Did you know that a professionally staged home spends 73% less time on the market? This is a huge difference if you’re in a hurry to sell your house.

But what is home staging? What makes it so useful? How much does it cost, and is that cost worthwhile at the end of the day?

We’re here to answer all of those questions and more. Read on to learn all about home staging.

What Is Home Staging?

Home staging is something homeowners, investors, or sellers do before they sell (or rent out) a home. It’s a way to make a home look lived in, but not too lived in. The goal is to show off the home’s potential. 

There are many different ways to stage a home. Generally speaking, you want to stage a home for your ideal buyers. For example, if you’re selling a single-family home in a neighborhood with good schools and playgrounds, you may stage it in a way that would appeal to families with young children. 

On the other hand, if you live in an area that’s popular for retirement, you may want to stage the home in such a way that it appeals to empty nesters and single older adults. 

Home staging isn’t a necessary part of selling a house, but it is a helpful one. In a market that isn’t super hot, staging a house can be the difference between a quick sale and a home that stays on the market for weeks (if not months). A staged home may even get a better price (more on that later).

Benefits of Home Staging

So why do people stage homes? There are a few reasons. 

First, staging helps buyers emotionally connect with a home. When a buyer sees a home looking like a home rather than an empty shell, the home becomes more appealing. They can see themself living there.

But what if you already have things in your home? Do you still need to stage it? It’s already “homey” enough, right?

Staging a home takes away personal touches to create a blank slate for the buyer. It also makes a home look neater and cleaner. The average lived-in home is far less tidy than a staged home.

Again, you can also stage a home for a specific buyer. If you don’t have children, but you know your potential buyers likely do, staging a home allows you to tweak your home for those potential buyers.

Staging a home also makes marketing the house easier online. A well-staged home looks great in photos, and those photos are generally the first impressions people will have of the home. 

Generally speaking, the benefits of staging a home outweigh the downsides if sellers have the time and money to do it effectively. 

Home Staging Options

There are several ways to stage a home (or rather, to have it staged for you). Here’s a brief overview of each option. 

Professional Stagers

Professional stagers know all about what makes a home sellable. They will transform your home and turn it into something buyers will love to see. 

Often, professional stagers work together with real estate agents or property management companies rather than individual sellers, but individuals are welcome to use their services as well.

So what are home staging services?

Think of them like interior designers. They will create a vision for your home and coordinate everything you need to turn that vision into a reality. Note that they don’t do anything that you couldn’t, in theory, do on your own, but they can save you time and they already have connections with local furniture supply companies. 

You may be able to talk to the stagers about only staging certain rooms if you want to save money by doing some of the staging on your own. 

DIY Home Staging

DIY home staging is the most affordable option in theory, but it depends on how you do it.

When you choose to stage your home on your own, you’re taking a risk. That risk might pay off (after all, you won’t have to spend much money), or you may find yourself wasting time and money just to hire a professional later on.

If you’re DIY staging, you need to have some interior design know-how. Try to figure out what potential buyers want to see. Are you able to create that ideal space with your current belongings, or will you need to rent furniture?

If you can do it with what you have, that’s great! Tidy everything, make sure you’re keeping your home in pristine condition, and you can do showings in your space without removing your belongings.

If not, you’re going to have to rent furniture and decorations. While the DIY option is supposed to be the cheapest, this could end up costing you more money than you were ready to spend. 

For some easy DIY home staging ideas, start with cleaning and tidying. Rearrange your furniture to make each room flow more nicely and to make the home seem bigger.

Let more light into the home by opening windows and using mirrors to reflect light (this will also make the home look larger). 

Real Estate Agent Home Staging

If you’re working with a real estate agent, they may include taking in their services. Real estate home staging does cost money, but that’s because the real estate agent in general costs money. 

They may use virtual home staging instead of real home staging. What is virtual home staging? It’s home staging that’s done through digital art.

A graphic artist virtually adds furniture and decorations to photos of the home to create a realistic end result (and sometimes even a realistic virtual tour). They can even change the colors of the walls. 

This is helpful if you’re still living in the home because you don’t have to disrupt your life while it’s being staged. Virtual staging is also often more affordable.

How Much Does Home Staging Cost? 

The cost of home staging depends on how you do it and how much goes into it.

If you’re DIY staging your home without buying any extra furniture or decorations, it’s going to be free. However, you do have a time cost to consider. If you end up renting furniture and decor, the cost will go up per item. 

If you hire a team of professional stagers, the cost may depend on the size of your home and the amount of work it will take. A small one-bedroom bungalow will cost far less to stage than a three-story six-bedroom home. 

If you’re working with your real estate agent, the cost may be factored into the fees that they’re already charging you. This will depend on the real estate agent, however. Some real estate agents may not offer home staging as a part of their services. 

Homeowners should expect to pay up to $7,500 on the higher end and several hundred on the lower end. It’s difficult to determine an exact number because there are so many variables. 

Is Home Staging Worth It?

If you’re selling your home the old-fashioned way, staging it is worthwhile in most cases. A large percentage of staged homes received higher offers in 2021.

This is especially true if you don’t pay much for staging in the first place. If you choose to do mostly DIY staging fixes, the financial benefits are obvious (if you have the time to do so).

Staged homes also sell more quickly than non-staged homes. 

But what if you’re paying a lot of money for staging? Is it still worth it? In theory, yes, but if you’re in a tough market the ROI may not be as high as you’d hope. 

Spending thousands of dollars to stage a home will likely not be as worthwhile as spending a few hundred. 

If you’re in a hurry to sell, staging may also not be the best option. Yes, it significantly hastens the sale of the home, but it still takes time. There is a better alternative if you’re in a rush.

Consider a Faster Way to Sell Your House

So what is home staging? It’s redecorating a home to make it appeal to potential buyers. It’s a great way to increase the sale price of your home and quicken the selling process in general if you have time and money to spare.

If you’re in a rush, there’s a faster way to sell. 

At iBuyer.com, you can see what your house is worth immediately and even get a cash offer. If you’re ready to sell right now, this is your best option. 

Use our free home value estimator to get started today.

The post What Is Home Staging And Is It Worth It? appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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In 2022, the average home price in the United States alone is $428,700. This is much higher than the prices of homes in previous years. As the housing market continues to evolve and prices tend to keep getting higher and higher, it is only natural that you want to get as much as you can when you sell your home. 

Can I sell my house for more than the appraisal value is a very good question. You might also be wondering about the appraisal value vs. sale price and how they might differ. But this is a real question to think about.

Can you sell a house for more than the appraisal, or do you have to settle with what the appraisal offers you? Keep reading and learn more about the details below.

What is an Appraisal?

Whether you can sell your house higher than the appraisal is a good question, but you should first know what an appraisal is. An appraisal has to do with finding the sale value of your home.

Usually, the value of your home is determined by an expert. The expert will assess your home in various ways. For example, the expert may examine how large your house is, what kind of condition it is in, the year it was built, how many rooms it has, if it has any special features, and so on. 

Various things can affect the appraisal price of a house. For example, if you just got a new roof, this will likely increase the value of your home since that is a feature many homebuyers look for when buying a house. On the other hand, if your roof is old and worn down and desperately in need of replacement, this will likely reduce the value of your home to some extent. 

The Details

There are also other things to consider like special features. For example, if your house has solar panels, this will count as a bonus since many houses don’t have solar panels and are increasingly sought-after by homeowners. Having a pool may also benefit the appraisal value of your house since, after all, having a nice pool is a luxury and a big bonus for those who can afford it. 

There are also more minor things that may affect the house value. For example, the price may change slightly if a room or several rooms in the house have been remodeled recently, if the walls have been painted, if the floors have been replaced, and so on. Anything that makes the home more favorable to potential homebuyers will likely increase the price of the home to some extent. 

On the other hand, anything that makes the home less attractive to potential homebuyers will most likely decrease the price of the house. For that reason, you should seriously consider the condition of your home before you get an appraisal. After all, you want to get the best price for your home you can.

How Does an Appraisal Affect a Mortgage?

A home appraisal has a huge impact on a home mortgage. This is because getting a loan for your house and the value of that loan has everything to do with how much that house is worth. This is due to the fact that a lender will only give you so much money for the loan based on the price of your house. 

For example, if your home is not worth very much, it wouldn’t make much sense for a lender to give you a huge loan. After all, you could accomplish whatever you need to accomplish with only a small loan for a relatively low-priced or small house. Knowing the appraisal value will ensure that the mortgage lender will not give you more money than what you need to work on your house or do whatever else you need to do. 

On the other hand, if your house has been appraised and valued at a very high price, the opposite will be true. Your lender will give you more money for the mortgage since you will require more money to work on or maintain such an expensive house. Besides ensuring that the lender doesn’t give you more money than necessary, a home appraisal also ensures that you don’t borrow more than you need to when getting a home loan. 

Keep in mind that an appraisal is only an estimate of your home value. The actual selling price might vary from the appraisal price by several thousand dollars. However, you should also remember that an appraisal is a very accurate estimate. 

While the price might vary in reality, it is still important to keep the appraisal price close in your mind since it is the number that most people will care about and remember. 

Should I Get an Appraisal Before Listing?

It depends. Getting an appraisal before listing may seem like a good idea, but it could actually be a very bad idea. This is because you may think that the price of your home is much higher than it is in reality. 

If this is the case, then your house’s appraisal value will be much lower than you realized and it will be hard for you to sell it at a higher price. Even if you think that your house is worth a lot of money, you still might want to be wary of getting an appraisal because it might still be lower than you expect. 

But how will anyone know the value of your home if you don’t get an appraisal? Usually, a real estate agent will help you by comparing your home with similar homes that are relatively the same size, age, and so on. Then, the agent will match the price of your home with those homes.

That way, you will be on the same level as the competition. There are, of course, certain instances in which getting an appraisal may be beneficial. You just need to think twice about it before you decide to go through with it to make sure that you get the result you want (or at least close to it). 

How Much Will the Appraisal Cost Me?

An appraisal usually does not cost all that much. The exact price will depend on various factors such as your location, your individual house, the appraiser you use, and so on. Usually, you will have to pay between $300 and $450. 

You will rarely have to pay more than this range. You might think that this is a bit expensive, but this is the price you pay for finding out the value of your house.

How to Sell Your Home for More Than the Appraised Value

Can you list your house higher than the appraisal value? The answer is yes, but you may want to think twice about it. If you aren’t happy with the original appraisal price of your home, you might want to consider getting a second opinion from another appraiser. 

Or, you can ask your original appraiser to look over your house a second time. Whatever the case, getting a second appraisal may raise the price of your house somewhat so that it is more like what you want the house to be valued at. However, if you still aren’t happy with the value of the house, you can try listing the house above its appraisal value. 

Keep in mind that if you do this, it may take a long time for your house to sell. But if you stand your ground, the property will likely sell at some point and you’ll be able to get the money you want for it. 

Avoid a Bad Appraisal

One thing you should look out for is a bad appraisal. A bad appraisal is when a house is appraised at a price that is lower than what it really is. Even expert appraisers can make mistakes if there are certain factors that may cheapen the appearance of your home. 

The appraiser themselves may also be the problem. Remember that you should always choose a high-quality and professional appraiser with plenty of experience appraising and valuing houses. If you choose an appraiser who has virtually no experience in assessing houses, you could easily end up with a bad appraisal and a home value that is much lower than it should be. What Causes a Bad Appraisal

Besides the quality of the appraiser, several factors on your end may result in a bad appraisal. For example, if you haven’t cleaned your house before the appraisal, this can make your house look run-down and cheap. You should also make sure that minor details are in-check and look great. 

This includes the condition of light switches, door handles, drawer handles, plumbing, paint, and so on. You should also tell the appraiser about any renovations or redesigns that you have done recently. New renovated homes often sell for more than those that have not. 

The main goal is to make sure that your house looks as good as possible before the appraiser arrives. That way, the appraiser will have a good first impression of the house and will hopefully give your home a good price as a result. 

Sell With a Cash Offer

You could always try selling your house via a cash offer for a more direct route. If someone wants to buy a house with cash, they will not need a loan.

For that reason, a home appraisal won’t even be necessary in the first place. 

While there are not too many good cash buyers out there, there are still a few high-quality choices that you can choose from like iBuyer.com.

This is an all-cash buyer that has plenty of experience buying houses in this manner. So, if you want to part with your house immediately and don’t want to deal with the home appraisal process, selling your house to a cash buyer may be your best and most convenient option.

Get Another Appraisal

Getting another appraisal is a good way to see if you can get the appraisal value you want for your home. The first appraisal you got may have been a bad one.

If you get a second one and ensure that your house is as attractive as it can be, the second appraisal value will likely be much better.

Negotiate

If you are not happy with the appraisal value of your house, you can always negotiate. You can tell the appraiser about the upsides of the property. For example, suppose you replaced all the windows or got a new roof. 

Maybe you recently renovated the bedrooms or replaced the floors. Whatever the case, be sure to negotiate rather than settle. That way, you won’t have to deal with a home price that you know is far too low.

How to Handle a Low Appraisal

Handling a low appraisal can be challenging. However, if you know what to do, it will be much easier.

There are a few things you can do to help. As mentioned before, you can try negotiating with the appraiser. This may help, or it may not, depending on how lenient the appraiser is. 

You can also tidy up your house and get a second appraisal in hopes of getting a better second opinion. 

If the appraiser is not willing to budge, or if you don’t want to use a traditional appraiser in the first place, you can always consider doing an online valuation with iBuyer.com. That way, the process will go much more smoothly. 

Online Appraisal With iValuation

If you want to avoid traditional appraisers, you should opt for iValuation with iBuyer. This is a very easy tool you can use online that will help you determine the value of your home. You also won’t need to go through the same hassle as you would when dealing with a traditional appraiser.

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