Executive Summary
 
Home Staging: Buyers’ Agent Perspective: 
Sixty percent of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on some buyers, but not always, while 26 percent said that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home. 
Eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. 
Staging the living room was found to be most important for buyers (37 percent), followed by staging the primary bedroom (34 percent) and staging the kitchen (23 percent). 
Among buyers’ agents, having photos (73 percent), traditional physical staging (57 percent), videos (48 percent), and virtual tours (43 percent) available for their listings was much more or more important to their clients.
Seventeen percent of buyers’ agents said that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between one and five percent, compared to other similar homes on the market that were not staged.
 
Home Staging: Sellers’ Agent Perspective: 
Twenty-one percent of sellers’ agents said they staged all sellers’ homes prior to listing them for sale. Ten percent noted that they only staged homes that were difficult to sell.
The most common rooms that were staged include the living room (91 percent), primary bedroom (83 percent), and dining room (69 percent).
When it comes to compensation, sellers’ agents said that it depends on the situation (26 percent), that they personally offer to stage the home (23 percent), and that the seller pays to stage the home before listing (17 percent).
The median dollar value spent when using a staging service was $1,500, compared to $500 when the sellers’ agent personally staged the home. 
When staging a home, 19 percent of sellers’ agents reported an increase of one percent to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers in comparison to similar homes. 
Thirty percent of sellers’ agents stated that there were slight decreases in the time on market when the home was staged.
Among sellers’ agents, having photos (88 percent), videos (47 percent), and traditional physical staging (43 percent) available for their listings were much more or more important to their clients.
 
TV and Family Influence and Buyer Expectations: 
Forty-eight percent of respondents said that buyers cited that homes should look like they were staged on TV shows. 
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said that buyers were disappointed by how homes looked compared to homes they saw on TV shows. 
Twenty-one percent of respondents said that TV shows that display the buying process impacted their business. 
Seventy-seven percent of respondents said that TV shows that display the buying process impacted their business by setting unrealistic expectations or increased expectations.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents stated that they were not influenced to stage homes as they would see them on TV. 
Seventy-nine percent of respondents said that buyers had ideas about where they wanted to live and 76 percent had ideas about what they wanted in an ideal home before starting the buying process.
Forty-two percent of respondents stated that buyers typically thought the homebuying process would be difficult. 
Thirty-eight percent of respondents stated that buyers found the homebuying process to be harder than they expected. 
A median of 23 percent of respondents said that buyers brought family members who were not purchasing the home with them to view homes. 
Among those who did have an expectation, their buyers expected to view a median of eight homes in person and a median of 20 homes virtually. 
Fifty-five percent of respondents stated that their buyers’ expectations for the number of homes they would see before buying matched the market.