Stage A House That Is Vacant

Deciding on whether to stage a house that is vacant or leaving it empty for selling can depend on several factors. In our Real Estate Experience of over 17 years, we have found that staging a home is better than not. Selling a house that is staged sells faster and for a higher dollar amount than a home that is vacant and has not been staged. The reason a staged house sells for a higher dollar amount is more buyers are attracted to it, and the home simply shows better. This ultimately creates competition amongst the buyers looking at the house.

Showing A Staged Home

Home staging has become extremely popular in the last several years. Approximately 79% of buyer’s agents say when showing a staged home to their clients, it makes it a lot easier for the potential buyer to see themselves living there. They tend to stay a little longer during the showing which is a definite plus. They also have an easier time visualizing their own furniture in the space and tend not to focus on the negative aspects of the property.

Virtual Staging

Oftentimes a seller may think of selling their vacant house without having to stage it. There are other sellers that have heard about virtual staging. Virtual staging may be more affordable and does look good in photos. But most times a buyer that sees a property online that shows beautifully staged, will be disappointed when they walk through the home in person. Every defect the property has will be on display. The buyers walking through will notice every scratch, stain and wear and tear the home has endured throughout the years

Lightly Staging A House

Even if sellers don’t want to stage a house, they should consider lightly staging their vacant property. It will make the home appear larger than it really is. It will feel inviting and people can then visualize living in the house. This especially holds true for smaller rooms. If you add furniture to a smaller room, it will magically make the room feel larger.

Staging A House Is Not Necessary

There is a time when we believe that staging a vacant home not necessary. This of course is when a property is a fixer. In other words, if your home has a lot of deferred maintenance, such as cracks in the walls, original electrical, foundation issues, plumbing issues, etc. we would recommend not staging the property. In these circumstances, these types of sales are better suited for savvy investor type buyers. They do not care about furniture. Instead, they are strictly looking at numbers. We have found if you stage these types of homes, a traditional buyer may fall in love with it because it looks cute. But, when you accept an offer and they do their inspections, 9 times out of 10 they get scared because of all of the repairs needed, and they eventually cancel the escrow. This is never fun for a seller.

Not Staging A Home

If you are still not convinced that you should stage a home before selling? No worries, nothing is set in stone. We are only letting you know what we have learned throughout our years of selling homes in North Park, South Park, and surrounding areas of San Diego. The one thing that we recommend you should always do; having the house deep cleaned before putting the house for sale on the market. A dirty house will turn many potential buyers away. They will automatically think the home has not been kept properly. It will show in their offer if they decide to make one.

Staging A House Before Selling

If you are thinking of selling your home, contact your local Realtor. Go on their website first and check out the photos of the homes they are selling and have sold in the past. There should be an area on their website that shows their “Featured Listings.” This will give you an idea of what they provide. Do you see a lot of photos of vacant properties? Or are most of the featured homes staged? Another important factor to look at is the quality of the photos. All photos should be professional. This is the first thing a prospective buyer sees online. If the photos do not showcase the property well, they will move on to the next property.

Below are a few photos of before and after staging photos of a home we just sold in San Diego. The owners of this house initially thought of not having it staged. But, after some discussion, they took our advice. We ended up with 14 offers and $35,000 over list price. The buyer loved how the furniture looked they wanted to buy it too. This of course belonged to our stager and was not part of the sale. My point is, the furniture simply creates an illusion of warmth and coziness.