Home Staging & Virtual Staging Statistics for Home Sellers (2024)

Introduction

Selling a home involves many decisions, and one key factor is staging. It’s the process of making your home look its best for potential buyers. But does it really make a difference? Let’s explore some facts about Home Staging and Virtual Staging Statistics.

To read the data for yourself, this article will cover statistics about:

• The Costs of Home Staging
• The Process of Home Staging
• The Buyers’ Perspective of Home Staging
• The Results of Home Staging

We only use data from reputable sources like the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to compile a list of accurate statistics on virtual staging and home staging. Additionally, we’ve included similar statistics from multiple sources so you can accurately understand the power of home staging.

Now if you’re wondering about virtual staging, read What is virtual staging?

Statistics about Home Staging Costs

Cost is the first thing you need to know about staging. Only a small percentage of homeowners and real estate professionals actually take advantage of staging.

Here are some numbers we think might explain that:

• When staging a home, 24% of seller’s agents paid for a home staging company and 22% of agents offered to personally stage the home (NAR)
• When using traditional staging services, the median cost $600 (NAR)
• Most sellers spend between $1,600 and $2,400 to stage their home, with prices frequently going up to $5,500 (Homeguide)
• The initial design consultation for a home staging service will cost between $200-600 (Homeguide)
• Decor rental typically has an average cost of $500-600 per room (Homeguide)
• Most home staging companies require a three-month minimum contract “even if you sell the home in 24 hours.” (Realtor)

Virtual Staging Costs

According to World Population Review, the median home price in the US in 2022 was $428,700. At those home prices, spending several thousand dollars (or more) is not feasible for most agents or home sellers.

Good news? You can achieve the same results as traditional home staging by using virtual staging at a lower cost.

• Virtual staging can reduce the cost of home staging by 97% (LCP360)
• Virtual staging costs between $20-99 per photo
• Digihomestudio’s virtual staging costs as little as $29 per photo
• Digihomestudio’s virtual renovations cost $30 per photo with 5 edits
• Digihomestudio’s average virtual staging order costs $200 – $400

Statistics about the Process of Home Staging

Home staging differs from interior design in its approach. While interior design focuses on tailoring the style and functionality to suit a specific individual or family, home staging aims to appeal to a broad spectrum of potential buyers.

Staging a traditional home involves several significant steps. Initially, a design consultation must be scheduled. Following that, existing furniture often needs to be removed, which can be inconvenient if the seller intends to remain in the house during the selling process. Lastly, there’s the coordination of bringing in new furniture and decorations before the property can be photographed and listed.

• Traditional staging takes approximately 1-2 weeks (The Staging Consultant, Northern Lights Staging)
• Only 23% of listing agents stage all homes before listing them for sale (NAR)
• 10% of listing agents said they only stage homes that are difficult to sell (NAR)
• The three most common rooms staged are the living room (91%), kitchen (81%), primary bedroom (81%), and dining room (69%) (NAR)
• According to buyers, the living room is the most important room to be staged (39%), followed by the primary bedroom (36%) and kitchen (30%) (NAR)
• 46% of agents staged home offices (NAR)
• Only 23% of agents stage children’s bedrooms, making them the least common rooms to stage (NAR)

 

Process of Virtual Staging

Each virtual staging company works a little differently, but it’s generally simpler than traditional staging. With virtual staging, you don’t need to free up space in advance and it often takes just days instead of weeks.

Digihomestudio is unique because we offer 24-hour turnaround time for all of our virtual staging images. Read more details about what makes us the best virtual staging company.

• Virtual staging services can take between from 12 hours to 2 weeks, depending on the virtual staging company
• Digihomestudio’s virtual staging process takes 24-48 hours
• Clutter and furniture removal is optional but will cost approximately $2-$10 per photo at Digihomestudio

Statistics about Buyers’ Perspectives of Staging

When you’re buying a home, emotions play a big role, so it’s vital to consider the buyer’s perspective. That’s why home staging is so powerful—it can completely change how a buyer sees a property without changing the property itself.

But it’s hard to measure this “opinion.” Also, not all home staging is the same. How effective it is depends a lot on how well it’s done—and with virtual staging, it also depends on the technology and software used.

• 40% of agents noted that buyers are more willing to walk through a home they saw online (NAR)
• 58% percent of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home most of the time
• 81% of buyer’s agents reported that staging helped buyers visualize the property as their future home (NAR)
• An average of 5% buyers feel that listings should look like homes on TV shows (NAR)
• An average of 10% of buyers were disappointed by how homes look in real life compared to what they see on TV shows (NAR)

 

Statistics about the Results of Home Staging

The expense and ease of staging are significant considerations for home sellers and listing agents. However, ultimately, what truly counts is whether home staging delivers results.

• Staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than non-staged homes (Realtor)
• 75% of sellers who use home staging saw an ROI of 5-15% over asking price (Real Estate Staging Association)
• 21% of real estate agents reported that staging a home greatly decreased the amount of time it sat on the market (NAR)
• 20% of real estate agents stated that home staging increases the dollar value of a home between 1-5% (NAR)
• 14% of real estate agents stated that home staging increases the dollar value of a home between 6-10% (NAR)
• Over 50% of real estate professionals say that staging increases the dollar value of a home between 1-10% (Homelight)
• 85% of homes that were staged in 2020 sold for 5-23% over the listing price (Real Estate Staging Association)
• 67% of agents say that home staging helps home sell for more money (Homelight)
• 92% of real estate professionals believe home staging helps sell properties in general (Homelight)

Virtual Staging Results

• 24% said that virtual staging was of equal importance to their clients (NAR)
• 35% of buyers expected to see 21 or more homes virtually before buying (NAR)
• 15% of buyers expected to see 11-15 homes virtually before buying (NAR)
• 34% of buyers’ agents said that virtual tours were of equal importance (NAR)
• 31% of buyers’ agents said that virtual staging was also of equal importance (NAR)

Sources

Real Estate Staging Association
NAR Profile of Home Staging 2023
Realtor
Homelight
Homeguide
LCP 360