What does it take to professionally stage a vacant home? Is it worth the investment?

What does it take to professionally stage a home?  Is it worth the investment?  Professionals make it look so easy. What does it really take?  You will need to consider from the first assessment to creative design through the actual labor needed to stage a vacant home?  Determine what your goal is?  Do you want to transform your vacant home with cold empty rooms to beautiful rooms photo-shoot worthy of a magazine spread?

What does it take to professionally stage a home?

You need to consider on average, it may take anywhere from 20-60 hours. And that’s depending on how many rooms and how the large the rooms are that you want to stage. As well as the time and labor needed for professional stagers along with their assistants, and movers from start to finish to stage and de-stage 2000 – 4000 sq. ft homes.

what happens behind the scenes?

Unmistakeably, the before, during and after a process is quite an undertaking.  Needless to say, for all of that fabulous staging to take place. 

• Assessment of home to determine what is needed to stage the home or rooms desired.
• A Design plan is created for the rooms to be staged.
• A Proposal is drafted based on the assessment and set to the seller. If all parties are in agreement, a contract is sent to the homeowner for approval.
• Furniture, Wall Art  & Accessory selection
  • Note that depending upon the size of the company and operation: the smaller furnishings, art, and accessories may be stored and packed separately from the warehoused furniture. Either way, those items still need to be picked, packed and readied to transport.

• Staging Day:
  • •  Smaller Furnishings, Wall Art & Accessories if not stored at the warehouse will often be loaded in a smaller vehicle(s). They will be delivered to the home. Packing supplies returned to storage. This entire process is often with 2 or more stagers or assistants.
  • •  Furniture: Truck & 2 Movers to load at a warehouse, transport, unload, setup and return to Warehouse
  •  Furniture and accessory on-site placement and actual staging set up with Lead Stager and Assistant(s)

• De-Staging Day: inventory to storage            
  • • Small Furnishings, Wall Art & Accessories: De-stage, Pack Load, Transport Inventory back to Storage with Lead Stager and Assistant.
  • • Furniture: Truck & 2 Movers travel to staged home, load, transport, unload & restock inventory into a warehouse.

Professionals make it look easy

Consequently, just as in any industry, seasoned professionals make the job look simple. So easy anyone can do it. But don’t be fooled. You need to realize there is a lot of work that goes into staging a vacant home. Clearly, from the creative design aspect through hard labor, there is much required to transform your home. Then, the stagers must dismantle the home and return to its original state prior to settlement.  Obviously, the staging team must also return all of the furnishings back into the company inventory. 

Initially, you must start with a creative design plan. Undeniably, not everyone layouts out a room as beautifully a professional stager. Next,  a team of individuals is required to work through the process both to stage and de-stage. Staging is literally a process of moving parts. Clearly, this is not a job for the faint of heart. Staging is not glamorous. Staging requires a good bit of physical work. Hence, you won’t be dressed for the red carpet while placing a few pillows and candles in a home!

After all the work that is required to professionally stage a home. Is it worth the investment?

Is it a worthwhile investment to hire a professional staging company to stage your home? Only if you value the time on the market it takes to sell your home? Or the money you will save in carrying costs while your home stays on the market.

• RESA, The Real Estate Staging Association reports that homes that were staged first before going on the market spent 90% less time on the market than un-staged homes and averaged 23 days on the market compared to un-staged homes that on average spent 184 days on the market.

And only if are looking for real ROI, return on investment, on one of your greatest assets; your home!

• NAR, the National Association of Realtors reports:
  • On average an 8-10% return on the sale price if investing 1-3% of the list price of your home.
•  Staging & Design Network’s Tricia Tomlinson, found from a recent poll that:
  • Homes professionally staged sell in about 1/3 of the time of an un-staged home and as high as 18% more depending upon the price of the home. Noting that even at an average of 7% return on the sale price still warrants a nationwide average of 2% investment for home staging.

But like any other worthwhile investment.  Unquestionably, you need to first invest to receive a return on investment. Therefore, savvy home sellers know the value of home staging. Naturally, they wouldn’t think of putting their home on the market without having their home professionally staged. Why would anyone throw money away by not staging? What do you think? Is it worth the investment?