People often think home staging only benefits the seller by hiding flaws in a property that’s listed. Sometimes they even think we “dupe” sellers into spending more than they should for a house.
That is certainly not what any reputable and trained stager will do. Our job is to ensure homes are ready for their new owners. We create a warm and welcoming environment buyers can see themselves happily living in. And that’s not limited to furniture and decor.
Good home stagers work to benefit the buyer too! There are many reasons why buying a staged home helps the buyer. Here are just 5.
- Stagers work with sellers to do tasteful updating to the home so a buyer doesn’t have to.
- Stagers show buyers the potential of a property they’re looking at in terms of furniture placement or the use of space. Because we work with all sorts of floor plans we show the best use of space, often giving purpose to a nook or corner that might be a challenge for the new owner.
- When doing a “Barriers to Sale” assessment, stagers identify things that could be an issue with a listed home, such as water damage or leaking windows, ensuring they’re dealt with professionally and completely before the home is sold.
- Stagers often show the size of any given room through furnishings. A buyer KNOWS the second bedroom can fit a bed and table if they see a bedroom staged.
- Stagers work with sellers to explore cost effective changes such as spraying existing cabinetry to keep the quality, but give it a fresh look. That way buyers don’t have to redo the kitchen, or the bathroom. They get a ‘move in ready’ home rather than getting one they’ll have to pour money into right after the expense of buying the home and moving in.
One of the comments we hear often from sellers is “I’m not sure I want to move now! Why weren’t we living like this before?” Sometimes we’re called in to look at the home our clients are moving into because they’ve seen the changes to their own listed properties. That’s when things are the most fun for a stager. We develop long term, trusting relationships with our clients, not limited to the sale of their home.
~ Ellen Mann, CCSP
