In the past, I haven't routinely suggested to sellers that they should pay for home staging. It's quite an expense, around $3000 or more. And as I have always had the mindset of keeping expenses to a minimum for my clients, it was just something that I felt was possibly an expense that I didn't need to burden my sellers with.
I've now changed my mind.
I have been marketing a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home in Morley. The home is in very nice condition with a lot of appeal. But it was presented to the market completely empty, no furniture.
As the sales campaign proceeded I became increasingly concerned that the photos did not do justice to the property. Photos of empty rooms did nothing to excite people. It’s a lovely property but people were not inclined to come and see it. Over the first 5 weeks, I showed it to just a handful of buyers. I could tell that my seller was frustrated with the underwhelming response from the market.
Eventually, in discussion with the seller, we decided to hire WA Furniture Packages to stage the home. It was a transformational decision. The home looked warm and appealing and the new photographs portrayed it as that. At the weekend home opens, buyers could now see how the placement of furniture could work for them. The minor bedrooms are a bit small, but with a double bed in place, I’m sure this helped to overcome buyer objections. The first weekend with the staging package in place attracted 8 new buyer groups and a good offer was received on the Sunday night, an offer that the seller was happy with.
The result has changed my thinking about the worth of using a staging package to help a sales campaign. If I list a home in future that the seller wants to present to the market as an empty building, my first thought will be: "Is this a property that we can stage?'
If people are not coming to the home open, what's the alternative - drop the price? Maybe paying for staging is worth it.
