To Stage or Not to Stage?

I almost always recommend staging to my sellers. As Realtors, we see staged homes sell for significantly more than comparable un-staged homes. The data backs that up.

According to the National Association of Realtors® Research Group's 2021 study of home staging:

• 23% of sellers’ agents reported an increase of one percent to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers, in comparison to similar un-staged homes.

• 18% percent of respondents stated that staging a home increased the dollar value of the home between six and ten percent.

• 39% of buyers’ agents identified that staging would positively impact the home value if the home was decorated to a buyer’s taste.

Sometimes however, physical staging isn't practical. My recent listing on the Oregon coast was a little too far from Portland's plethora of staging companies to make it feasible. Virtual staging was a great compromise.

There are many companies that offer virtual staging but the quality of their work varies. I use BoxBrownie because of their attention to detail (lighting, shadows, etc.) in creating staging that looks very realistic. They provide style look books for you to choose the right style of furnishings to match the style of house but also allow and encourage you to provide direction in the form of reference files and notes.

My sellers put an incredible amount of work into remodeling this home, and they also have impeccable design sense. Built in 1979, they honored that 70s aesthetic in the remodel so we had to make sure that the virtual furniture and accessories matched as much as possible. While BoxBrownie's "Modern" design collection was the closest, it needed tweaking. I researched and provided reference images of furniture, accessories and artwork with instructional notes for each room. With back to back showings for two days and multiple offers over asking, after only three days on market my thrilled sellers accepted a very strong offer.