Vacant Home Staging Costs

With the help of HGTV, the DIY channel, and other Home Improvement Networks, people all over are going crazy with the idea of home renovation, home staging, and home design.  Many are infatuated with the idea of decorating a room or space or a kitchen redesign or placing a home on the market with the looks of a model home.  However, how often will HGTV disclose the true actual costs of taking on these ever so intriguing projects?  Rarely.  More often than not you will hear numbers spilled out about the costs of certain items needed, but the true actual costs are rarely spoken of.

As vacant home staging specialists in the Houston,TX area we’d like to give you an idea of what it would cost to stage your own property-if it were vacant-and you had to buy furniture and accessories to stage just the main areas of your home.  Often, we receive phone calls from individuals wanting to stage their income property but have no idea of the cost to stage a home.  So here are the facts:

When staging a home it is recommended you stage the main areas of the home including the formal dining, formal living, foyer, family room, master suite, kitchen and breakfast area, and the bathrooms and laundry areas.  There may also be other areas that will need to be “defined”, but in many cases these are the main areas of the home.  Therefore, you will need to buy or rent a basic home package of furniture which would include 1 living package, 1 dining package, and 1 bedroom package.  As home stylists who shop VERY often for furniture, we know that if you know where to shop, you will pay the same to own the furniture as you do to rent furniture.  You’ll just have to do your home work first and a little footwork too. (OK-maybe a lot of footwork.)

1. Furniture. The variations of furniture needed will change from house to house depending on the size of the home. Don’t forget you’ll also need area rugs, artificial tree plants, foyer furniture, possibly office furniture and an additional living and dining package if you have formals.  Depending on where you shop, and the time you have to shop, you can invest anywhere from $3500-$6500 on furniture alone give or take.    By the way, when renting furniture from a rental company they will want you to rent it for a minimum of 2-3 months.  The shorter your lease term, the more it costs.  The truth is you can buy it for almost the same price if you know where to get it.
2. Movers and delivery fees.  Unfortunately, no one likes to move furniture and rightly so.  It’s no fun! Especially in the summer. This can be a very costly service.  If all your furniture is bought in one store, (highly unlikely) then your mover/delivery fees can run anywhere from $300-$400.  Of course, if you buy from multiple stores, you will either need to pick up your items and deliver them yourself or pay to have them delivered.  If you choose to deliver your own furniture don’t forget to factor in the cost of gas and maybe even a rental truck. 
   
3. Accessorize. Accessorizing when home staging is crucial.  It is the beauty of the colors and fabrics and blends of textures and textiles that will draw a buyer to make an impulsive decision to buy.  It is what emotionally attaches a buyer to the home.  In addition to knowing the art of accessorizing, you must also know where to buy your accessories.  Learning both can be equally time consuming.  However, once you’ve got it, you can expect to invest at least $1500-$3000 on accessories.  The list is long and the receipts add up quick!  If you haven’t shopped for accessories lately, beware, the cost of accessories is shocking!  You must know where to go and have your coupons ready when and where applicable, otherwise you will easily exceed this very frugal budget. Again, do your homework first.
4. Last, but certainly not least, time.  Time is money.  How much is your time worth?  Staging a home can be VERY time consuming.  It must be done right.  Quality home staging training is recommended prior to taking on this very strategic design task.  When properly executed, in addition to selling in a shorter amount of time, staging can also command a higher asking price.  However, if not properly staged, you will only accomplish spending lots of money on furniture, accessories and movers fees.  Be sure to do your homework and know at least a few things about design and design psychology.

Without even going into the cost of picking up the stage, lets just assume that you pulled this all together at the very minimum estimated costs listed above:

• $3500 on furniture
• $300 on mover/delivery fees
• $1500 on Accessorizing
• Your total estimated minimum costs for home staging your vacant property in the Houston,TX area would be around $5300 give or take.

Or…you could pay significantly less than this and just hire an experienced home stager in Houston, Katy, Conroe, The Woodlands, and surrounding areas with verifiable references and proven statistics to do all the work for you.  Many Houston area home stagers have purchased their own furniture and accessories and have a stocked inventory available to rent to Houston Real Estate Investors and property sellers on a month to month basis.  Why stress it and guess it?  For more information, call Home Staging For Houston at 832-301-5696.

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