Planning to list this spring? These days, the key to selling your home is catering to the modern, discerning homebuyer. And since most homebuyers today are expecting fresh, thoughtfully furnished spaces, that’s precisely what sellers should be delivering. Enter staging, the most efficient way to transform your home into the ideal backdrop for a buyer’s new life — and to increase the return on your investment in the process. Keep reading for the 4 things you should know about staging and why it’s a vital part of your next sale.

#1 Staging works

Probably the most important thing to know about staging is also the most straightforward: it delivers results. Case and point — according to the 2019 Profile of Home Staging report from the National Association of REALTORS®, eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents say that staging a home makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home, while more than half of sellers’ agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time it spends on the market. Staging may also offer a higher sales price too, according to the report, which is based on a survey of about 2,000 real estate pros. Forty-four percent of buyers’ agents say that staging a home increases its value. Twenty-five percent say staging can increase the home’s value by 1 to 5 percent, and 12 percent say it increases the value by 6 to 10 percent. Twenty-nine percent of buyers’ agents say that staging had no impact on the value of the home.

#2 Which rooms are the most important to stage?

The real estate pros surveyed reported that the living room is the most important room in a home to stage (47 percent), followed by the Primary Suite (42 percent), and then the kitchen (35 percent). Home sellers, however, agree those rooms are the most important to stage but in reverse order—citing kitchen, master bedroom, and living room for staging priorities.

#3 How much does it cost?

The pricier the listing, the higher the potential home staging costs. As a general rule of thumb, the average cost for most stagers is $300 to $600 for an initial design consultation and $500 to $600 per month per staged room.

#4 On a tight budget? We can make it work

Our team is part of an exclusive program called Compass Concierge that allows our sellers to get fronted for the cost of home improvement services — from staging to painting — with no interest charged. In short? With the JST on your side, a limited budget won’t be a defining factor in your bottom line.