How Home Staging Makes a Difference

Taking steps to stage a home can make a difference in how a buyer values it, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2015 Profile of Home Staging. Here are the top findings: • 49 percent of surveyed REALTORS® who work with buyers believe staging usually has an effect on the buyer’s view of the home. • 47 percent believe that staging only sometimes has an impact on a buyer’s view of the home only. • 81 percent said staging helps buyers visualize the property as a future home, while 46 percent said it makes prospective buyers more willing to walk through a home they saw online. • REALTORS® ranked the living room as the number one room to stage, followed by the kitchen. Rounding out the top five rooms were the master bedroom, dining room and the bathroom. • REALTORS® believe that buyers most often offer a 1 to 5 percent increase on the value of a staged home (37 percent from REALTORS® representing sellers and 32 percent from REALTORS® representing buyers).