Home staging helps properties sell faster for more money

Dear Angie: Is home staging really worth it?

Martha M., Smyrna, Ga.

The answer, say highly rated real estate agents my team recently interviewed, is a definite “yes,” provided you don’t overspend.

They agree that staging — setting up a home’s furnishings and overall look to enhance buyer appeal — is just the ticket for helping homes sell faster and for more money than they might otherwise have garnered.

There are two general types of staging, both of which aim to help prospective buyers imagine themselves living in the home:

Staging costs can range into thousands of dollars. At the lower end of the price scale, you might pay up to $500 for a home staging consultation and suggestions that you are then free to follow, or not.

You can spend significantly more, especially if you hire a stager to handle such work as painting, leasing furniture, etc.

Highly rated real estate agents say sellers can generally recover the cost of staging with a higher sales price, but they should avoid overspending. As one agent told our team: “A good stager will take what you have and make the most of it.”

To find a reliable, experienced home stager, get recommendations from family, friends and real estate agents and check client experiences via an online review site. Be aware that some real estate agents include a staging consultation in their package of basic services.

Ask a stager you’re considering hiring if he or she has special training or certification. Request and check references, and take time to review “before” and “after” photos of the stager’s work.

If you’re still unsure about staging’s value, put it to the test. Place your home, unstaged, on the market. If you don’t get a solid offer in a month, stage it and try again.

This story was originally published April 12, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Home staging helps properties sell faster for more money."