Vacant Staging - Is it worth the Investment?

I often get asked this question from Real Estate Investors.  My response is a resounding YES!  I ask them to think about this question - Why do builders invest in creating a model home?  When you step inside the model, Don't you often think "I could move ritht into this home?"  Buyers can easily envision living in the home, entertaining friends or whatever lifestyle is staged for the home.  Here are some other reasons to stage a vacant home:

• Statistics show that 9 out of 10 potential buyers can't visulize what the house would look like without furniture.  Staged homes gives the buyer an idea of where their furniture could be placed or scale of furniture.  You can hear a buyer saying "My sofa is the same size as this one, so I know it will fit in the space."
• Pictures say a thousand words and are so important!  Buyers almost always search for potential homes to see on the Internet before scheduling an appointment to see the property.  Don't you want buyers to see your home at its' full potential?  A vacant home is cold, uninviting and always looks smaller without furniture.

Here are two examples of a room without furniture and one that has been staged.  Which one would you buy?  

Before                                           After                             

I would agree - "A resounding 'yes'"  Thank you for sharing.  Oh, I'd buy the house on the right, by the way.

Hi, Deb.

Without a doubt, the investment is ten-fold! I approach the vacant homes like a blank canvas and they have become my passion (and often times my strongest work). It is the creative eye that we, as stagers, are able to lend to the real estate investors and at the end of the day we all win. Keep up your good work!

-ashlei neill

n style design group

Deb,

I agree completely. Everything you said is right on. I have an agent that has been flipping his own properties. He's tried to market them unstaged and has had to call me in weeks later because he's getting no or low-ball offers. In every case, the property was in escrow within 30-40 days after staging. I'm very grateful because he's realizing that even on his lower end flips he needs my services and that means more business for me.

Right there with you! I recently staged a vacant home that had been on the market for several months. It is a beautiful, historic home and the agent thought it would sell quickly.

Fast forward a few months and the homeowner/builder decided they'd had enough. It was staged last week and the response has been terrific!

Don't make buyers do any more work than they need to. Don't force them to visualize, they are tired, busy and just don't have the time to "share the vision". Make it easy, STAGE THE VACANT!