February marked the first time in six months that Houston home sales declined, with the largest dip shown in single-family home sales. There are many contributing factors to this decline, but as we await March sales numbers, we expect all signs to point toward a rebalancing market.

With the housing market cooling, every seller will want to get the most out of every showing, since every little detail could be the difference between a quick sale and a house stuck on the market. Homeowners obviously know that it is important to keep their house clean and organized while it is on the market, but that may not always be enough. There are many different ways to make a home seem more desirable. One tried-and-true way of doing just that is home staging. Home staging can be either furnishing a home completely if it is vacant because the seller has already moved, or getting a fresh set of eyes on existing interior design to see if any updates or extra touches might make the home more appealing.

How a home shows is of the utmost importance when putting a home on the market. A potential buyer can be told any number of positive things about a home, but if what they see is underwhelming, they most likely will be turned off to it.

Home staging is a way to elevate a house in the eyes of a potential buyer. It can take your home to the next level in the buyer’s mind. Staging can also raise the listing price, since it increases the perceived value of a home to a buyer. Because the perceived value is greater, the buyer is willing to meet a higher offering price. Staging a home helps a buyer see themselves in the house. It gives the house a warmer feel and makes it more inviting to the buyer. This can be the difference between a buyer just considering a home versus wanting to be in a home.

The National Association of Realtors recently, for the first time ever, did a Profile of Home Staging to gauge its effectiveness in the marketplace. The findings suggest that home staging is indeed still a valuable instrument for a seller. The study found that 81 percent of realtors on the buyer side feel that home staging makes it easier to visualize the property as a future home, whereas only four percent believe it has no impact on buyer perceptions. In addition, more than 50 percent of buyers’ agents believe staged homes increase the dollar value buyers are willing to offer by at least one to five percent. The study states that the median dollar value to stage a home is $675. With higher offers and less time on the market, this seems like a good, and relatively modest, investment.

With the Houston housing market appearing to normalize after being up for so long, now is the perfect time to get back to proven tools of the trade like home staging. It can be just the thing to put your house over the top in the buyer’s mind on your listing photos and for showings, and give you a leg up in the market.

To read more about how home staging can drive up a home’s selling price and give sellers an edge, check out RISMedia’s article here.

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