Susan Campbell is the owner and chief executive stager of Lemon Tree Staging & Interiors and former president of the NoVA chapter of the American Society of Home Stagers & Redesigners. The Arlington-based company has been providing pre-sale and interior redesign consultations for NoVA residents for more than 12 years, and was previously featured on HGTV’s My First Sale.
Monica P. Murphy, president of Preferred Staging LLC, grew up in a family of store owners, interior designers and decorators. Preferred Staging LLC has grown 25 percent every year since opening in Potomac Falls in 2007, and has been awarded the Houzz Best of Service Award in both 2017 and 2018. Murphy was nationally recognized and named one of the Top 10 Stagers in the United States by the Real Estate Staging Association in 2014, 2015 and again in 2017. Most recently, she was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate Staging.
Leigh Newport is the owner and principle designer of Staged By Design, a home staging and interior redesign company based in Sterling. Staged By Design has staged over 500 homes a year since starting up more than 10 years ago, and Newport has become a sought-after public speaker dedicated to educating homeowners and realtors about home staging. Staged By Design has been featured in The Washington Post, and recently was awarded best in Loudoun County for home staging by local magazines and Best of Houzz for customer service in 2013-2017.
How much of a difference can staging make in selling a home?
Campbell: Simply put: staging can make a world of difference in how quickly a home sells. The days of successfully selling a home without first putting some effort into it are over. While it is true that any home will eventually sell if the price is right (read: low enough), most homeowners want to sell their homes quickly and command top dollar. To achieve this two-fold goal, staging prior to listing is the smart thing to do.
Murphy: A professional staging can literally be the difference between a home selling in days versus not selling at all. I know that sounds pretty dramatic, but almost every stager and realtor I know can tell you how true that can be. Case in point: an older luxury home in the McLean area had been on the market for about four months with little to no interest. The listing photos showed a somewhat dated, dark and uninteresting interior. The owners were prepared to drop the price another $50,000, but the realtor suggested that instead they stage the house, which would be significantly less expensive than the price drop. With on-trend transitional furniture, rugs, art and lighting—and new listing photos—interest peaked. At the first open house after being staged, there were over 40 buyers that toured the house, none of whom had seen the previous listing online but were attracted to the house now with the updated listing photos. An offer was accepted only seven days later for $10,000 above the asking price.
Our statistics, which generally mirror national statistics, show that a professionally staged house will have fewer days on market than a vacant house, which in turn will sell faster than a house that is staged by a non-professional or a budget stager. Furthermore, since a professionally staged house will sell faster than a non-staged house, there is no need to drop the price, so a staged house will generally sell for the asking price.
Newport: In addition to creating a look that appeals to the demographic of the buyer, staging has been statistically shown to reduce your days on market. It also increases the perceived value of the home, with buyers being willing to spend from 1 to 5 percent more for a staged home.
Why does home staging work?
Campbell: Home buying is a very aspirational moment in our lives. We all want to live in a home that is lovely and staging helps buyers envision themselves living in a home. It also shows buyers the potential of a home, highlighting the home’s best assets while minimizing the less-than-ideal aspects.
Murphy: Home staging is a proven marketing strategy of a property to appeal to the broadest pool of buyers. Our goal is to show a buyer how they can live comfortably and live well in a house, and to make a connection with the house so they can envision themselves living there. As a result, our statistics show that our approach is a proven strategy to help sell a property with the fewest days on market and an excellent return on investment.
Newport: Buyers need to envision themselves living in the home. A staged home creates visual interest both online and in person and helps to bridge the gap between buyer expectation that helps support the price point of the home. A National Association of Realtors (NAR) study in 2017 stated that 77 percent of real estate agents said that staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home.
Why should people spend money on a house they are selling?
Campbell: For most of us, our homes are the biggest investment we make in our lives. If you were selling your car you wouldn’t think twice about having it cleaned or detailed
first. With our homes, the stakes are much, much higher and a reasonable investment in preparing your home in advance will pay big dividends in how quickly the home sells and in the offers you receive.
Murphy: It’s important to understand that a home owner is not spending money on a house they’re selling, rather they are investing money in getting the house sold. The
majority of buyers today want a house that is move-in ready. With the majority of both adults working and time on the weekends spent on either children’s activities, family time and relaxation, or all of the above, few buyers want to spend the time making repairs, or painting or renovating. Consider also that the majority of buyers today are millennials, and many in this demographic are not a part of the do-it-yourself trend. As one realtor said to me, people don’t want to buy chores. Buyers want to move in and start the next chapter of their lives.
Buyers today also spend more time online on the web and social media, and they see what HGTV presents and what others post on Pinterest. They’re also reading the shelter magazines for ideas on how to live and decorate and to help set the criteria of what they want in and from their new home. If they can walk into a staged house that showcases some of their ideas and criteria—such as an on-trend paint color—and they can clearly see how they can live in the house, they are more likely to consider buying the house.
Newport: Buyers demand a move-in ready home and will pay more for it. Working with a stager provides you with impartial feedback on your home geared only toward changes, updates or suggestions with high returns on investment. It is extremely difficult to view your home objectively, as it is just that; your home. We help to navigate the emotional aspect of preparing your home for sale, while providing suggestions that convey the value of the investment. These can range from simple, cosmetic fixes to upgrades of finishes.
Are there specific yearly trends that you implement to help stage homes?
Campbell: We keep current on design and paint color trends but always keep in mind that for home sales, our goal is to appeal to the widest segment of buyers. That usually means a neutral backdrop with modern accents and accessories. As for the trend in gray paint colors, it has been the go-to hue for many years but the days of all-gray interiors appear to be diminishing. For selling, paint colors should be selected taking into consideration the home’s natural light, wood tones and other adjacent colors.
Murphy: A good stager will be on top of both long-term and current trends in the design world and choose a few that are appropriate to incorporate into the staging, dependent upon the style and price point of the property and the target buyer. We strive to keep our inventory fresh, and regularly attend the High Point Market twice a year to learn what’s “in” and what’s “out,” and to find the best and highest quality furniture and accessories for our stagings. We also attend various staging conferences and classes to keep abreast of current best practices within the staging industry.
Newport: Our annual trips to the High Point Market always provides us with insight into trends. Not all of them will have staying power, however we do incorporate colors and finishes into our accents and accessories to be continually on-trend. This year, we are seeing a lot of fringe on pillows and rugs, and that’s an easy way to add the boho-chic element into our designs.
How should NoVA residents choose a home stager?
Campbell: If you are staging a vacant property, I think its a good idea to interview two to three home staging companies before you decide. Definitely review their portfolio of
homes and see if their work fits with your neighborhood and the home’s price point. For instance, a modern and trendy aesthetic might be perfect for an urban condo but not for a stately home that would benefit from a more transitional look. Make sure your stager is
willing and able to adjust to the needs of the specific property rather than force-fitting their inventory into a home.
Murphy: There are a lot of different staging companies in the Northern Virginia area and they don’t all offer the same services or have expertise in the same areas. Differences in pricing for services and inventory rental are often a reflection of years in business, staging methodologies and procedures, and quality and quantity of inventory.
Newport: Review their portfolio thoroughly, as it is the best example of their results.
I also suggest that you ask your prospective stager the following questions:
-What is your current days on market?
-How many homes do you stage annually?
-Where do you source your furniture and accessories?
-How often do you refresh your inventory?
-Is this your full-time occupation?
-What level of insurance do you carry, including workman’s comp?
What else should readers know or understand about staging?
Campbell: When you’re living in your home it should reflect your personal design aesthetic. Interior design works by interpreting your individual style and helping realize that style within your home, in a functional way. Home staging is almost the flip side with the primary goal to help your home sell quickly by appealing to a wide segment of buyers. This often means depersonalizing by reducing or removing highly personal choices (that fuchsia accent wall, zebra striped wall paper or heavy, custom window treatments). Excellent home staging uses tried-and-true basics to improve the flow from room to room, bring in as much natural light as possible, highlight your home’s best features and set it up for great photos.
Murphy: One of the most important things to understand about home staging is that it is not interior design. Interior design focuses on the home owner, their lifestyle and their personal tastes. Home staging is really the opposite; the goal is to stage the house to be appealing to the broadest pool of buyers, to attract as many people to the house as possible and to help them to envision themselves living in the house
Newport: Staging is not decorating; although we use design principals to achieve our goals, staging is truly targeting marketing. Each staging is customized based upon the demographic of the buyer and price point of the home.