Sellers accept that staging is beneficial

Staging has become part of the natural order in preparing a house for the market, an apparent no-brainer for sellers familiar with television's real estate shows.

"Thanks to all of the HGTV programming, sellers these days have been introduced to the magic of staging before we meet, and, therefore, generally accept our advice to stage," said Mickey Pascarella, an agent with Keller Williams Real Estate in Center City.

Martin Millner, an agent with Coldwell Banker Hearthside Realtors in Yardley, said, "Virtually every single seller I work with is willing to consider staging. Depending on recommendations, they aren't always willing to agree to the plan, but they almost always agree to allow a staging proposal."

When meeting with sellers to discuss staging, said Karen Maglaty, owner of Rooms Rejuvenated! in Lansdale, "I emphasize that I am only making suggestions, but point out that the goal is to get them the most amount of money for their house in the shortest period of time."

That approach appears to have the most success, said Maglaty, who has been staging homes for area real estate agents since 2004.

Earlier this year, the National Association of Realtors conducted its first home-staging survey among members. The survey was sent to 49,104 members and generated 2,373 respondents for a response rate of 4.8 percent.

It found that staging makes an impact in several ways.

For example, 81 percent of the Realtors responding to the survey said staging helps buyers visualize the property as a future home.

Forty-six percent said it makes prospective buyers more willing to walk through a home they saw online.

Forty-five percent said a home decorated to a buyer's tastes positively influenced its value.

Many real estate agents take courses to obtain "accredited staging professional" designation from StagedHomes.com.

Diane Williams, an agent with Weichert Realtors in Blue Bell, has such a designation but sees it as just a way for Realtors "to understand staging, to explain the process to the client and then recommend a stager."

Millner said that while he knows some Realtors get the staging designation, he prefers "to have an independent stager evaluate a home so that I am not the bad guy when we recommend appropriate changes to decor, furniture addition or subtraction, and the like."

After sellers accept a listing agent's suggestions to have the house professionally staged, Maglaty said, she sets up a "preview appointment" with them. The meeting lasts about 30 minutes.

"I walk through the home, looking at it as if I were a buyer," she said, "then suggest what can be done in each room."

The sellers take care of repairs, decluttering and painting before she returns to begin the staging.

Maglaty brings paint samples with her on the initial visit, advocating "neutralizing" rooms that need a "warm, neutral color" - not white - that is more inviting.

Staging aims to "make sure the house has been depersonalized, so buyers can see themselves living in it," she said.

"We want the buyer to see all of the architectural elements," which might involve moving furniture or artwork from room to room.

Maglaty also tries to add a "wow" factor, "because most buyers will be looking at model homes, as well," she said.

Her work seeks to evoke a "special feeling," so prospective buyers "envision themselves in a particular room, such as a kitchen, to showcase what it would be like to entertain."

In the survey, the Realtors ranked the living room as the No. 1 room to stage, followed by the kitchen.

Although staging costs vary greatly, depending on the amount of time and effort involved, the Realtors' survey found that the median spent was $675.

Most Realtors said buyers typically offered 1 percent to 5 percent more for a staged home.

Some put it as high as 6 percent to 10 percent.

aheavens@phillynews.com

215-854-2472@alheavens