According to the National Association of REALTORS®'s new 2025 Profile of Home Staging, a survey of about 1,200 real estate professionals, looks matter when it comes to real estate. Taking the time to fix up a home before the for-sale sign goes up could help it sell faster and for more money.


According to the poll, roughly 30% of real estate agents said that staging raised home values by 1% to 10%. More specifically, almost 20% of listing agents indicated that bids went up by 1% to 5% compared to properties that weren't staged. Another 10% of agents said that offers went up by 6% to 10%, which they said was because of home staging.

Staging a home that costs $400,000 might raise the sales price by $4,000 to $40,000.

Another benefit of house staging that agents mentioned was how quickly properties sold. About half of the real estate professionals who were asked claimed that staged homes tended to sell faster than homes that weren't staged. Eighty-three percent of agents for buyers indicated that staging made it simpler for those looking for a home to picture it as their own.

The effect of staging frequently starts before a buyer even walks in. Chris Lim, executive vice president and chief growth officer of RE/MAX, says, "We know that most people start their search for a home online, so first impressions are very important." "Buyers might not go to see a home if it doesn't look a certain way online."

The NAR survey says that one in three buyer's agents said that clients were more likely to book a showing after seeing a staged property online.

The Most Important Rooms to Stage

The poll indicated that agents put the following rooms at the top of their list when staging for potential buyers:

Room to live in

Main bedroom

Kitchen

Room for eating

Spaces outside

The survey says that agents put less attention on staging guest bedrooms and children's rooms at the same time.

According to agents, here's a checklist for sellers' homes:

Real estate professionals argue that if their clients don't want to stage their homes, they should make them look better if they want to attract today's pickier, HGTV-loving purchasers. After all, 58% of real estate agents said that purchasers were let down when the homes they saw on TV didn't live up to what they saw.

Because of this, more than half of real estate agents stated they tell sellers to do these common home renovations before putting the house up for sale:

Cleaning out

Cleaning the whole house

Making the outside look better

Taking pictures for work

Small repairs

Cleaning carpets

Taking away personal touch

Repainting or touching up paint

Landscaping

Re-grouting tiles

Taking pets out during showings

Read more at NAR.

Need help with staging your home before a sale? Ask the Hersey Group.