Who Pays for Staging a House and How Much is It in 2024

By Tata Rossi 16 days ago, Inspiration

A home seller, real estate agent, a free loan with a concierge service, reimbursement of home seller expenses by a real estate agent, and 50/50 split (home seller and real estate agent) may pay for staging a house.

Statistics show the effectiveness of staging: in the US, 57% of prepared houses are sold for 10-20% more than unprepared ones, and each percentage of funds invested in pro-level staging brings 8-10% profit.

The home staging technique appeared in the United States when marketers realized that a professionally designed, furnished apartment is sold much faster and more expensive. What’s more, a combination of home staging and interior photography gives you a better chance of success.

5 Options to Pay for Home Staging

Each case is unique and therefore requires a special approach. You should remember here that it does not matter who pays the house staging cost, but the sale of the house must take place as quickly as possible, on the most favorable terms, and according to your reasonable marketing plan, which includes staging.

The home seller pays. If a home seller is aware of the important role commercial real estate photography and home staging in particular play in the sale of real estate, then he/she will not hesitate to make this investment.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a lot of research on the home staging ROI, which clearly shows that this is a great idea. According to HomeGain, it can be concluded that if you invest just $500, you will most likely recoup about 583%.

house staging

Real estate agent pays. Another good choice would be a 2-hour consultation paid by the realtor. Thus, he/she will inform the client that this option will help sell the house as soon as possible and for the most expensive price, regardless of how much is staging a house.

If you are a real estate agent, I would also advise you to look at the perfect combination of home staging with high end real estate photography if you need to sell luxury real estate.

Float a free loan with a concierge service. Get help from a company like Zoom Casa or your concierge service. They can defer 100% cost of staging a house until closing.

Real estate agent reimburses home seller. Another frequently chosen option is when the client pays for home staging and then has the realtor refund this amount when the house is sold.

This option is most preferred by the realtor, as it is the least risky for him/her if the client changes his/her mind about selling the house, does not change something in the house that you agreed upon together, or decides to sell the house at too high a price.

how much for staging a house

50/50 split. The 50/50 formula is also a solid option. After you have agreed with the client on how much for staging a house, offer him/her to split this amount in half. This is how you show your interest in this business, but make sure that the client is also motivated.

Cost of Staging a House

home staging pricing in usa

HomeAdvisor has calculated that the average home staging fee is between $752 and $2,848, which is a pretty big gap. Therefore, for example, you can rent beautiful furniture for a long period for as much as $2,000 a month or more.

It all starts with a consultation with a home staging expert, which lasts about 2 hours, similar to real estate photography jobs. The cost of such a consultation varies from $150 and $600.

How much does it cost to stage a house depends on a lot of factors, the size of the house and the amount of work involved just to name a few. You will be able to save money if the general condition of the house and furniture is good since in this case, you can get by with only rearrangement and general cleaning. This option will cost about $800.

Virtual Staging

virtual home staging

Virtual staging is a cheaper option that consists of a digital rendering of your home. Virtual house staging costs start at $35 per room. Such images will be viewed by hundreds of potential buyers on the Internet, and they will definitely motivate some of them to come to see the house live.

Specialists use various photo editing software, including Photoshop, to create a digital version of your home or individual rooms. Below you can find a list of aspects that are subject to virtual staging.

  • Changing the look of walls and floors
  • Removing furniture with an airbrush to free up a room
  • Substituting other furniture instead of yours, decorating rooms with paintings and indoor flowers
  • Working on the view from the window following the season (snow in winter, etc.)

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Want to Enhance Your Real Estate Pictures?

If you don’t want to spend time and effort improving your photos, entrust this task to the professionals from FixThePhoto.

They will fix colors and light and bring your photos under accepted norms and standards.

FAQ

  • • What is the difference between home decoration and home staging?

Home staging is designed to arrange and decorate housing in such a way that it attracts as many potential buyers as possible. Decorating, in turn, means decorating the house according to the taste of a certain person, the owner of the house.

When you perform home staging, it's best to do everything in neutral colors and unobtrusive decorations. This will help the buyer imagine how he will furnish this home him/herself, and will not distract him/her with your decor, which he may not like. What's more, if the buyer doesn't like the way you've set up your home, it can give the wrong impression of the entire home.

  • • Does home staging help sell a house?

Sure. RESA research shows that home staging helps the buyer to better imagine himself or herself in the considered house. This, in turn, increases the chances of selling the house faster and more expensive. That is why it makes sense to invest in the cost of staging a house.

  • • Can I do virtual staging in Lightroom?

Although Lightroom is often used to enhance real estate photography, it is far from the best choice for this purpose. It does not specialize in virtual staging, so it will take you quite a while to achieve more or less acceptable results, but their quality will leave much to be desired.

Instead, I recommend taking a closer look at virtual staging software like Photoshop or 3Ds Max. They give quite realistic results, attracting the attention of potential buyers. It comes with a large arsenal of features and modeling tools with which you can accurately recreate your home and furnish it the way your buyers will like it.

  • • What can increase the cost of staging a house?

If you are interested in how much for staging a house and what factors influence that price, then you should consider the size of your house, the number of rooms that are home staging, and the period that your house is listed for sale.

  • • How can I find home stagers near me?

First, ask for recommendations from your friends, your real estate agent, and real estate photography business – they must know good specialists. Alternatively, search Google for those nearby. Be sure to read reviews of their services, look at photos of cases similar to yours, and ask them for a cost breakdown.

  • • Can’t I just do some decluttering?

Certainly, decluttering your home is a paramount task on the way to selling a house, but not the only one. Most likely, the house will need to be renovated, furnished according to trends, and added a few touches that will make it cozy and help the buyer imagine himself living in this house.

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