How to stage your home to sell fast: A guide for sellers

Home staging is a tool that can help properties sell faster and possibly above the listing price.

About a fifth of buyer's agents reported that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between 1 percent and 5 percent compared to similar homes that were not staged, according to the National Association of Realtors' Profile of Home Staging, published in May.

“In a stale market … a staged house is going to get the attention first, and those are the ones that are going to sell,” said Shell Brodnax, founder and CEO of the Real Estate Staging Association.

The goal is to make a good impression and sell the house quickly.

“As in life and most importantly in real estate, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It is critical that your house is staged properly,” said Judi Caracausa, a Sotheby’s broker with more than 40 years of experience in selling properties along Connecticut’s eastern shoreline.

Staging helps potential homebuyers envision themselves in a house.

“People want to aspire to certain things, especially when they’re looking at homes,” Brodnax said. “Everybody wants their home to be everything they want it to be, so when they can come in and they could have that ‘wow factor,’ that’s great.”

Because of real estate content on social media and TV, today's buyers often expect houses to be staged. A Homes.com survey found that the majority of homebuyer journeys start online. Buyers are more likely to click on a staged photograph than one of an empty room, Brodnax said.

“Most people don’t have the visualization skills to imagine their own furniture in the home,” Brodnax said.

The level of staging needed can range from filling a vacant home with furniture to just adding a few finishing touches while the seller lives there. Let Homes.com walk you through the process:

There is no one-size-fits-all staging strategy.

Homes come in all shapes, sizes and conditions. Most people think they have good style, but your taste may not align with that of your neighbor or a potential buyer. When it comes to staging a home to sell, the goal is to achieve broad appeal.

Before you hire a real estate agent or a stager, consider the state of your home. Ask yourself when the last time it was updated, painted or renovated.

The home may be physically sound, but its style is dated. Homes that have been steadily updated over the years will likely need less work and staging. If a home has not been updated for decades, then it will likely need more staging and cost more to prepare for the market. That said, you do not need to gut your home before selling.

If you have an older home, it could be listed as a fixer-upper. These listings don’t require much staging, if any, because the buyer is coming in with the intention of renovating the place. However, fixer-uppers are priced lower than market-rate homes. If you are willing to invest in renovations, which require time and money, it’s essential to consider whether the project's cost will be recouped in the final sale.

Regardless of whether you are staging or not, taking steps 2 through 6 will help prepare homes to sell.

Questions to ask:

• When was the last time I updated or renovated my house?
• When was the last time I painted or refinished the floors?
• When was the last time I replaced the windows or outlet covers?
• How much have I personally invested in the property since taking ownership?

Start sorting your belongings into categories of what you will keep, donate or discard.

“The number one thing would be: purge,” Brodnax said. “Just don’t take it with you — get rid of it. Go through everything and get piles together: sell it, keep it, donate it, store it.”

Start packing up items you don’t immediately need. The less in the house, the better for staging and showing the home.

Pro tip: Decluttering expert Dana K. White suggests getting only enough boxes for the size of your next property to help limit what you keep.

Questions to ask:

• Why do I own this item?
• How often do I use it and will I use it in my new home?
• What value does this item bring to me and my life?

While decluttering, start removing family photos and other personal items from your walls and shelves. When buyers visit properties, they want to be able to envision themselves in the home, and seeing you on the wall won’t help. This step can be hard for sellers who have emotional attachments to their home.

“I try to educate homeowners that they have to do their best to emotionally drop the attachment that the home is no longer their home, but it is their asset,” said Hana Latyn, principal designer and owner of Masterpiece Staging and Design, whose work has been featured in Architectural Digest and on HGTV.

Pro tip: Even art can be personal and distracting because people have different tastes. “Art collections with intense colors don’t photograph well and distract from selling features,” said Beverly Parkinson, a stager based in Los Angeles.

Questions to ask:

• Could a stranger tell who lives here based on what's visible?
• Is there anything in the room that might distract buyers?

If you have a leaky sink, a broken outlet, or a missing piece of trim, now is a good time to address those issues. For larger renovations, consider consulting a real estate agent or stager to determine whether to undertake certain updates. Some renovations can increase the value of a home.

You could have your home inspected to check for any greater issues. The house will likely require an inspection before being sold, and by conducting it early, you can address any potential issues.

“You might find things that you weren’t even aware of, and if there are things that you can afford to fix and really should fix, you should tackle those ahead of time so you can disclose them,” said Abigail Halal, a central Massachusetts-based stager known for sharing her work on social media, garnering 36,000 followers on Instagram.

Some buyers will want to take on the projects themselves, but what you tackle depends on the size of the project, the time you can devote to it, and your skill level.

Pro tip: “Don’t paint on your own, get a color consultation,” Brodnax said. “Color, light, shadowing and time of day all affect how paint looks in a space.”

Several paint companies offer free color consultations virtually and in person. Check in at your local paint store, such as Home Depot or Lowe's, to see if free color consultations are available.

You want your home to look good online, and the front of your house is the first in-person impression prospective buyers get of your home. So, mow your lawn, trim the hedges and spruce up the walkway. Consider larger projects, such as painting, power washing or replacing siding. Little changes can go a long way in making a good impression.

Pro tip: “It doesn't cost a lot to buy a brand-new welcome mat, and it makes a lot of difference,” Sotheby’s Caracausa said.

More on this topic

• Front door colors that sell: How a simple paint job can boost personality, appeal and buyer interest

Once you have fixed problems and finished projects, clean your home more thoroughly than you have ever done before.

“Hire somebody to do the deep clean because people’s vision of clean are two different things,” Brodnax said.

Wipe your baseboards, clean your ceiling fan blades, and sweep out the closets. If you have a pet, try to make it look like you don’t and eliminate hair and odor. The home needs to feel and look clean to strangers.

Pro tip: “Having sparkling-clean windows is really important,” Caracausa said.

Questions to ask:

• Have you cleaned underneath your couch or appliances?
• Is the grout in the bathroom or kitchen clean?
• Are there any lingering odors that need to be neutralized?

As experts in their markets, agents can give advice on what the home needs before listing it. When hiring an agent, you need to find someone you can trust and who shares your vision.

You can interview a few agents before hiring one by asking them what they would do if they had the listing. You can also check out their online profiles and social media to see what types of properties they have sold. Ask about how much money you will need to invest in staging. Some agents stage homes themselves, while others hire a third-party staging company.

Pro tip: Ask your neighbors or post on social media to get real estate agent recommendations.

Questions to ask: third party

• Are we aligned on the amount of staging the house will require and the budget?
• Do you assist in staging or have a staging company you work with?

More on this topic

• 12 questions sellers can ask prospective agents
• How sellers can negotiate real estate agent commissions
• Selling a home in 11 steps

Determine what level of staging is necessary and what you are willing to spend.

One of the biggest factors to consider is whether the money invested in staging will be returned in the final sale. Discuss with your agent or stager what the best investment is for your property and whether that investment will yield a return.

The price of staging a home is based on its size and the specific needs of the property. The cost for a vacant single-family home averages from $3,500 to $5,000, according to RESA. Consultations typically range from $250 to $500, Brodnax said.

There are two perspectives to consider when staging: for online listings and for in-person visits.

Online listings are very important as they are likely the first thing a buyer will see. A home can be professionally staged and photographed to ensure that the online listing accurately reflects its actual state. Photos of the house can also be virtually staged for the online listing using a graphic designer or even artificial intelligence; however, the homes will likely require some level of in-person staging for open houses.

When sellers are living in the home while it is on the market, professional designers and real estate agents can offer advice on how best to stage the house. Suggestions will vary on a case-by-case basis, but regardless of any cosmetic changes, the seller needs to keep the space clean. Latyn said they make suggestions based on whether the changes will bring a return on investment.

“We are looking to do just enough to give them the best possible look for reasonable investment,” she said.

Painting the house in bright neutral colors, upgrading the hardware, and landscaping the front yard are a few suggestions that could make a good impression on buyers and increase the value. Other adjustments are easier, such as rearranging furniture and adding pillows.

Pro tip: Keeping a checklist with reminders on how to reset the staged design daily and maintain a clean space is helpful. Have a spare laundry basket or bin to store any last-minute messes before a showing.

The perk of an empty home is that it’s a blank canvas for a stager to curate. The downside is that there is more space that needs to be filled, and this typically costs more. Adding furniture helps define rooms, allowing buyers to gauge the home's functionality.

“When they walk into an empty home, it’s colder, and most people don’t have the visualization skills to imagine their own furniture in the home,” Brodnax said. “When it’s already staged, it kind of gives them a really good floor plan idea of maybe how their furniture would work in it.”

To save money, you can focus on the most important areas.

“We always recommend to stage the heart of the home, which is living room, kitchen, dining, primary bedroom and then any other area which can be called complicated,” said Latyn, who has been staging in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for 15 years.

Showing what size bed can fit in a smaller room or where an office could be placed helps buyers visualize whether the home meets their needs. Latyn said that offices and outdoor spaces became more important after the pandemic, when people began working from home more frequently.

Pro tip: Staging a home gym in a small room can showcase the potential of the space to buyers.

Designers and stagers can provide a range of services to sellers — from furnishing an empty house top to bottom to adding finishing details like throw pillows, lamps or vases of flowers. This process is more hands-on and will likely take at least a few weeks to finish, so homeowners should coordinate with their agent on when the listing will need to go live.

Brodnax said it’s important to vet the staging company by checking their websites, social media pages and reviews to see whether they align with the style and level of service you want.

You could also hire a full-service company that coordinates all aspects, including moving, cleaning, staging and photography.

Some real estate agents will help you stage your home, like Caracausa, who keeps extra furniture in storage.

Another option is to stage your home yourself.

If you paid for a staging consultation, you can implement the advice instead of shelling out for full service with rented furniture.

Pro tip: Although DIYing takes time and personal investment, you can find free professional guidance on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. Many real estate agents and stagers have shared their best tips online. For example, if you need to stage a bedroom, you can push two folding tables together and throw a comforter and pillows on top to pose as a faux bed.

Trends come and go, but bright, neutral-colored walls, flat-white ceilings and warm light are safe bets. If rooms are dark, add lamps, and if there is a living space without a window, try adding a mirror to reflect light.

More on this topic:

• Staging: Tips to make your home look its best

Whether it’s listed on a marketplace site like Homes.com or the Multiple Listing Service, your home’s online image is likely the very first thing potential buyers see. Having inviting photos will attract more buyers.

Once a house is staged, have a professional photographer capture each room. Many real estate agents will help coordinate a photographer. However, if you need to find one, most photographers have a social media profile or website with contact information.

The cost of photos can vary based on the size of the property and location. For approximately 30 to 40 photos, expect to pay between $150 and $500. Be sure to have a staging set because the photographer will need to spend their time capturing the best image possible, not fixing the home.

If you decide to take your own photos, be sure to take them during the day. Polish all cleaning and staging before snapping photos.

Lighting is extremely important. Aside from natural light, turn on all the lights in your home. Ensure you have multiple sources of light, as a single source can cause the photo to blow out. Natural light could make the room look backlit, and a single lamp would glow like an orb. Study how light comes into your home and take photos at a time when the sun is bright but not harsh and casting severe shadows.

If possible, use a DSLR camera. If you are using a phone, be sure to shoot horizontally. Stand in door entryways, against walls or in corners to capture the full room. For small rooms, such as a powder room, you can take two vertical images and edit them together to create a horizontal frame.

With 30 to 40 photos, ensure you have a mix of different types. If you have a nice fireplace or cute coffee nook, take a close-up photo of the feature.

When choosing a cover photo, you want to put your best foot forward. Exteriors are commonly the first photo, but if your facade could use some work or you are selling a condo, then try featuring your kitchen or living room. If you have a nice view, that could be a good selling point, too. You want to pick a photo you think people will click on.

Modern technology and artificial intelligence can quickly transform a photo of a room by adding furniture, lighting, and style. Companies now offer virtual staging services for real estate agents, generating styled images for online listings in minutes. According to a Homes.com survey 60% of home buyers rely on virtual tools.

Homes.com offers a virtual tour option through Matterport, which can make a digital 3D map of listings.

Designers can also use AI to create virtual renderings. Some services even remove existing furniture to show both furnished and unfurnished views.

Virtual staging is often more affordable and accessible, using smartphone photos and software that typically cost between $20 and $150.

However, quality and ethics vary. Professional services avoid altering room dimensions, while some software may change more than just furnishings, raising concerns in the real estate industry. To maintain transparency, virtual stagers often include watermarks to indicate that the images are digitally enhanced.

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For sellers hoping to attract buyers, staging can be the key to getting people in the door; however, ultimately, it's up to buyers to decide what they want in a house. Your job as a seller is to make the best case for your house. No amount of staging can change the qualities of your home, so be authentic.

Staging is less about decoration and more about perception. When on the market, your home is like a movie set for a new family's life. Staging can enhance their ability to visualize their future.

This article was updated on Nov.20 with a new section on how to shoot your own staging photos.