Home staging has gone mainstream and is now widely used to make a home more attractive to potential buyers. According to a 2017 survey by the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae, a majority of real estate professionals believe staging increases the sale price of the home anywhere from 1 to 15 percent.<\/p>\n
But even if it doesn\u2019t increase the value, most agents agree that staging reduces the amount of time the home sits on the market, which is music to any seller\u2019s ears.<\/p>\n
Not all homes need a dramatic makeover, but most homes will benefit from at least a thorough cleaning and culling.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaging and preparation can include as little as some fresh paint, but in most cases we also landscape, replace dated light fixtures and hardware, and in many cases refinish hardwood floors, replace countertops, bathroom fixtures, etc.,\u201d says Nicole Kennedy, a home staging expert in Piedmont, Calif.<\/p>\n
Read on to learn what industry and design trends we can expect in 2018.<\/p>\n
More real estate agents get on board<\/strong><\/p>\n Lori Matzke, founder of HomeStagingExpert.com, provides home staging workshops around the country in addition to running her own staging business in Minnesota. She\u2019s noticed an increased interest and involvement of real estate agents in the staging process.<\/p>\n \u201cBack when I started staging (in 1999), agents were not interested; they didn\u2019t want to have one more thing on their plate,\u201d Matzke says. \u201cMy classes are now 90 to 95 percent agents. I think you\u2019re going to see a lot more agents learning about staging and how to advise their clients, because more and more homeowners are demanding that.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean agents will be doing the staging themselves, but they will have an eye for what is needed, and will facilitate the interaction between the seller and the stager. \u201cIt really helps the homeowner to have an educated real estate agent,\u201d says Matzke. If the agent has prepped the seller about what needs to be removed and cleaned out, it makes the stager\u2019s job faster and cheaper.<\/p>\n Complete vs. partial staging<\/strong><\/p>\n Staging can range from small efforts like decluttering to a complete move out and refurnishing. Complete staging of vacant homes is a growing trend, according to Matzke. Whether it\u2019s new or model homes, or the seller has moved out, many stagers today only work with vacant homes.<\/p>\n In the booming Bay Area housing market, Kennedy says buyers are accustomed to short sales cycles, so having the home primed and ready is expected.<\/p>\n \u201cFewer than 10 percent of homes I stage are partial\u2013where we keep some of the furniture and belongings, edit out and add in where needed,\u201d notes Kennedy. \u201cThis can be challenging because the staging has to fit in with existing styles and pieces, but it can make more sense to sellers who are staying in the house through the sale.\u201d<\/p>\n Matzke says the complete staging trend isn\u2019t limited to hot real estate markets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been trickling down into smaller markets, not just in the larger metropolitan areas,\u201d she notes. The ubiquity of staging on HGTV shows has probably made the idea more palatable to sellers and agents across the county.<\/p>\n Embracing a personal touch<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the golden rules of staging has long been to keep things neutral to appeal to the widest range of potential buyers. But stagers are increasingly adding a little more design, style, and color to the home.<\/p>\n \u201cStaging is becoming a bit more personal and less stale than it has been in the past,\u201d Kennedy says. \u201cIt used to be standard to remove all family photos and personal items from the house, but today\u2019s buyers prefer to see a house with a little personality. They want to see a \u2018real\u2019 house that they can imagine themselves in and small, personal details that create an aspirational image can help reach buyers on an emotional level.\u201d<\/p>\n Matzke agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming trendy for stagers to do a little mixing with vintage pieces to give it a designer look. I think it gives the place more depth and I\u2019m seeing more chatter about it on blogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the design trends<\/strong><\/p>\n While most of the staging do\u2019s and don\u2019ts will remain the same in 2018, our experts expect some new design trends to emerge in many staged homes next year :<\/p>\n \u25e6Color : After a few years in which just about every design magazine is covered in gray, Matzke has a bold prediction: Gray is dead. \u201cPeople are embracing beige and creamy white again,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s good because not everybody\u2019s furniture fits with gray.\u201d<\/p>\n Stagers are also increasingly adding a pop of color or an upscale design element to appeal to design-conscious buyers.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding a pop of color in a room through accessories or artwork is common,\u201d says Matzke. \u201cThe two big colors I think you\u2019ll see a lot of in 2018 are dark teal and millennial pink \u2026 especially if you\u2019re marketing to first-time homebuyers or a younger crowd, you might want to add those colors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25e6Floors : It used to be that preparing a home for sale meant replacing old, stained carpet with new carpet, but Matzke says that, too, is changing. \u201cA lot of people are replacing carpeting with wood and faux wood flooring\u2013at least on the main floor,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n \u25e6Countertops : While quartz is the latest countertop trend among high-end homes for 2018, Matzke thinks most of America will stick with granite next year because of cost. \u201cDesign magazines are pushing quartz, saying it\u2019s going to be the hot trend for 2018,\u201d Matzke says. \u201cAnd for the really high-end homes they\u2019re probably right, but for a majority of America, I think it\u2019s still going to be granite.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25e6Glam : Although it sounds counter to the rule of keeping things neutral, HGTV and design magazines have popularized a bit of glam. \u201cFor a long time you\u2019ve seen people adding a little bit of rustic, heavy metal designs, but now you\u2019re seeing a lot more shiny metallics,\u201d Matzke says. \u201cEven gold\u2013it adds a bit of bling to the house.\u201d<\/p>\n