As home stagers, we do a lot more than just furnish empty rooms or rearrange home decor
If home staging was just decorating, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it is. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 85% of buyers’ agents say staging a home makes it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. What’s more, in a study by HSR of over 4,200 staged homes, 68% of those homes sold for at least 9% more than a neighbor’s home that was not staged. So what makes home staging so effective?
Demographic and Psychographic Analysis
There are two very important things to figure out about a property before it hits the market.
First, what demographic is most likely to buy this house? A family with young kids? Wealthy retirees? Single millennials? A stager figures this out by looking at how the house is built, its price point, and the neighborhood around it. For instance, if there are no schools nearby or if the property’s backyard slopes down deeply into a pond, it’s unlikely that a family with young kids would move in.
Second, how would that demographic actually use the house? Imagine a house that’s located really close to restaurants and shops and seems perfect for a young, millennial buyer. When a stager thinks about how this house will be used, they know to prioritize entertainment. The living room should feature plenty of seating area, and there should be a small bar for serving drinks. A stager might even set board games out on the coffee table.
Together, demographics and psychographics allow a stager to create a space that is both aesthetically pleasing and makes the most likely buyer feel perfectly at home. This is where mere decorating falls short. A room that looks good but is bland and generic doesn’t allow buyers to create the same emotional connection.
Interior Design
Everyone has their own idea of what looks “good.” That’s why, as stagers, we have to have a higher standard. All of our stagers are trained in the principles of interior design. They know how to space plan, balance scale and color, and ensure that the entire home presents a cohesive look. Again, this is very different from simply hanging up some artwork or putting out a bowl of fruit. The looks we create in each home are thought-out, methodical, and based on the highest design standards.
Working with the Architecture of the Home
Stagers know how to work with, rather than against, the architecture of a home. Let’s face it; some houses aren’t laid out in a way that makes sense. There are odd nooks and alcoves, weirdly proportioned living spaces, and skinny extra rooms. Without staging, these oddities can detract from the home since they seem like useless space.
With staging, however, these spaces make perfect sense. Now, instead of dead space, you have a breakfast nook, or a playroom, or a study corner. Sure, a buyer may not actually use that space the same way. But by staging it, you’ve shown that it is useful and usable space that adds value to the property.
Rave Home Staging goes way beyond decorating
These are all major ways that home staging is different from decorating. But even after all is said and done, and the last accessory is in place, we don’t stop there. Rave Home Staging also takes professional photographs so that your property looks good both in person and online. We then market your property on our Facebook page, and for some properties, we even organize open houses that can draw dozens of guests.
At the end of the day, home staging is about getting our clients the best payoff they can find on their real estate investments. And when your house sells—which happens within a week of listing for many of our staged homes—we celebrate too.
Contact us to learn more, or click here to receive a staging quote.
Leave a Reply