it). According to the Real Estate Staging Association®, 75 percent of sellers who paid to have a home staged enjoyed a 5–15 percent ROI. Other studies reveal that the ROI can reach as high as 20 percent!
An educated seller is aware of the benefits of home staging and will not hesitate to pay for the service once they know the data. When a buyer sees a staged home, they gain a more informed perspective as to what is possible in the space. This perspective can hook buyers and keep your property at the forefront of their minds while competitors fade into the distance.
The Agent
Real estate agents often include home staging consultation costs as part of their marketing plan. For anywhere between $200–$500, a professional home stager will tour your property inside and out and provide guidance and a list of action items to get your property ready for market and the highest sale price.There are times when an agent will pick up the entire upfront costs to stage a home. They do this by including the staging costs in the listing price and then recouping those costs through a slight increase in commission. Real estate agents operate in a crowded profession. Anything they can do to set themselves apart is a win. It is also not uncommon for a real estate agent to pay for staging if a seller agrees to buy a house through this same agent. Finally, agents benefit from paying for staging in that it improves the listing and expands the agent’s portfolio.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are numerous options when it comes to paying for home staging. No matter the choice that is right for you, you win in the end. Who pays the bill is really of little consequence. Hiring a professional home stager increases your home’s final sale price, and that benefits both you and your agent.
The longer your home is on the market, the longer you’re putting money into it. If you’ve already purchased your new home, you’re now paying two mortgages, and we all know how fast that adds up. Getting your home sold as quickly as possible is of the utmost importance. One of the most effective ways to sell your home quickly and for the most money is to enlist a professional home stager’s services. You will not be disappointed. (Nor will your agent!)