Staging works, but not evenly. A small number of changes reliably affect how a property photographs and how it feels at a showing; the rest mostly reassure the seller.
The five that earn their cost
- Removing roughly a third of the furniture in every room.
- Replacing every bulb in the house with the same colour temperature.
- Deep cleaning windows, inside and out.
- Neutralising the entry, which is the first and last thing a buyer sees.
- Professional photography, which is the only staging most buyers will ever see.
The ones that usually do not
New countertops days before listing, accent walls, and expensive rented art rarely return their cost. Buyers price finishes against the whole house, not against the newest surface in it.
Staging is not decorating. It is removing every reason for a buyer to hesitate.
