Real Estate Staging Can Slash Days On Market And Boost Sale Price In New York

When it comes to selling real estate in any market, first impressions are absolutely crucial. In the age of killer content, buyers can scroll through listing images, floor plans, and details like they scroll through Instagram: an ever-refreshing feed. If your home doesn’t grab and keep attention immediately, it’s getting skipped and forgotten. This is where staging steps in, as it can transform a property from a “meh” to a “yay!”

Jason Saft, founder of Staged to Sell Home, recently joined UrbanDigs’ podcast, Talking Manhattan LIVE!, to discuss how strategic staging can go beyond simply enhancing aesthetics to solving common roadblocks. We’ll sort through some of his thoughts on staging below. However, it’s not without cost or complexity, so a breakdown of how staging works— when it’s worth it and when it’s not — is useful.

Bridging The Imagination Gap

Many sellers think a freshly painted, empty white room helps show brightness and size, but unfortunately, empty rooms often appear smaller than they are and, worse, buyers struggle to visualize how they’d use the space. This effect is compounded for awkwardly shaped rooms. Furniture and housewares can serve as a point of reference for understanding how a room can be laid out, used, and enjoyed. Hence, a well-staged home can provide a blueprint for living in the home. This helps buyers see how their life could fit into your square footage.

Case in Point: Recently, four large penthouses sat on the market for two years at a new luxury condo development in Brooklyn. The large, open layouts left too much to the imagination, and buyers just couldn’t figure out how to use them. After staging, which helped illuminate the true dimensions so buyers could think about their lives in that space, all four went into contract.

Staging Reduces Days On Market (And Carrying Costs)

It’s no secret that homes that sit on the market too long become stale. There’s a certain stigma attached to a long days-on-market count that generally only leads to price cuts. Worse, homes that linger on the market incur costs, which can quickly add up over time. The faster a home sells, the less the owner spends on mortgage payments, taxes, maintenance, and upkeep. While price is key to selling quickly, staging can be a big help, too, especially for homes with obvious flaws or renovations needed. Effective staging can stay true to the actual condition of the home while putting forth a vision of the near future at the same time. This helps ease the cognitive dissonance buyers experience when looking at problematic units by drawing attention to the quality of the home’s “bones” and not its fixable flaws.

According to Saft, a Manhattan home sat unsold for 14 months, racking up $140,000 in carrying costs. After staging, it sold in 35 days. By focusing on the positives, staging can help buyers get to “yes” faster.

Staging Can Help Fetch A Higher Price

Our research shows that buyers are continuing to pay a premium for turnkey homes. In fact, buyers are currently paying a nearly 20% premium to avoid the headache of renovation. However, when the comparison between turnkey and needing work is less dramatic, some recent same-building sales examples suggest that staged units may actually outperform unstaged ones. Even if the condition is marginally worse, a staged unit can present as turnkey. While staging is not a replacement for renovation, the cosmetic enhancements it can add can far outweigh the cost by focusing buyers’ minds on the current livability of the home instead of the mental math maze of costs.

Case in Point: Recently in Brooklyn, two identical units (one staged, one not) sold two months apart. The staged unit fetched over $200,000 more.

The ‘Instagram Effect’

Today’s buyers expect homes to look like they came straight from a reality show. Thanks to social media and photo-centric real estate platforms like Zillow, poorly presented listings are simply dead on arrival. As Saft explained: “We’ve become a society of people that just want instant gratification. And we expect: I want this, and it’s going to be there and ready.” Images set buyer expectations. But if reality doesn’t match those expectations, buyers are out, putting the listing at a huge disadvantage. Sellers who set unrealistic expectations unconsciously give buyers tremendous leverage. Staging can help reality meet expectations, which flips leverage to the seller.

Staging Isn’t Cheap (But Neither Are Price Cuts)

Properly done, staging can be pricey. In Manhattan, for example, larger properties could see six-figure prices. However, the near-term pain may be a long-term gain, especially if the alternative is cutting the asking price after months on the market. A 5% price cut on a $2 million listing (the average sale price in Manhattan) is $100,000. If that could be prevented by a $50,000 staging cost, the seller still comes out well ahead.

To Stage Or Not to Stage?

Virtual staging, where sellers digitally add furniture and correct cosmetic issues by creating realistic images, is a cheaper alternative to physical staging, but it comes with risks. “It’s misleading,” says Saft. He continues: “There’s no relation to reality. And now that person has a high expectation from the virtual staging when they get there. And that expectation just goes straight down.” If you go the virtual route, be transparent. Show both the real and staged versions, so buyers aren’t blindsided.

So, should you stage? Here’s how to decide.

YES:

• The home is vacant or poorly furnished.
• Comparable staged units in the area are selling faster.
• Your price point demands a high-end presentation.

NO:

• Your market is red-hot, and homes are selling regardless of condition.
• The cost outweighs the expected price increase.
• The home already looks reality-show-ready.

Final Thoughts: Staging As A Market Strategy

The Manhattan market is beginning to perk up after a few quiet years, but buyers are as picky as ever. Beyond aesthetics, staging can be a strategic move to reduce time on the market and maximize price. Given today’s price sensitivity, sellers who invest in presentation may have a leg up on those who don’t.