I staged a vacant home for an investor today that had been sitting on the market for several months. It’s in a great location, it just wasn’t getting any excitement. It was a classic example of why it is important to stage a vacant home.
So why is it so important to stage a vacant home?

· It will sell faster. A vacant property can take up to 78 percent more time to sell than comparable furnished homes, according to the Real Estate Staging Association.

· Buyers will see it as their home. Only a few buyers can visualize a vacant room decorated and furnished. The majority of buyers, on the other hand, cannot envision how they will live in the home or use a room.

· They’ll stay longer. During a showing of a vacant home, I’ve found that buyers unable to connect with the space will only stay on average 5 minutes, compared to an average 40 minutes in a furnished home.

· Their furniture will fit. Empty rooms look smaller to buyers, who more often than not will think their favorite sectional or king-sized bed is too big. In larger homes, buyers will question if they have enough furniture. Either way they’ll be calculating the additional cost of new furniture rather than focusing on the home.

· Details stand out. Architectural details and key features can stand out when a home is professionally styled and staged whereas empty rooms put a spotlight on flaws or needed repairs.

By Patti Stern, Principal PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

Living room before. Nice and bright, but that spectacular picture window deserved some highlighting.

By placing the sofa in front of the picture window, it draws the eye and focus to that view and commands attention.

Master bedroom before. Nice but blah and forgettable. Also difficult to determine what size bed will fit. Most buyers want to know if their king size bed will fit in a space.

After, it is spelled out exactly what size bed will fit in the space.

Before, big basement with a charming wood stove that is likely to be forgotten in the haze of looking at multiple homes on a buyers’ home search.

After, a charming seating nook to help envision cozy evenings spent by the stove.

Eat in kitchen area. Nothing to emotionally connect a buyer here, really.

After, now they can imagine meal time spent in the home.

As always, I’d love the opportunity to discuss how I can help you get that vacant home SOLD!