Buyers expect to see homes that could be showcased on their favorite design shows. Does your listing compete?

TV design shows are increasingly influencing home buyers’ perceptions of what they expect to find on the market. Those are high standards. Sixty-eight percent of REALTORS® recently surveyed say their clients were disappointed by how homes appeared in real life versus on TV, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2021 Profile of Home Staging.

Sixty-three percent of REALTORS® say their buyers requested to view homes comparable to those they’ve seen on TV. As a result, 35% of REALTORS® say they have patterned their staging after TV design shows—homes that are uncluttered and showcase dramatic design.

Photo by Max Vakhtbovych from Pexels

Selling agents are using both physical and virtual staging to help buyers envision all the possibilities in a space. Forty-four percent of buyer’s agents say staging had an effect on their clients, helping them better visualize a property as their future home and making them more willing to do a walkthrough.

Further, real estate pros believe staging can attract higher offers. Twenty-three percent of buyers’ agents say staging raised the dollar value of offers between 1% and 5% compared to similar homes on the market that aren’t staged. Also, 31% of REALTORS® say staging greatly decreased the amount of time a home spent on the market.

The survey found that the most important rooms to stage in the house are:

• Living room
• Primary bedroom
• Kitchen

On the other hand, the least important rooms to stage, according to the survey, are children’s bedrooms and guest bedrooms.

Photo by Mark McCammon from Pexels

Photo by Max Vakhtbovych from Pexels

Photo by Mark McCammon from Pexels

"Copyright NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Reprinted with permission."