From what I’ve been reading and hearing of late about home staging (mostly called Property Styling here on the Australian real estate scene), it seems there are still some ‘old wives tales’ swirling about regarding how much staging your home for the market really costs.

Chances are you’ve heard many of these phrases (or something similar) yourself. Perhaps you’ve even used them with some of your own clients.

For instance, a phrase that really gets up my nose is this one: “In our local market, it’s the price that sells, so staging isn’t worth the money.” 

And that’s just one. Let’s now take a closer look at it, and a four other myths, surrounding the cost of home staging, that I think are worth busting.

1. “Home staging/property styling is just too expensive for an average home owner like me.”

The truth is that most of the people who use a home staging/property styling service are actually average home owners, with average size and priced homes. Canadian based home stager Debra Gould, from Six Elements says that home staging is perfect for the home owner who wouldn’t normally hire an interior designer. This is absolutely true; both in terms of cost and the decorating results you can expect. While hiring a professional stager usually does require paying a fee upfront for a basic, in home consultation, that fee can be as low as $150 – $250 depending on where you live. The reason? Because professional stagers/stylists make it a priority to help you keep your presentation costs down, so you’re able to preserve your equity.

2. “Staging just means having to pay for a house full of rental furniture or buying all new stuff.”

It really doesn’t. A home stager is happy to help you in using the furnishings you already own. It’s the perfect way to save money on getting your house effectively ready for an upcoming marketing campaign. Most home owners have what’s needed to stage their homes, so hiring in extra pieces isn’t needed. If you find yourself needing to replace some missing pieces, renting is one way of doing it, but if your budget won’t stretch that far, consider borrowing from family or friends, or even buying a few second hand items. On the other hand, if you’d rather buy new, do that, but only if you can make use of those pieces in your new place. But if your ‘for sale’ property is totally vacant, then hiring furniture to make it feel more inviting for your buyers, is way more cost effective than buying what you need new. It is totally possible to hire furniture in for as little as one month. 

3. ”I’ve been told that when it comes to selling property – price is all the buyers really care about, so spending any money on staging is useless.”

You’ll remember that I mentioned this little gem in my introduction. Basing your home’s selling strategy on price alone seems risky to me. It’s next to impossible to separate what you’re paying for, from what you’ll be getting for the money. Look, I’ve bought property before and I’ve inspected a few homes priced below market value in the hopes of using the price, to snag a sale. The tactic still didn’t work. I can tell you, that price wasn’t the most appealing factor at all. So what was? Three words; value for money. All I could see, was reason to shield my wallet from all the shortcomings this property obviuosly had. In the end, I walked away, despite the price. I think Gary Keller, author of the book ‘Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times.‘ nails it with these words;

“Whenever we say price is the number one issue in getting a home sold, what we’re really saying is that its price must match its condition. Price and condition are irrevocably intertwined. Priced right means priced right for what you get and overpriced means overpriced for what you get….Staging a home means showing off what you get in that home in the best possible way, so the seller gets the best possible price.”

4. “It’s best just to get the cheapest consultant I can find.”

Ever bought something -anything, based on price? It almost always comes back to bite you, sooner rather than later. Like anything else home stagers are the same. If you’ve asked for a quote from a local home stager because their work really impressed you, that says an awful lot right there. Ok, so the fee may not be the cheapest on the block. But think of it this way; you were impressed by what you saw. And that’s exactly the same effect you want for your buyers when they come through. Yes, there’s a cost involved, but there’s also (an obvious) value for money here.

5. “Why not just stage it myself and save money?”

Of course you can do it this way. But then, just consider for a moment if this is the best use of your time. Because chances are, it’s going to take you longer. As the home owner you will find it harder to look at your home with a truly unbiased eye. The kind of eye home buyers use. As home owners I think we’re all guilty of not seeing things around the house now, that once bugged the living daylights out of us. Naturally, home buyers don’t miss these things. That said, calling in a stager to give you a proper starting point and some direction, can only be money well spent.

Any thoughts? Do you have any questions about the cost of staging that I haven’t covered?