Ever thought about staging your home when listing, then you might want to read this post

I guess if you wait long enough, there will be a study done for almost everything. Staging is an extremely important tool in selling homes and should be handled by a qualified, professional stager, but it is nice to know there is some scientific basis for how to do so. Granted, most of the 15 points below are common sense and 14 and 15 are a bit dated for today’s market. So what makes one staged home stand out over others not done so well, the stager. If you are considering listing and would like an agent who can help prepare your home the best, please contact me for I know and use some of the best stagers here in the Napa Valley.

In a recent study by Duke University, Andrea Angott, Ph.D. said, “As far as we know, staging principles haven’t yet received empirical testing. Rather, they most likely evolved over years of experience and practice, and very experienced practitioners develop an intuition about staging. But, it is probably the case that some staging “rules” are more effective than others than others [sic] in terms of changing buyer perception and behavior.”

Dr. Angott noted that “some rules likely give you more “bank for your buck” in terms of cost effectiveness. This is what we are trying to determine. As psychologists, we are also interested in the psychology behind effective staging principles, on both emotional and cognitive levels.”

Top 15 staging rules

According to the scientific study by Duke University, these are the top 15 staging rules listed with the most importantly ranked at the top of this list:

Removal of personal items from bathrooms.
Using rooms for their intended purpose.
Removing evidence of pets.
Turning on every light in the home during showings.
Vacant homes should be furnished.
Removal of garbage cans.
Removal of personal photographs.
Removal attention-grabbing or personal art or accessories.
Neutral paint colors on all walls.
Removal of appliances from kitchen counters.
Never placing the back of furniture facing any room entrance.
“Tell a story” with staging (breakfast tray with mugs on bed).
Sheer or no coverings on all windows.
Use of scented candles, plug-in air fresheners or potpourri.
Chocolate chips baking in oven during showings.

Commonly reported additional rules that didn’t make the top 15 include an extremely clean, decluttered house with good curb appeal.

Thank you for reading this post. If I can ever be of help in finding you the perfect property here in the Napa Valley, please email me at Curtis@NapaValleyAddress.com