The value of staging ?

[Anonymous]

People buy in our neighborhood for the schools. Houses sell in days, even in today's market with high rates. No one stages. No point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you put your stuff when you stage your home?

Garage or storage unit.

Are there stagers who would solve this for you? Sounds like a common problem? (We don't have a garage).

No. You rent a POD. This is not rocket science.

So basically, you do all the work and it's called "staged."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went to a showing for a house where they did zero staging and no paint touch ups nothing.. Made us think if the owners were unable to afford basic touch ups and some base level staging that they might have not taken care of/maintained less visible things in the home as well that would cost us in the long run like chimney, plumbing, roofing, electrical etc.

You're absolutely right. Deferred maintenance on small things usually means that there is deferred maintenance on big things, which leads to a money pit buy.

Agree. But where's the realtor's role in this? I know what I need to fix before I put my house on the market, and I know my front porch needs to be repainted. In your scenario, all the realtor does is say "Fix it!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Staging grew big just as the housing market went online and realtors' role in finding buyers evaporated. Coincidence?

Not a coincidence at all - pictures play a huge role in selling

Exactly what role DO agents play? Because they can’t even bother to work their own open houses. They send warm bodies with no knowledge of the property at all who don’t bother to make people sign in and let any random person wander through your house.

It is a protectionist guild. But necessary, unfortunately

What is necessary? That they want their big, fat commission checks but can’t be bothered to work for it?

Our landlords just did an open house and despite promising us it would only be realtors with clients, it was public and the agent sent “friends” to “work” and they let everyone on who came to the door and said it was “so great” to have nosy neighbors walk through every corner of our private living space. Zero respect for people and their lives. It’s all about getting their check.

Lol. Yes it is all about getting their check. They’re there to sell.

Realtors are necessary bc it’s very hard to market a house without one. Even if you don’t have one, the buyers may. Even in best case scenarios you shrink the pool of buyers, which is essentially shrinking demand. Lower demand = lower price.

There’s a reason most sellers use an agent, it’s not because they’re rubes.

Is it actually hard to market a house without a 4% or 7% agent, though? Can't I just paint, fix what needs fixing, list it on Redfin and Zillow, and announce my open house next Sunday?

Sure, realtors have word of mouth, but any serious buyers are checking Redfin and Zillow anyway. Back in the day realtors used to put little ads in local rags, but I doubt they do that anymore.

In other words, convince me I need to do more than pay a Redfin agent 2% to take bids and help me through all the selling forms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Staging grew big just as the housing market went online and realtors' role in finding buyers evaporated. Coincidence?

Not a coincidence at all - pictures play a huge role in selling

Exactly what role DO agents play? Because they can’t even bother to work their own open houses. They send warm bodies with no knowledge of the property at all who don’t bother to make people sign in and let any random person wander through your house.

It is a protectionist guild. But necessary, unfortunately

What is necessary? That they want their big, fat commission checks but can’t be bothered to work for it?

Our landlords just did an open house and despite promising us it would only be realtors with clients, it was public and the agent sent “friends” to “work” and they let everyone on who came to the door and said it was “so great” to have nosy neighbors walk through every corner of our private living space. Zero respect for people and their lives. It’s all about getting their check.

Lol. Yes it is all about getting their check. They’re there to sell.

Realtors are necessary bc it’s very hard to market a house without one. Even if you don’t have one, the buyers may. Even in best case scenarios you shrink the pool of buyers, which is essentially shrinking demand. Lower demand = lower price.

There’s a reason most sellers use an agent, it’s not because they’re rubes.

Is it actually hard to market a house without a 4% or 7% agent, though? Can't I just paint, fix what needs fixing, list it on Redfin and Zillow, and announce my open house next Sunday?

Sure, realtors have word of mouth, but any serious buyers are checking Redfin and Zillow anyway. Back in the day realtors used to put little ads in local rags, but I doubt they do that anymore.

In other words, convince me I need to do more than pay a Redfin agent 2% to take bids and help me through all the selling forms.

Yes you can do this but you also need some level of familiarity with contract law, local property low and understand how the terms work (financing, appraisal, home inspection etc) come together to work. You need to understand local disclosure law and don’t say anything to buyers agent that will eff up your side of the deal or any advantage you have.

[Anonymous]

I think it's helpful if it's done well. Nice furniture and artwork will make an average house seem like it's a little higher end. I have seen some staged furniture that was old and crappy and it just made the house look blah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Staging grew big just as the housing market went online and realtors' role in finding buyers evaporated. Coincidence?

Not a coincidence at all - pictures play a huge role in selling

Exactly what role DO agents play? Because they can’t even bother to work their own open houses. They send warm bodies with no knowledge of the property at all who don’t bother to make people sign in and let any random person wander through your house.

It is a protectionist guild. But necessary, unfortunately

What is necessary? That they want their big, fat commission checks but can’t be bothered to work for it?

Our landlords just did an open house and despite promising us it would only be realtors with clients, it was public and the agent sent “friends” to “work” and they let everyone on who came to the door and said it was “so great” to have nosy neighbors walk through every corner of our private living space. Zero respect for people and their lives. It’s all about getting their check.

Lol. Yes it is all about getting their check. They’re there to sell.

Realtors are necessary bc it’s very hard to market a house without one. Even if you don’t have one, the buyers may. Even in best case scenarios you shrink the pool of buyers, which is essentially shrinking demand. Lower demand = lower price.

There’s a reason most sellers use an agent, it’s not because they’re rubes.

Is it actually hard to market a house without a 4% or 7% agent, though? Can't I just paint, fix what needs fixing, list it on Redfin and Zillow, and announce my open house next Sunday?

Sure, realtors have word of mouth, but any serious buyers are checking Redfin and Zillow anyway. Back in the day realtors used to put little ads in local rags, but I doubt they do that anymore.

In other words, convince me I need to do more than pay a Redfin agent 2% to take bids and help me through all the selling forms.

Yes you can do this but you also need some level of familiarity with contract law, local property low and understand how the terms work (financing, appraisal, home inspection etc) come together to work. You need to understand local disclosure law and don’t say anything to buyers agent that will eff up your side of the deal or any advantage you have.

The question, though, is whether to pay Redfin 2% for the contract law, disclosure etc. stuff. Terms like home inspection, appraisal, and financing aren’t scary, most of us already know how they interact, and anyway they’re mostly arranged by the buyer.

I guess my point is, there’s a housing shortage. While there are many reasons for that (housing stock, rates, sellers are locked into low rates), paying an agent 7% to stage my house with cheesy greige furniture (on top of the painting and repairs I don’t need anybody to tell me to do) seems like another barrier to selling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to see a vacant, freshly painted, deep-cleaned home without carpet or dust collectors like fabric anything in a home. I can use my imagination.

This is what we plan to do.

PP and just sold my parents’ longtime fxco home. They were original owners. Realtor brought in a stager only for main level. Rest of house was vacant.

House sold first weekend with multiple offers to a young family who will likely gut and renovate (remove carpets, update kitchen, needs electrical upgrade). In retrospect, the little staging that was done was a waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's helpful if it's done well. Nice furniture and artwork will make an average house seem like it's a little higher end. I have seen some staged furniture that was old and crappy and it just made the house look blah.

+1

While it's true that some can see past clutter, really dated furnishings, and dirty walls, many people cannot. Staging can be done in degrees; you don't have to sign up for the $$$ version that looks like the vanilla modern magazine style from so many listings. One of the most impactful things you can do is remove a lot of your stuff---both clutter and extra furniture pieces. Fresh paint and new carpet can also make a big difference. Replacing old decorative pillows or throws with some fresh ones from Target. But you don't have to fill your entire house with ivory colored mid-century modern furniture to sell it. There's an in-between that provides a good bang for the buck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's helpful if it's done well. Nice furniture and artwork will make an average house seem like it's a little higher end. I have seen some staged furniture that was old and crappy and it just made the house look blah.

+1

While it's true that some can see past clutter, really dated furnishings, and dirty walls, many people cannot. Staging can be done in degrees; you don't have to sign up for the $$$ version that looks like the vanilla modern magazine style from so many listings. One of the most impactful things you can do is remove a lot of your stuff---both clutter and extra furniture pieces. Fresh paint and new carpet can also make a big difference. Replacing old decorative pillows or throws with some fresh ones from Target. But you don't have to fill your entire house with ivory colored mid-century modern furniture to sell it. There's an in-between that provides a good bang for the buck.

Some here seem to be conflating painting/fixing/decluttering with “staging.”

To me, “staging” is just the part about swapping out your furniture for their beige furniture and wall mirrors in sun frames.

Our parents knew to paint and declutter before staging became a thing. (When did staging become a thing? The 90s? The early 2000s?)

So I don’t need to pay a realtor 7% to tell me to paint, declutter, fix the sink drain, and get new bath mats, towels, and throw pillows. That’s just common sense. Also it’s 10 minutes of a realtors’ time to tell me these things. I don’t feel I need to pay 7% for this advice.

In your scenario, swapping out the furniture, which perhaps starts to justify the 7%, only helps if your furniture is really dated or junky. And even then it might not be really necessary if you’re in a good school district or a desirable neighborhood.

I would pay a realtor 2% to list my house, hold open houses, take bids, and help us through the disclosures and contract. My furniture is actually pretty amazing and some of it is already (authentic) mid-century modern. So $80k upwards for a few days of work, especially if they don’t do the open house themselves, no way.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused about who is paying 7% to their realtors. My realtor is giving us free staging for a month and we are paying 5% which I think is pretty standard nowadays. Our house is vacant though.

We also have friends who paid a stager for a consultation to help give them ideas on what to put in storage and how to rearrange furniture for selling and they said they felt it was worth it.

[Anonymous]

A good stager will not remove your furniture for their furniture just because. I used to intern for a staging company and we always worked with a seller’s furniture. We would just tell you how to rearrange to improve flow, what needs to be pared down, and maybe even what NOT to do. (There are some things sellers think they need to do that may not matter as much as they assumed.) After a staging consult, which is usually not more than a few hundred dollars, the seller will have a roadmap to get the home ready.

The houses we staged with staging furniture were empty to begin with. Perhaps the seller moved out first or it was a rental property. I don’t think Stagers are coming in and swapping out perfectly good furniture. That seems to be a misconception in this thread.

[Anonymous]

A good stager will not remove your furniture for their furniture. I used to intern for a staging company and we always worked with a seller’s furniture. We would just tell you how to rearrange things to improve flow, what needs to be pared down, and maybe even what NOT to do. (There are some things sellers think they need to do that may not matter as much as they assumed.) After a staging consult, which is usually not more than a few hundred dollars, the seller will have a roadmap to get the home ready themselves.

The houses we staged with staging furniture were empty to begin with. Perhaps the seller moved out first or it was a rental property. I don’t think Stagers are coming in and swapping out perfectly good furniture. That seems to be a misconception in this thread.

[Anonymous]

When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our house was painted (we paid for this) where it hadn’t been painted in a while, we removed all extra furniture, pulled out the ugly ikea furniture to put in a generic sofa, pillows, took down family pictures and put up generic canvas art, removed tchotchkes except for a smattering, and put white fluffy towels where our beige ones had been. We had very nice pictures done including dusk shots of the beautiful outside space that’s really our biggest selling factor (we are in a meh neighborhood). It was very light staging, our realtor did it as part of her fee (FWIW our house was fairly nicely updated in most rooms for the neighborhood), and it sold over asking in the first 48 hours. It was purchased by someone looking online only. So I would say in our case it was worth it. Our house looked amazing in the pictures. It looked nice in person, too. Other homes in our neighborhood have been sitting longer.

It sounds like you did 90% of the work decluttering, getting it painted, and getting fluffy new towels and sofa pillows. Moreover, it's not really "staging" if you don't put all/most of your furniture in storage and bring in the realtor's (or their contractor's) furniture. Most of this--taking down family photos, new towels, painting--is stuff sellers like our parents have been doing forever. Apart from arranging the photos, what exactly did the realtor do?

The realtor gave us the list of items to remove/fix/repair/paint, organized their mover to come and pick up the extra furniture to storage/move in their furniture, picked paint colors, arranged/scheduled the painters, picked the carpet/kitchen flooring (forgot we did this!), arranged the installation of flooring, and provided all of the accessories, art, pillows, towels, area rugs, lamps, and furniture. They also came and arranged those things before pictures were taken. My realtor also hosted two open houses personally.

OK. But most of this isn't "staging," it's simply fixing up your house for sale. All of us do it anyway. It's what our parents did when they sold their houses--they painted, they decluttered, they rented a storage unit for all the stuff. You make the house look as nice as possible--this is different from staging.

I can see hiring the realtor to do these fixing-up and decluttering tasks because it takes a lot of the logistics off of you. But know that you're paying more if you go through a middleman (the realtor) and use their contractors. For example, if the realtor recommends paint colors, that's great, but your own painter will probably do it more cheaply than paying a middleman (your realtor) to call up their own painters (who won't give you the long-term customer discount we always get from the painters we always use). When we sold our starter house, we rented a storage unit and DH and his friends moved our extra furniture in temporarily. Installing new kitchen flooring sounds extra and does requires professionals, but again you don't need to pay a middleman (your realtor) to text their flooring contractor.

Actual "staging" is the part where they move out your furniture and put in beige, white and grey furniture. It sounds like they gave you a few pieces, like a sofa and some throw pillows?

Impressed that your realtor hosted two open houses personally, though. Ours hosted one (makes me wonder about how your realtor priced your house, but that's a different topic), but it sounds like lots of realtors just send a trainee to sit in your house during the open house.

That's not true about the contractors at all. My contractor does an amazing job and gives my clients a very reasonable rate bc I give him lots of business. He is competent and reliable so I always know that the work will be completed in time for professional photographers to come in. And, most of the time, unless your realtor is doing huge business, he/she will be doing the open. If they are not, you probably picked the wrong agent.