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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions an individual will ever make. Our real estate reporters and editors focus on educating consumers about this life-changing transaction and how to navigate the complex and ever-changing housing market. From finding an agent to closing and beyond, our goal is to help you feel confident that you're making the best, and smartest, real estate deal possible. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
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Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. If you’re , you want to help buyers picture themselves living in it. Home staging, or decorating your home to make it more appealing to prospective buyers, is one of the best ways to do that. It helps your place stand out in online searches, shine during open houses and secure competitive offers sooner. In fact, staged homes sold for around $40,000 over the list price in 2021, according to data from the (RESA). How much does home staging cost
typically pay somewhere between $652 and $2,529 in home staging costs, according to — but the price tag can vary widely. For example, renting furniture for an extended period can cost as much as $6,000 or more. Generally, a home stager charges for an initial two-hour consultation, which can run between $150 and $600, according to HomeAdvisor. The size of your home and the scope of the project play a major role in determining the rest of your home staging costs. If your home is in good shape and your furniture looks appealing, you might only need to pay to rearrange the furniture layout and declutter the space — a service that averages a flat $800 total. Let’s say you have an empty three-bedroom home, and the home stager recommends renting furniture for each bedroom and the living room. Based on HomeAdvisor data, the service fee alone can be between $800 and $1,000. Then, you’ll need to pay staging fees, which fall somewhere between $400 and $700 per room for the first month. You’ll also need furniture to bring those rooms to life, which can cost $500 to $600 per room per month for all those beds, a couch, tables and other design touches. The cost of staging a home for two to three months typically translates to 0.75 percent of a home’s list price, according to Pam Tiberia, owner and designer of Spruce Interiors in Hampton, New Hampshire. So, if your home is being listed for $320,000, the cost to stage it for a few months would likely be around $2,500. Luxury homes cost more to stage
For higher-end homes, however, the cost can be more. “Typically, luxury homes range around 1 percent to 1.25 percent of the list price for staging,” says Tiberia. “These costs include labor, furniture rentals, movers and an insurance policy to protect the inventory.” What does a home stager do
Home staging offers a new outlook on your home, and each stager offers their perspective and different services. Some provide services like shopping and incorporating recommended items, such as a new shower curtain, accent pillows or updated bedding. “Many stagers also rent these kinds of props and come in to style the home before photos and open houses,” says Tiberia. Some other services a home stager might offer include: Discussing how best to furnish a space and recommending which furniture should be removed or added, along with accessories, art and styling items. Pointing out any noticeable repairs or maintenance issues. Recommending best spaces within the house to be staged, particularly in vacant homes. Not all rooms need to be staged, typically. Advising homeowners on ambiguous spaces. Some homes with random rooms or funky floor plans can be improved with creative staging and furniture placement. Talking about removal of or changes to window treatments to lighten a space. Virtual staging
Virtual staging is a cheaper option, with some companies doing renderings as inexpensively as $35 per room, says Tiberia, who typically does a combination of occupied and vacant staging. For buyers browsing online, virtual staging efforts can help entice them to see the property in person. With virtual staging services, most companies use photo editing software to render a conceptual view of what a room or the entire property can look like. Some of the editing techniques in virtual staging include: Paint color and floor changes Removing existing furniture from a photo and adding in digital images of new furniture, artwork, plants and more Changing the views from the windows Is staging your home worth the cost
Several studies have shown that home staging can be a worthwhile investment. By investing 1.3 percent of a home’s value in staging, 73 percent of sellers saw a return of over 7.1 percent, according to RESA. Similarly, in a 2021 , 23 percent of sellers’ agents indicated that staging helped increase offer amounts by up to 5 percent. 18 percent of agents said that staging increases offers by 6 to 10 percent, and 6 percent of them saw offer increases of 11 to 15 percent. The adage of time is money applies here, too: According to HomeAdvisor, staged homes spend between 33 and 50 percent less time on the market. “The better a home presents, the more perceived value it has, which typically makes it sell faster and for more money,” says Tiberia. This is true in both a buyer’s market and a seller’s market, like the one we have now, she adds. “Staging addresses many potential buyer objections, such as wall colors that are too specific, tricky floor plans or worn or outdated finishes.” If you’re not sure whether staging makes sense for your home, ask your real estate agent for candid feedback on your property and the current market conditions in your neighborhood. Your agent should have a good understanding of how your home will look in the eyes of prospective buyers, and whether you need to spend on staging. Money-saving tips for staging
Here are some savvy strategies to save on home staging costs and keep more of your hard-earned money in your wallet: Get the ideas without paying to implement them: Many times, the home sellers stop at the consultation with a stager just to get ideas and then do some of the staging themselves, says Tiberia. Choose your rooms: See if you can negotiate with the stager to reduce costs by having only certain rooms staged. Ask about minimums: If you need to rent furniture, try negotiating how long you have to pay for it. Some designers have three-month minimums for furniture rentals. If your home flies off the market in a few days, as happens so often in this market, you don’t want to be on the hook for unnecessary rental charges. Consider virtual-only: The cost to stage a home virtually is around 10 percent of what a physical staging would run you, according to New York-based virtual staging firm Barion Design. Clean up: Declutter and clean your home to make sure buyers can actually see what they’re potentially purchasing. Box up, clear out and spotlessly clean every surface to make it sparkle for tours. If you need to keep some items, you can rent a storage unit (although this can contribute to costs) or ask a friend or relative to store it in their basement or garage until you move. Paint it yourself: Painting interior walls with a white or off-white color can change things dramatically. And not hiring a pro painter — which comes with an average price of $1,750, according to HomeAdvisor — can help you save dramatically. Let there be light: A simple cleaning of the windows can help showcase your home’s natural light. Updating your lighting fixtures can also enhance rooms and make them seem more open, notes Tiberia. You can also add decor such as mirrors or lamps to help brighten things up. Move furniture away from the walls: This can communicate to buyers the ideal flow in each room, helping them envision how they can maximize the space. Learn more: SHARE: Lee Nelson is an award-winning writer specializing in mortgages, home improvement, real estate, financing and budgeting. Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Related Articles