Does staging a house really add any value to the sale?

[David T.]

Hey BP,

During to foreclosure boom in Las Vegas we never staged a single home we sold and it became very obvious that what sold a property quickly and at the high end of comps was the quality of the finish. Because of this, we consistently beat local comps despite many running battles with the appraisers.

Now in Atlanta, there is a consensus among all Realtors here that you have to stage a home to sell it or get a good price. However, it does not seem to make much of a difference here from what we can see. Most of the homes we have sold seems to come down to quality of finish and the price with buyers fighting everything tooth and nail until the day of close.

The average cost of staging a home for the duration of the selling period or the staging company minimum charge (3 months) is $2500 which is a good chunk off the bottom line. 

I've been in the property game a long time, done a lot of deals and my instincts are telling me this is not the best use of this kind of money and throwing $1,000 into marketing on day one would be a far better use of it.

I can't seem to move away from the idea that a beautifully finished home as it is would be like an open canvas to a potential buyer and I know most aspiring homeowners have their own creativity and ideas about their style of home. 

I'd really like to get some feedback on this. Thanks BP!