2017 Profile of
Home Staging
National Association of REALTORS® Research Department
The Voice For Real Estate
Executive Summary
Buyers’ Agent Perspective:
- Forty-nine percent of buyers’ agents cited that homes staging had an effect
on most buyer’s view of the home. - Seventy-seven percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier
for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. - Staging the living room for buyers was found to be most important (55
percent), followed by staging the master bedroom (51 percent), and staging
the kitchen (41 percent). - About one-third of buyer’s agents said that staging a home increased the
dollar value offered between one and five percent compared to other similar
homes on the market that are not staged.
Sellers’ Agent Perspective:
- Thirty-eight percent of sellers’ agents said they stage all sellers’ homes prior
to listing them for sale. Fourteen percent noted that they only stage homes
that are difficult to sell. - The most common rooms that are staged include the living room (83
percent), kitchen (76 percent), master bedroom (69 percent), and the dining
room (66 percent). - The costs of staging a home were typically paid by the seller before the
home is listed (25 percent). - When staging a home, 29 percent of sellers’ agents reported an increase of
one percent to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers, in
comparison to similar homes. Twenty-one percent of respondents stated that
staging a home increased the dollar value of the home between six and 10
percent. - Thirty-nine percent of sellers’ agents stated that staging a home greatly
decreases the amount of time the home is on the market. - The most common home improvement items agents recommended to
sellers were decluttering the home (93 percent), entire home cleaning (89
percent), carpet cleaning (81 percent), and removing pets during showings
(80 percent).
Home Staging Effect on Buyer’s View of Home
- Forty-nine percent of buyers’ agents cited that homes staging had an
effect on most buyer’s view of the home. - Only four percent of respondents said that home staging had not
effect on the buyer’s view of the home
Impacts of Buyer Viewing a Staged Home
- Seventy-seven percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it
easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. - Buyers were more willing to walk through a home they saw online
(40 percent), and buyers’ agents identified that staging would
positively impact the home value if the home was decorated to a
buyer’s taste (38 percent).
Importance of Staged Rooms
- Staging the living room for buyers was found to be most important
(55 percent), followed by staging the master bedroom (51 percent),
and staging the kitchen (41 percent). - Buyers’ agents cited staging the guest bedroom as the least
important room, with just nine percent saying that it was very
important to stage.
Percentage Change in Dollar Value When Home is Staged
- About one-third of buyer’s agents said that staging a home increased
the dollar value offered between one and five percent compared to
other similar homes on the market that are not staged. - Twenty-five percent of buyers’ agents indicated staging a home had
no impact on the dollar value that was offered.
Staging Homes Before Listing for Sale
- Thirty-eight percent of sellers’ agents said they stage all sellers’
homes prior to listing them for sale. Fourteen percent noted that
they only stage homes that are difficult to sell. - Thirty-seven percent of sellers’ agents stated that they do not stage
homes before listing them for sale, but suggest that the seller
declutter or fix property faults.
Rooms Typically Staged When Selling
- The most common rooms that are staged include the living room
(83 percent), kitchen (76 percent), master bedroom (69 percent),
and the dining room (66 percent). - The least common room to stage was a guest bedroom, at 21
percent.
Paying for Home Staging
- The costs of staging a home were typically paid by the seller before
the home is listed (25 percent). Sellers’ agents commonly personally
offered to stage the home (21 percent), and offered a home staging
service to sellers (14 percent).
Percentage Change in Dollar Value Sellers Receive
- When staging a home, 29 percent of sellers’ agents reported an
increase of one percent to five percent of the dollar value offered by
buyers, in comparison to similar homes. Twenty-one percent of
respondents stated that staging a home increased the dollar value of
the home between six and 10 percent. - None of the respondents reported that staging a home had a
negative impact on the home’s dollar value.
Impact of Time on Market
- Thirty-nine percent of sellers’ agents stated that staging a home
greatly decreases the amount of time the home is on the market.
Twenty-three percent reported slight decreases in the time on the
market, while eight percent stated that staging a home did not affect
the time on the market. - Only eight percent of respondents reported that staging a home
greatly increased the time a home was on the market.
Home Improvement
- The most common home improvement items agents recommended
to sellers were decluttering the home (93 percent), entire home
cleaning (89 percent), carpet cleaning (81 percent), and removing
pets during showings (80 percent).
NAR Survey Respondents
- Respondents most often worked with buyers as clients, at 56 percent. Forty-one
percent of respondents worked with sellers as clients. - Of the real estate agents surveyed, the median age was 54 years—51 percent
falling into the age bracket between 50 to 64 years, 17 percent aged 65 years or
over, and 11 percent between 45 to 49 years. - Seventy-one percent of respondents were female, and 72 percent were married.
- The primary functions of survey respondents was a sales agent at 65 percent,
followed by a associate broker at 15 percent. - Respondents have typically been active as a real estate professional for a median of
11 years. - Nearly six in 10 (56 percent) survey respondents worked suburban/subdivision
areas, followed by 34 percent in urban and central city areas, and 24 percent in
small towns.
Methodology
-
- In March 2017, NAR invited a random sample of 53,760 active REALTORS® to fill out
an online survey. A total of 1,894 useable responses were received for an overall
response rate of 3.5 percent. At the 95 percent confidence level the margin of error is
plus-or-minus 2.25 percent.
- In March 2017, NAR invited a random sample of 53,760 active REALTORS® to fill out
- The primary measure of central tendency used throughout this report is the median –
the middle point in the distribution of responses to a particular question or,
equivalently, the point at which half of the responses are above and below a particular
value. - ©2017 National Association of REALTORS®
All Rights Reserved.
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Association of REALTORS®.
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- The National Association of REALTORS®, “The Voice for Real Estate,”
is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members, including
NAR’s institutes, societies and councils, involved in all aspects of the real estate
industry. NAR membership includes brokers, salespeople, property managers,
appraisers, counselors and others engaged in both residential and commercial
real estate. - The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a
real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®
and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. - Working for America’s property owners, the National Association provides a facility for
professional development, research and exchange of information among its members
and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise
system and the right to own real property. - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
RESEARCH DIVISION
The Mission of the National Association of REALTORS® Research Division is to collect
and disseminate timely, accurate and comprehensive real estate data and to conduct
economic analysis in order to inform and engage members, consumers, and policymakers
and the media in a professional and accessible manner. - To find out about other products from NAR’s Research Division, visit
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