The Arizona Republic - November 2006
Gary Kennedy's under-furnished south Phoenix house sat on the market for 50 days with no offers. But instead of lowering the price, like most sellers would do, he hired someone to come in and decorate - adding wall hangings and accessories.
Two weeks later, the house sold for the list price of $255,000.
Houses are taking longer to sell due to the Valley's housing market slump, and staging or giving them temporary new decor has become the strategy of choice for many sellers and investors.
Staging is typically done by professional stagers, interior designers or real estate agents. They may rearrange your furniture, suggest that you repaint, remove worn drapes and reduce clutter, and supplement your décor with accessories. If your house is empty, they'll furnish it.
But staging is more than decorating, certified home stager Bonnie Lewis said. It showcases the home's possibilities, she said. It can make rooms look larger, de-emphasize unusually shaped rooms or dark rooms, and can show buyers how to decorate the space, she said.
"You're setting a mood, and you're showcasing the lifestyle you could lead in this home," said Phoenix interior designer Patti Craze who staged Kennedy's house. "You're trying to have the buyer imagine themselves in the space."
Diane Neslund, a Scottsdale interior designer who also does staging, said that it gives the illusion that you're not desperate to sell your home. "People will think that they had better hurry up and buy it or somebody else will," she said.
The purpose of staging is not just to sell the house but to sell it at an optimum price, Neslund said.
The cost for staging generally is less than the $5,000 or $10,000 first price drop sellers make to entice buyers, said Lewis, who owns Enhanced to Sell with David Bugniazet.
Stagers, who want to see a house before they quote a price, generally base the cost on time, work involved and furnishings. The price, which differs among stagers, typically ranges from $500 to $1,500 for a home that needs minor rearranging to $10,000 or more for an upscale home with full furnishings. Lewis, Neslund and Craze say that staging works on homes priced $250,000 and above.
Staging isn't new; it's been around for more than 20 years. Last year, during the Valley's housing market boom, few homes were staged. That's because many sold in a matter of hours or days, as is.
With the flood of homes on the market now, buyers have become more selective, said Neslund, owner of Distinctive Interiors and Design in Scottsdale.
The key to staging is incorporating the correct scale of furniture and the right furniture for the house, using neutral colors that appeal to everyone and making the home look fashionable and cozy, the stagers said.That may mean removing some of the seller's personality and replacing it with a neutral environment, said Craze, whose company is PMC Interiors. She started her staging business three years ago and is certified as a stager through Minneapolis-based Home Staging Expert. She does several stagings a month.It's not that your quilting room isn't handy; it's that few buyers have need for one. Your walls of family photos are appealing to you, but they're distracting to buyers. Purple may be your favorite choice in carpet color, but few buyers are going to have furniture to match.Craze said that stagers take special care when sellers are still living in the home. "When a family is living there, you can't just yank all the items they use," she said.
