The Hidden Benefits of Home Staging

The benefits of staging a home have been widely discussed. The accomplished stager, among other things, generally has a mission to:

• Neutralize
• Pare down
• De-clutter
• Re-purpose, re-position or remove furniture
• Add accent pieces where necessary

In-house tracking numbers at Al Filippone Associates show that our staged properties in Fairfield County sell for two to three percent more and in thirty days less time on average than those homes that weren’t staged.

Buyer Experience

I recall an experience that I had working with buyers early on in my career. The parameters regarding their needs were very specific. Consequently there wasn’t a lot of inventory to show them at the time. In one respect that was a benefit to them. They were highly motivated and didn’t want to be confused by too many choices anyway.

One day we were driving to a home, and as we passed another one that was for sale they both asked rather simultaneously, “What about that one?” I immediately replied, “It really doesn’t have much of what you want. It doesn’t have the fourth bedroom that you’re looking for. There’s no family room, which you’ve said is a must. There’s two bathrooms rather than two and a half, and it only has a half acre as opposed to the minimum one acre that you mentioned was a requirement.” I paused briefly and then continued, “By all means though, if you want to see it I certainly can make that happen.”

Curb Appeal

The home was staged and showed beautifully. The buyers wrote a full price offer the next day. The house contained very little of their stated criteria. It was all about the curb appeal and the way in which it was staged. I learned first-hand, from that experience, the enormous role that emotion plays in the purchase of a home. Buyers usually decide if they can visualize themselves in a home within the first fifteen seconds of driving up to it. They buy on emotion first, and then justify with rational later.

Staging

That experience crystallizes the essence of staging. Considering that buying decisions are often made from the outside, staging the exterior is just as important as staging the interior - a significant but hidden benefit of staging.

Have you experienced the benefits of staging?

What common yet critical mistakes have you observed?

Written by Al N. Filippone. For more information about home staging or the local real estate market, call our Darien office at 203.655.5358 or visit our website at afahomes.com.