Staging Stats | Raydiant Staged Homes

Staging Statistics

REMEMBER staging is pure economics and visual merchandising. Improve upon a product and the price thus demand increases. It doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to understand that when you improve upon a product it attracts more buyers thus raises it’s selling price. NEW! Results from the National Association of Realtors -
Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2009

90% of all buyers used the internet to search.

84% of buyers reported the photos to be the most useful information
The number one action taken after viewing a home online was to drive by or visit the home
47% of all buyers were first time buyers
62% of first time buyers reported that the primary reason for buying a home was the desire to be a homeowner, 35% of all buyers reported that as the number 1 reason.
The median age of all buyers was 39, same as last year
83% of all first time buyers are under the age 44
62% of all buyers are under age 44
36% of buyers found the home they purchased through an agent, 36% found the home they purchased online, less than 3% found the home they purchased in a print ad
77% of buyers purchased their home with an agent
85% of sellers sold their home with an agent
39% of the mortgages were FHA loans
87% of buyers viewed real estate as a good investment.
63% of all buyers had no children under the age of 18 residing at home.
About half of home sellers traded up to a larger size and higher priced home and slightly more than one-fifth traded down to a smaller and less expensive home.
Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 95 percent of the listing price, and 60 percent reported they reduced the asking price at least once.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is between 1 and 3 percent of the home’s asking price, which generates a return of 8 to 10 percent. (My personal favorite:)

Here are some other statistics:

2007 HomeGain Statistic and Survey Details – http://www.homegain.com/media-center/statistics-market-analysis

RESA Stats Released January of 2009 – http://www.stagerstoolbox.net/pdfs/staging-statistics.pdf
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is between 1 and 3 percent of the home’s asking price, which generates a return of 8 to 10 percent. (My personal favorite:)
USA Today Article – “When Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Los Altos, Calif., looked at nearly 2,800 properties in eight U.S. cities in 2004, they found that the staged homes, on average, sold in half the time that the non-staged homes did. The sellers with staged homes ended up with 6.3% more than their asking price, on average, while sellers with non-staged homes sold for 1.6% more than the asking price” (Read Full Article)
According to the 2006 National Association of Realtors Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers, 80% of all home buyers used the Internet as an information source to start their home buying process. Also, see chart below that shows that almost 30% actually found the home they purchased online in 2007 vs. an agent.
An article published February 2007 by Realtor Magazine Online reported that staged homes sell 50% faster than non-staged homes. Also reported in that same article, it stated professionally staged homes sell on average for 7% more money than non-staged properties.
A National Association of Realtors survey found that the longer a home stays on the market, the further below list price it drops. Homes that sold in the first 4 weeks averaged 1% more than the list price; 4 to 12 weeks averaged 5% less; 13 to 24 weeks averaged 6.4% less; than list price; and 24 weeks averaged more than 10% less than list price.
February 16, 2006: Image is Everything: Creating a Positive First Impression is Key to Selling Your Home
http://www.royallepage.ca/CMSTemplates/AboutUs/Company/CompanyTemplate.aspx?id=1045
TORONTO, March 10, 2005: ROYAL LEPAGE POLL FINDS HOUSE STAGING A PRE-SALE MUST FOR CANADIANS
http://www.royallepage.ca/CMSTemplates/AboutUs/company/CompanyTemplate.aspx?id=907
StagedHomes Statistic that basically reiterates the above stats but is not very “objective” http://www.trahomestaging.com/SellFaster.pdf

Additional Helpful Statistics:

NEW YORK, August 13, 2008 – More homebuyers are using the Internet to find the homes they ultimately purchased, according to industry data compiled by ForSaleByOwner.com (http://www.forsalebyowner.com). From 1997-2007, the real estate marketplace has seen a 15-fold increase in buyers who found the home they purchased on the Internet. During the same period, there has been a 32 percent drop in buyers who found the home they purchased because a real estate agent told them about the property.“With millions of online real estate searches done monthly, it’s no surprise that the Internet is so effective at helping people find their ideal home, condo or vacation property,” said Greg Healy, VP of Operations. “This data, which comes from the National Association of Realtors, provides more evidence that real estate consumers are very successful in finding homes on their own.” Where Buyers First Found the Home They Purchased, 1997-2007*

	1997	1999	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Real Estate Agent	50%	49%	48%	41%	38%	36%	36%	34%
Internet	2	4	8	11	15	24	24	29
Yard Sign	17	15	15	16	16	15	15	14
Home Builder	3	4	3	7	7	7	8	8
Friend or Relative	9	8	8	7	7	7	8	8
Newspaper Ad	8	8	7	7	5	5	5	3
Directly from Sellers	4	3	4	4	5	3	3	3
Book or Magazine	3	3	2	1	2	1	1	1
Other	1	4	3	6	4	-	-	-
*Source: National Association of Realtors

According to the National Association of Realtors, a typical buyer walks through 9 properties, looks for 8 weeks, and moves 12 miles from their previous residence when buying a new home.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 61% of purchases are made by married couples, 21% by single women, 9% by single men, and 7% by unmarried couples. (Now you know who typically to stage for)

Results from the National Association of Realtors -
Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2008

44% of recent buyers reported that their first step in the home buying process was looking online for properties or information. (32% looked at properties and 12% information) – This stresses the importance of using professionally staged rooms for photographs since it follows that the agents who do this will be chosen by those first looking buyers!
84% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes – This stresses the importance of using MANY professionally staged rooms for photographs as well as “featuring the home” and Home Staging Shows
The typical home buyer searched for eight weeks and viewed 10 homes – Since buyers only typically visit 10 homes, it’s important to make the listing “stand out” if there are more then 10 homes for sale in the area and category!
Over half of recent home sellers reported that they undertook home improvement or remodeling projects within three months prior to putting their home on the market – Those who “don’t want to spend the money” will not be able to compete against the 50+% who did!
For one-quarter of sellers, their most important expectation is that the real estate agent will help sell the home within a specific timeframe - Realtors are setting themselves up to “disappoint” their client’s if they don’t sell the home fast and since client’s usually won’t flex on the price immediately, professional staging is the only thing that can help them compete and sell faster!
The typical home buyer is 39 years old, while the typical repeat buyer is 46 - Is the home your staging a “first buyer” type of home or larger, repeat buyer home?