Photograph by George Sakkestad
Staging is an important step in preparing a house for sale, says Pam Killion of ShowHouse Staging and Design. Killion is a professional stager, and also a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos.
Staging helps to prepare a house for market
Put your best look forward
By Jean Newton
To stage or not to stage? Presenting a home for sale in the best light is a given, but whether to hire a professional firm to stage the home is the question. Many Realtors believe that "staging," or transforming a house by giving it that model home look, may increase the selling price as well as shorten the time on market.
"I just did a fair market value appraisal on a home. I think if the family was to move out and they were to stage the house they could actually make an additional $100,000," said Realtor Dante Drummond of Coldwell Banker in Palo Alto.
While the benefits of staging may boost the selling price, there are costs associated with the process. In addition to fees for the staging consultant or company, sometimes there are rental costs for furniture or furnishings.
"The staging of a home is dependent on many factors, the first being the price of the house," said Realtor Kathy Stakey of Coldwell Banker in Saratoga. "If a seller wants to absorb the costs for staging, which can be considerable, there is a strong possibility that they will get top dollar for the home."
However, staging expenses will reduce the net proceeds for the seller, so Stakey recommends reviewing the options with a Realtor to determine how effective it will be for individual situations.
For Pam Killion, a professional stager as well as a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, there is no question about whether to stage or not. She and partners Sharon Perry and Kathy Carlquist formed a new company called Show House Staging and Design in Los Gatos to meet the needs for staging services in the real estate market.
A fairly new agent, Killion realized when she was on tour that the homes that stood out in her mind were the ones that had been staged. "The home itself stood out; the focus was clear. I found I would show this home first," Killion said.
Killion and her partners believe every home going up for sale can benefit from some staging, whether it is a full-scale effort that requires the seller to move out or a more modest approach that uses existing furniture but adds decorative touches.
"We may rearrange a client's furniture, edit their personal clutter or memorabilia, and add decorative accessories. Or, once a home is newly painted and recarpeted, we then reintroduce a few pieces of our client's furniture, then augment with decorative accessories and fabrics," Killion said.
The other alternative includes emptying the home of its contents and staging the home "from scratch" as if it was a model home.
"What we look to achieve with staging is a connection between buyer and house. We want the buyer to make an emotional connection to the house, to visualize the house as their new home," Killion said. "This is difficult to achieve when a home is cluttered, as the clutter not only detracts from the house, but often makes it impossible to even visualize the home's potential."
As an example, Killion and her partners were faced with the challenge of working around a small 1950s-era pink-tile bathroom with pink tub, toilet and sink. Since pink is a difficult color to mask, Killion worked with the color by adding a pink and white gingham cloth shower curtain, white lace accents and white bath towels. She then used a print for the wall that matched the pink, and introduced soft pastel blues and greens. Final touches included pink soaps, bath gels and bath salts.
Costs for staging can run from $1,000 to $4,000, depending on the size of the home and the amount of work needed, said Killion. "If a seller is working with a low budget and cannot afford a full staging treatment, we add color to old furniture by purchasing slipcovers or a chenille throw, or add a piece of fabric to an undressed window. We want to make the home lively, warm and memorable," she said.
Some Realtors take matters into their own hands when it comes to helping their clients spruce up their homes. Both Kim Richman and Sheri Ocampo of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos admit they've used items from their own homes on occasion.
"Oftentimes you can work with what you've got and enhance with some trendy paintings, mirrors and flower arrangements. My friends all know when I have a lot of listings because I have bare walls at my house," said Ocampo.
Richman recommends staging whenever the seller allows her, and she does it herself when they don't. "I had a home in Los Gatos sell and close, and the sellers and I both know it would have never happened if not for the professional staging. It was an interesting contemporary home that we made to feel more warm and friendly," said Richman.
According to Realtor Steve Bellumori of Coldwell Banker in Menlo Park, a good agent will counsel a client as to whether staging is going to really be a benefit or not. The status of the market and the strengths of the home will often determine the extent of the staging.
"Often the home itself--or its price point--will carry the sale. But, for the most part, staging takes place in one form or another. Be it thinning out the home, painting, cleaning, or a full-scale makeover, the preparation is essential," Bellumori said. "When I started in the business over 25 years ago, it was astounding to me that owners often did more to sell a car than they did to sell a house. Fortunately, that's changed. From the most luxurious occupied home to vacant property, homes are better presented than they were even 10 years ago."
To determine whether staging is a good option, it's wise to consult a Realtor, who can evaluate individual needs. To find a local Realtor, check out the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors website at www.silvar.org.
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