Should I Stage My Small, Moderately Priced Home?

We get asked some version of this question often, “Should I stage my small, moderately priced home?” Or “Do I need to stage my home? It’s not a luxury listing!” “Does home staging really matter for moderately priced homes?” Yes. Yes you should. It matters!

No matter a home's price point, staging makes a SIGNIFICANT difference because ALL homes need to appeal to a buyer.

First, the statistics

Here are some statistics from the most recent Profile of Home Staging by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). But keep reading for examples of stagings for homes listed around $400,000.

• 91% of buyers' agents say home staging had an affect on most or some buyers. Only 7% said it has no effect!

• 82% of buyers’ agents say that staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

• 83% of agents say that [great] photos are more important than ever. Let’s face it, buyers are shopping online and the photos need to eye catching or they are swiped away. Home staging creates great photos!

Watch this as Dawn talks about a few of our stagings.

Now the specifics

Now on to specifics about why to stage a smaller and/or moderately priced home. Home buyers in moderate price ranges care just as much about where they live as those hunting for million dollar listings. Who doesn’t desire a place where we can see ourselves living our best lives?

Moderate Home 1! This home received an above asking price the first week on market. We staged; we un-staged; and were very happy, as were the realtor, sellers and buyers.

Staged Ryte staged two homes in 2022 priced at or below $400,000. And they were relatively small. In both cases, the realtor told the home owners that he could sell their homes for one price if they didn’t stage, and he could sell for a greater price when staged. Both owners agreed to staging (who doesn’t want more money?).

• Moderate Home 1 was a complete renovation. We came in and fully staged the home…and it received multiple offers over asking in the first week. This was one of those homes where we stage…and then come back in short order to un-stage. We love when this happens and don’t mind one little bit.

• Moderate Home 2 was an older lake cottage. We styled the home and it received an offer in the first week. The home owners ultimately decided to take the property off the market and keep the home.

• On another note, we staged a luxury property that had been removed from the market because it wasn’t getting much interest. We came in styled and staged it, and the realtor tells us showings have more than doubled.

Moderate Home 1: Empty to Homey.

Staged homes at any price show more and…

Our staged homes show more, receive offers more quickly, and sell above listing. You don’t need to have a luxury home to benefit from home staging. Any sized home can benefit! Most important rooms to stage? Living room, primary bedroom, and kitchen.

How is your home going to stand out from the rest? Do you need a refresh for your home to show at its best in photos and when home buyers are visiting? We dove into our archive for this blog post, “The Biggest Home Staging Mistakes.” Some good tips for styling on your own.

Want to understand our process from walk-through to proposal to staging? Read this blog post “How Does Home Staging Work?”

2023 is different

2023 is going to be a tougher market than the past three years. Home sales have slowed; there’s more inventory than there was just after COVID, when so many people were moving to the Berkshires, Northwestern Connecticut, and Dutchess Couny, NY. Each home needs to stand out from the rest.

Bottom line, home staging matters for all homes at all price levels. Follow us on our socials especially Instagram @stagedryte to see our stagings and staging life. And contact us when you’re ready to stage!

The Biggest Home Staging Mistakes

If you go online or read home and lifestyle magazines, you will find multiple articles on home-staging dos and don’ts - about the biggest home staging mistakes. Everything you need to know can be summed up in one rule: 

It’s not about you!

What do we mean? It’s very simple. The purpose of home staging is not to showcase your home, your decor, or your lifestyle, but to create fertile ground for potential buyers to imagine their lives in the home. Good staging will give the buyer the germ of an idea for how they could live there. If you fill the space up with too much of your beloved stuff—overly personalized decor or shelves of your family photos—it distracts potential buyers and makes it more difficult for them to create their own vision for the home. 

Believe it or not, many people cannot picture the home looking different than it looks when they see it. If they find something objectionable, they often reject the home, instead of realizing they can easily change that element. Even something easy to switch like a paint color or a window treatment can be a turnoff to a potential buyer. You should try to anticipate design elements that might be too extreme and substitute something less likely to cause a negative reaction.

Staging often has to meld house style and furnishings with today’s clients. This primary bedroom is an example of an antique-filled home that has been morphed to appeal to a younger family. Staging is based on the demographic of the potential buyers, not the owner’s style. Click here.

It’s best to avoid any furniture or decor that’s very personal or specific to your taste. That’s why our advice is not to make your staging about you, your taste, your family, or your life. Make it about the buyer instead. Remember, good staging encourages the potential buyer to begin an emotional connection with the home, which allows him or her to see how her own life could unfold there. This is absolutely what Staged Ryte does every time we stage a home. Here are some specific situations where you might feel tempted to indulge your own taste but shouldn’t:

Don’t choose colors based on your preferences.

You may love deep violet bedroom walls, black curtains, or lots of acid green, but chances are buyers will be less enthused. Take the opportunity to switch out the black, violet, or green for a more neutral color before putting the home on the market. 

At the same time, when we say neutral, we don’t mean the sterile white-on-white interiors that are popular in design magazines. Sure, they look great on Instagram, but a home on the real estate market should look cozy and livable, not like a showroom. Remember the staging is telling the potential buyer a story, one that is a balance between fantasy and reality. And the reality is most people don’t live white-on-white.

The good news on color: painting is one of the best and least expensive fixes in our home-staging toolbox. Still, if a paint job simply isn’t in the budget, embrace the vivid color and try to balance it out with neutral linens, pillows, throws or other accessories.

Want to learn more about decorating with color? Click here.

Don’t assume potential buyers are going to love your pet.

It’s hard to imagine, we know, but many people are put off by evidence of an animal in the home. We understand you love your Fido or Fifi, but you can’t assume your furry friend will charm your potential buyers. Make sure any pet fur, bowls, or toys are out of sight during showings. Your kitty litter box should be clean and, even better, removed from the house. Even better if you can take your pet out of the home as well. If people see a cat, they may imagine they can smell it, even if you can’t. Want more pet tips? Read this Architectural Digest article.

There’s no such thing as too clean, too neat.

Your idea of charmingly lived in might be someone else’s idea of a hot mess. And when it comes to home staging, there is simply no such thing as charmingly lived in. Give up your own idea of what looks comfortable and make your home a neatnick’s dream. Be prepared to do a deep clean (or have a professional do one) and declutter before putting the home on the market. If you do have a pet, be prepared to maintain that level of deep-clean and neatness throughout the showing period. It may be arduous, but it’s necessary.

This kitchen was cleaned and cleared of all clutter with minimal decor added. Keep kitchens fresh.

Not every smell is a good smell.

The home should not only be fresh and clean but should smell that way. Sometimes people are so used to living with a particular odor, they actually cannot smell it. Recently we staged a home that had a lingering smell of damp and mold. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned but the offensive odor remained. At the end of our rope, we popped some apples and cinnamon in the oven. Soon the home smelled like a sparkling autumn day and we could imagine drinking some cider there. The whole scene changed immediately. We just had to make sure the real estate agent was willing to go in before each showing and bake those apples to keep the scent in the air.

Staging a home for a quick sale is a serious commitment – we know! Our entire goal is to do this FOR sellers – to take this burden off their shoulders. Our home staging services are is unique and eye catching. Let us know if you’d like to learn more about how we do this.