Staging is definitely a priority when it comes to selling just about any home but in higher-end or luxury homes, it’s practically required. Yes, most buyers realize that the home may not look like this every day, but when it comes to selling, you have to put your best foot forward and that means staging your home to the best of your ability and/or your budget.
How to Stage a High-End Home
Home staging is basically the act of cleaning, rearranging, and designing parts of a property to make it more appealing to potential buyers. Professional home stagers are usually hired by homeowners and real estate agents to help the homeowner make the home ready to sell to potential buyers. So how much does home staging cost?
Home staging services charge an average of about $800 to design and stage a home. Higher-end services can be as much as $2500 and it depends on if the stager is using your own furniture or bringing in their own. Many stagers offer a flat rate consultation to give you some idea about what they’re going to do or just consultations about what you could do to stage the home on your own. Fees are based on location, demand, and the amount of assistance you actually need. If you can design your own adjusting a few tips, you might be looking at as little as $100.
One of the biggest tips that most home stagers state is to declutter your house and that doesn’t necessarily just been cleaning off the counters or tabletops. It usually includes reducing the number of books on the shelf, furniture in a room, and clothing out of the closet. If you have nowhere to put these items, it will be beneficial to rent a nearby storage unit or pod to keep these items safe while staging and marketing the home.
Furniture rental is often an option when it comes to professional stagers. Even if you don’t have a vacant home, some pieces may add to the design and ambiance of a room better than what you currently have. Many stagers either have their own pieces or rent from local furniture suppliers while the home is being shown.
So, which rooms should you stage?
The most common rooms to stage include:
- Kitchen
- Bathrooms
- Living room
- Master bedroom
While these are the most common, tricky rooms should definitely be staged such as an odd-shaped room or a tiny room off to the side. Buyers want help understanding what this room can be used for and by turning it into a practical space, buyers will see the home as a more attractive purchase overall.
Related: How to Decorate a Living Room
If you’re still living in the home while it’s on the market try to have a professional cleaner come through at least once a week.
Don’t make any messes that cannot be easily cleaned up within 30 minutes.
Get everyone on board. Everyone in the household including children should be on board with keeping the house staged and in pristine condition while on the market.
The sooner you stage and the more you keep it staged, the quicker you should have an offer on the table and you can go on to your new home living in “real life”.
