The Home Staging Effect
Have you ever wondered just how much return on investment home staging has when you place your property on the market? The NAR (National Association of Realtors) released results to their survey on home staging, and there were some significant findings. Statistics show:
- Professionally styled homes spend an average of 50% less time on the market compared to non-staged homes
- Styled homes sell on average for between 10% and 20% more than self-presented homes
- 81% of buyers find it easier to visualise the property as their future home when it is staged.
I was recently asked by one of my regular and well-respected agents to view and quote a 5-bedroom property in Kew, Victoria. This property had been for sale for almost 2 months with another agent with no offers coming close to the reserve price.
Meeting with the lovely vendor, I empathised with her situation – the presentation wasn’t bad, but I felt it lacked style and required some edge. I studied the floor plan; working out the best solution for furniture placement – as admittedly the orientation of living zones was tricky. Finding the balance between functionality and sophisticated style was a challenging experience, and I knew the pressure was on to transform this home to reap the maximum desired return for the vendor.
My first aim was to visually expand the living zones by creating a sense of depth and space. Secondly, it was imperative the style of furniture and colour of furnishings appeal to the right target market, in this case, young professional families. As this was a fairly new home with modern features, I designed an aesthetically pleasing interior that offered a mix of classic yet contemporary sophistication that young families could aspire.
The new sales campaign together with Designs to Inspire was off to a great start gaining lots of interest in the first weeks, so much so that 2 weeks before auction day there was an offer for $50,000 above the reserve price and the property was sold.
This gave me a satisfaction beyond belief and was far more rewarding than any monetary amount. This is the driving force behind every project and illustrates the power of home staging.
Until next time, G x