Staging Simplified…Measuring the Return on Investment

By Catherine Brown

In my last article, I discussed the process of staging a home, which may be simpler and less complicated than you think. But is it a good return on investment?

Let’s compare the cost of preparing and staging an actual home in London to what it might have cost the sellers had it stayed on the market for 41 days – the average number of days in London* it takes to sell a house or condo.

This particular house was painted, cleaned, and staged with rental furniture, and like many others prepared and staged by Staged to Move, sold after the first public open house for 99% of its asking price!

As a REALTOR, which would you rather pay?

Many Realtors pay for the Accredited staging consultation as a value-added service for their clients. For a home of approximately 2,000 square feet, a personalized Accredited consultation would cost $200.00 plus GST.

In comparison, a small full-colour ad in the Saturday Homes section costs approximately $85.00 each week. Multiply that by the number of Saturdays in the 41-day average list to sale* and you’ll pay approximately $497.86.

That’s $285.86 more money out of your pocket!

As a HOME SELLER, which would you rather pay?

The homeowners of this particular home had already moved, but still incurred the basic property maintenance costs. And the longer the house remained on the market, the more these costs would have escalated.

Compare these costs for the average list to sell time in London (pro-rated to 41 days*) to the costs of some painting, a thorough cleaning, and staging with rental furniture and decorative accessories below:

Home on Market 41 Days		Staged Home
Mortgage Payment**	2234.64	Painting	1022.00
Property Taxes	493.68	Cleaning	350.00
Natural Gas Heat	168.49	Staging	987.03
Hydro, Water	280.82
Water Heater Rental	33.70
Home Insurance	175.00
Security System	43.20
TOTAL	$3429.53	TOTAL	$2359.03

That’s $1,070.50 more out of your pocket if the home is not staged and sold after the first open house!

Of course, not all homes need painting and cleaning to the extent that this particular one required.

But one important detail remains constant – the cost of staging and preparation will always be less than the average basic monthly expenses a home incurs while waiting for a buyer.

*The London & St. Thomas Association of Realtors: The Average List Duration for residential/condo listings before sold/expired for 2007 year-to-date is 41 days and the Sale to List Price is 98%.

**Mortgage payment based on $261,750 at 5.25% for 25 years plus $96.11 life insurance per month as calculated by Joan Bidner, Mobile Mortgage Specialist, TD Canada Trust.

Catherine E. Brown is an Accredited Staging Professional and owner of Staged to Move. Catherine is committed to helping clients sell their home for the best price in the least amount of time. She can be contacted at (519) 868-7171 or by email at catherine@stagedtomove.ca. Visit her Web site at www.stagedtomove.ca.

Published in Networking Today, March 2007