One of the most important decisions a homeowner can make when selling their home is whether it makes sense to stage their home with furniture or show it completely empty. Deciding whether Los Angeles home staging is worth it for you is an important decision that can mean the difference between your home sitting vacant for more time and maybe even receiving lower bids.
Staging homes for sale in Los Angeles has become a popular practice as there are surveys that show that staged LA homes tend to sell more quickly and at a higher price. If you do decide to move forward with home staging Los Angeles CA, be sure that you choose the right design to fit your home’s style. If you have a modern-style home, focus on finding a home staging company that offers more modern furniture.
Home staging allows the prospective buyers to envision what their new home might look like when viewing it. It can also help your home sell more quickly and you may even receive higher bids than if your home was not staged with furniture. When listing a home for sale talk to your real estate agent or broker about house staging Los Angeles homes and whether it might be worth staging your LA home for sale.
Here’s a home staging tip: If your home is not vacant, ensure that your personal belongings are put away is highly recommended when staging Los Angeles homes. You want to be sure that any potential buyers feel like it can be their home, not that they’re visiting someone else’s home.
How important is home staging, is it necessary and is it worth it?
You probably have several questions about what home staging is, how it works, and if it’s worth the cost. It may seem like an unnecessary expense at first but learning more about what home staging is and why it’s important can help you decide if you want to invest in this service and make your home sell faster and for more money. Read on to learn more about home staging, its costs, benefits, and helpful tips.
What is Home Staging?
The point of home staging is to highlight the most valuable features of a home to help it sell more quickly. It can include cleaning, changing furniture, remodeling, and other aesthetic measure taken to present a home in the best view possible before putting it out for sale.
Some professional stagers like to say that it’s about drawing attention to the best features of a home, making them stand out with color or furnishings, and other aesthetic measures. In most cases, property owners want their homes to look their absolute best, so they can get top dollar for them when they go on the market.
According to NAR, roughly 82% of buyers’ agents confirmed that home staging helped their clients visualize the property as a ‘home instead of a house’.
How Much Does Home Staging Cost?
Home staging can range from $1500-$15000+, depending on the size of your home, the extent of the makeover, and the services included. While the national average is between $1,000-$3,000 for a fully staged home, your location is also a major factor. Home staging in Denver, Baltimore or Tucson may be significantly lower than home staging in Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York.
To get an idea of what home staging costs in larger cities, we reached out to Julien Bortz of Mid Modern Designs, a home staging company serving Los Angeles & San Diego, CA. He says that “for fully staged homes in Los Angeles & San Diego, a homeowner or realtor can expect to pay roughly 1%-1.5% of the home’s value.” So, if you have a 3000 square foot LA home, you can expect to be paying between $3,000-$4,500 for a fully staged home. Julien added that “it varies so much because each home requires a custom plan – some homes requiring more furniture that others, some homes requiring the furniture rental for 90 days while other require it for 180 days.”
As home prices continue to rise, it may be worth investing in a home makeover to attract more buyers, if you are planning to sell your home. Some professional home stagers advise investing 1 to 5 percent of your home’s asking price in staging.
However, if you are staging your home yourself, you should consider the following costs: Paint and home improvement supplies, cost of furniture, decorations and flowers, cleaning materials, and so on. Additionally, if you are on a budget you might want to concentrate your staging efforts on a small number of rooms, particularly the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom, as there are mostly areas of concern.
Benefits of Staging you LA Home
- One benefit of staging is that it makes it simpler for potential buyers to envision living in the house. Rather than an empty area, staged homes include dining rooms, bedrooms, and other intimate settings making it possible for buyers to view and picture themselves.
- Staged houses have the benefit of appearing clean. A staged house has less clutter, has personal belongings removed, and probably has furniture that is cleaner compared to what the seller owns.
- A home’s readiness for move-in is demonstrated through staging. Staged homes are generally more enticing to purchasers because they show that the property may be set up and habitable, which may give the impression that they require less maintenance or repairs.
- Staging a house makes it simpler to sell. When shared on social media, printed on flyers, or presented in other visual marketing mediums, it appears better in listing images (which might be important in today’s home-buying process).
Tips on Staging your Home
Making your home more attractive to buyers is critical in selling your property quickly. What does it mean to “stage a home”? Here are some basic home staging tips to follow:
- Remove clutter. Clear out all the items that don’t belong in the rooms you’re staging. Start with closets, the kitchen, and other rooms that house storage items – like pantries, laundry rooms, garages, or sheds.
- Remove personal belongings to depersonalize the space and make it more appealing to potential buyers.
- Arrange furniture as if you were showing off the space to potential buyers as that is the first time they walk through the door.
- Turn on lights when photographing or videotaping your listing to make it look bright and inviting.
- Paint walls neutral colors. white works well because people automatically see themselves living there! If you need ideas, search online for interior design blogs and magazines.
- Keep windows open to let in natural light from outside. If you have pets, try not to show them during photos unless they’re part of the story.
- Scents can also influence how much someone likes a place; try diffusing the room when showing off your place.
Why Staging Is Worth the Investment
From a financial standpoint, staging a home may create a tangible selling appeal. According to the National Association of Realtors, over one-third of real estate agents believe that staging increases buyers’ dollar bids by 1 to 5% when compared to comparable residences. To determine if staging a property is beneficial, consider the following factors:
- The selling price.
- The potential value it might provide to your home.
- When do you plan to sell the house?
- The level of competition in the neighborhood market for vendors.
Per the National Association of Realtors, you may have a higher chance of selling your property quickly and for the highest price when you stage it. Also, if you’re on a tight timeline or want to boost the value of your house, the staging method may be quite beneficial.
In a nutshell, home staging is the process of preparing a home for sale. The goal is to help prospective buyers envision their lives there, making it more likely that they’ll choose to buy and offer a higher price. While there are some expenses involved in this process mostly around hiring someone who’s an expert. Staging a home makes a property unique, appealing, and distinct from the competition.