When is staging a home necessary?

A: Recent reports indicate staging a home can often lead to shorter marketing times and higher offer and sales prices.

Staging can be as simple as arranging the already-present furniture and possessions of a seller, to a complete make over with all new furniture and accessories.

Homeownerswho become sellers are often immune to the distractions a buyer will see when looking because they have lived with the furnishings (or the clutter) for so long.

Additionally, some homeowners’ taste in decorating is so specific it may be so “distasteful” to a potential purchaser that the buyer can’t see the home they are considering buying.

Vacant homes almost always benefit from some staging, as most buyers have difficulty envisioning what the home would look like with furniture and accessories. This is why model homes are always furnished.

Those rare homes that do not require any staging at all often look like model homes with just the right amount of furniture, the most tasteful accessorizing and above all create that feeling for a buyer that says, “I could live here!” BariWilliams, Pacific Union (707) 738-9709 Bari.williams@pacunion.com, Bariwilliams.com

A: Most homes benefit from an affordable staging plan, and we often recommend staging before listing your home for sale. A study from the Real Estate Staging Association found that staged homes sell 87 percent faster than their un-staged counterparts.

Staging makes a home more inviting. A well-staged home provides buyers ideas on how to live in it. This is especially important with the range of home styles and nonstandard floor-plans in the Bay Area. Many of these homes were built in the early 1900s, when architects and builders were designing for a different lifestyle.

Alternatively, there are circumstances where staging is less crucial to the home-selling process.

When there is a similar home that has recently sold near yours, buyers have a strong reference point to decide how much to offer for your home.

Large, open, versatile floor plans can occasionally go without staging. These homes will allow for a range of room designs, and are easier for the buyer to imagine how the home will be used.

Staging prices vary from $500 to $5000. If you have the appropriate furniture, you can save money by hiring a stager to provide a design for your home using your own furniture. Staging often provides a return greater than the initial cost of the investment.

Devin Ratoosh, Marvin Gardens Real Estate Berkeley, (510) 848-8888, devin@ratoosh.com, www.BuyEastBay.com

A: Staging is one of the best things you can do to maximize the selling price of your home, but it can be unnecessary if a home is neatly kept and has trendy, current furniture. If the character of the home iswell-highlighted and the current furniture is able to enhance the house it might not be necessary to stage. It is important to remove as many personal items as possible. Abuyerwants to envision living in the house, which can be difficult if they are looking at a closet full of the seller’s clothes.

Some buyers appreciatewhen a home isn’t staged, because they are seeing the house as an accurate portrayal ofwhat itwould be like to live there. Another time staging isn’t necessary iswhen a house needs a lot ofwork. If it is a major fix-up, the expense of staging might not be necessary.

In the East Bay market, many of the best homes in the most desirable neighborhoods are staged. It has become the market norm, so most buyers are expecting it. Today, with 95 percent of buyers starting their home search online, photography is more important than ever. Ahome that is staged will stand out in photographs, attracting more online presence. Again, peoplewant to envision living in the home, and the better it looks, the more attention and higher offers a seller will achieve.

Nicole Tamayo, East Bay Sotheby’s International Realty, (510) 282-9748, nicole.tamayo@sothebysrealty.com