If You Want to Sell for Top Dollar:
Why Property Staging is A Must
Home staging can accelerate the sale process by 10% to 50%. Nearly a third of all buyers said their offers were higher because of staging.
(Data from the National Association of REALTORS and HomeLight)
Staging a property means creating a space that buyers can visualize themselves in and aspire to own.
Consider Your Property as a Product — It Needs to be Prepared and Presented Accordingly
A skilled stager’s artistry can captivate and attract the best potential buyers on a visual, visceral, and emotional level. While hiring a talented designer and stager to transform your vacant property might seem expensive—after all, why not just buy a couch yourself?—real-life staging is a crucial step in achieving a successful sale. Beyond that couch, a stager brings together the perfect combination of furniture, rugs, bedding, art, and accessories that will harmonize and amplify our preparation efforts to date.
Staged to Sell
You are leaving money on the table by not staging
From our experience, staging isn’t just a step in the process—it’s the game-changer. We’ve seen it time and again: a beautifully staged home invites buyers to not just look, but to feel what life could be like there. It’s like turning on a lightbulb for them, and when that happens, it leads to offers—and good ones.
After we have worked the design and while preparations are underway we will reach out to the stagers we work with (some of the top stagers in San Francisco) and get an estimate for the property and pencil in some time in their calendar. They each have their own unique touch, and we generally know who’s the right fit for each property and will present each option accordingly for our clients to make the decision.
Staging can feel like a big investment up front, but trust us—it always pays off. Homes that are thoughtfully staged not only sell faster but often for significantly more. People who truly do not need to stage are rare — and even in those cases there is still emotion involved and a case to be made to do some editing at minimum.
— Queen Elizabeth II
Who, of course, owned six homes in the UK.
And Raffi is a priceless element of our presentation.
THE PROCESS
How Staging Usually Works
Unless you’re one of the rare exceptions who can successfully self-stage (and yes, we’ve had clients who’ve done just that), you’ll likely need to hire a professional stager. Here’s how the process usually goes:
1. Consult Us First – Let’s discuss which stagers our clients have used successfully and who might be the best fit for your property.
2. Stager Site Visit – We’ll schedule visits for the stagers to assess your property (typically 10-30 minutes). We can handle this for you.
3. Review Estimates – Once you’ve received estimates, check out properties they’ve staged to see their work in person.
4. Make Your Choice – Once you’ve chosen a stager, sign the contract and provide a deposit (usually 80%).
5. Vacate the Property – Before staging begins, make sure the home is ready. If cleaning, painting, or window washing is needed, stagers will add a markup. We have other vendors for these tasks, so ask us for referrals.
6. Staging in Progress – With keys in hand, parking permits, and any required permissions for condo buildings, stagers will do their work, which typically takes 1-3 days. They’ll protect surfaces with moving paper and pad furniture where necessary.
7. Staging Complete – Once the stagers are finished, we’re ready for photography and showings. The remaining balance of the staging fee is usually due at this point.
8. Stagers Maintain – After open houses begin, the stagers will revisit to refresh flowers, water plants, or adjust furniture if needed.
9. Breakdown – Once we know the sale is closing, the stagers will remove everything within 1-3 days, leaving the space broom clean.
10. Final Touches – Stagers will patch holes from hanging art, though a paint match isn’t typically included unless agreed upon. Keys are returned, and the home is ready for its new owners.
Important Notes About Home Staging and Preparation
1. Worth the Investment: Staging is an investment that typically leads to higher offers, so think of it as getting your home dressed for its big debut. We will help you get the outfit, style it and then market it like the experts we are. The ROI here, combined with what we will spearhead onsite...
2. Sellers Should Handle Staging Fees: It’s best for you sellers to pay for staging— us agents might choose as more budget-friendly option (not saying we are cheap, but this is a cost sellers pay traditionally, but there are likely tax benefits to weight).
3. Staging Contracts: Most contracts require a 60-day minimum with 80% of the fee due upfront to secure dates, and the remaining balance upon completion. These should be done well in advance and deposits made will get us more priority in the very busy schedules stagers have especially when high season is about to get started.
4. Service Fees: Stagers may add a 10-30% markup for additional services like cleaning or repairs. We can refer you to trusted vendors who might offer more competitive pricing.
5. Furniture is Display Only: Stagers’ furniture is strictly for display only. It looks great, but it’s not for everyday use (that may be an air mattress under there)(Raffi gets special permission however)
6. Extensions: Need more time? Extensions are typically less expensive, but pro-rated refunds are rare if the property sells faster than expected.
7. Partial Staging? It’s Possible: While rare, using your furniture or only staging part of the property can work under the right circumstances but it will not save that much more money in the long run as you would have to pay for a second move once we are sold.
8. Like What You See?: Sometimes, you can purchase the staging items. If something catches your eye or ones like it. We have had clients buy light fixtures we have picked for their past home for their future home many times. Vendors usually extend pricing discounts they give our clients for the new home too. Stagers also have inventory sales on occasion, but as most are also designers they may be able to hook you up. Just ask.
9. Tax-Friendly: Staging is often considered ‘advertising’ for tax purposes, which could help with capital gains taxes. A little bonus come tax season. Of course, check with a CPA and/or check out the IRS Publication on the topic — just Google IRS Publication 523, and it will give you the most current version of that document where you should look up eligible sales costs in the capital gains context.
The Stagers We Use.
We work with the best stagers because we know the immense value of design, and our results reflect that commitment. Staging isn’t just about placing furniture—it’s about creating an emotional connection with buyers, and we take it even further by personally styling each property after staging is complete. Our meticulous attention to detail includes adding personal touches like fresh flowers, scented candles, and high-end accessories that make every home feel special and inviting. This level of care ensures our listings consistently stand out, attract top offers, and maximize market value. Cutting corners isn’t an option—we always present your home at its absolute best.
There are many talented staging companies in San Francisco, here are four of them who have helped our clients in the past.
Coy and Company
Sayde Mark Designs
Birch & Tailor
JV Staging
88 Staging
Visual Cues: Accentuating the Positives, or Focusing on the Negatives?
Everyone has a critical eye to varying degrees. But with an empty space, a minor flaw can easily become a »concern« if there is nothing else to look at or that will contextualize. Contrasted to fully furnished, styled and aspirational living areas providing positive purchasing vibes. As a seller, which do you prefer?
People Will Focus on the Flaws if There is Nothing to Look at
Coy & Company
Luxury, high-end and in-demand, Coy & Company is the successor company to celebrated designer and stager Arthur McLaughlin who retired to Wine Country after helping so many agents and sellers with their properties. The quality is high, the outcomes are extraordinary. Being able to have a stager who can track the designs we help create without fuss or edits is worth its weight in gold.
JV Staging
High-end, consistent, hard-working, friendly. Woman-owned team of Valerie and Jane. has helped us prepare everything from lofts, single-family houses, Victorian flats, Mutli-unit buildings, SOMA studios, large houses and more.
Birch & Tailor
Luxury, high-end, edgy, chic, stylized, frenetic, fabulous and friendly. Chris Miniello and his team has helped us prepare properties from the start with a wide range of capabilities from houses, condos and more. Expect a curated/bespoke approach.
Sayde Mark
The ability to do glam, understated and everything in between characterizes this reliable, robust and repeat staging company we've started to work with recently.
88 Staging
Practical. Quality. New. Hard-working. Determined. We've just started working with 88 Staging and you can tell they have drive and determination as they start out in this tough field.
What the Studies Show
According to Bankrate.com, various studies have shown home staging can be a worthwhile investment.
Investing just 1 percent of a home’s value in staging, 75 percent of sellers who stage their homes professionally saw a return between 5 percent and 15 percent.
Eighty-five percent of staged homes fetched offers between 5 percent and 23 percent over list price, according to 2020 data from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)
Similarly, 23 percent of buyer’s agents in the NAR report indicated staging helped increase offer amounts anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent.
The adage of time is money applies here, too: According to HomeAdvisor, staged homes spend between 33 percent and 50 percent less time on the market.
Tried and True: Harrowing Stories of Staging and Non-Staging
We are hand’s on agents for sure when it comes to property preparation and presentation as we are always looking out for our clients’ interests. Sometimes you can only do so much and sometimes what you do can mean so much
MIRANDA PRIESTLY WOULD BE PROUD — WHEN THE STAGERS NEED A REALTY CHECK K+J ARE THERE
Even the best stagers can have an ‘off-day.’ This is why we are here to make sure those days are few and far between.
One of our more memorable sales that set a high-water mark for Noe Valley was also one where we had a tight two-day timeline to have the stagers complete a 2-month preparation process with their furniture, art and accessories. We had just 2 days before Vanguard Properties’ noted photographer was due to shoot the property for our marketing collateral and property photos.
It was a firm deadline.
After handing over the keys to the stagers on the first morning, we came back later that day to see the process, we saw that something was awry.
Our stager's usual aesthetic — stylish, sophisticated and polished — was replaced by something that resembled a New Mexico-sunset-style pueblo jamboree with few chairs or any items with right angles for that matter. Day one’s results weren't pretty. It could have been disaster.
It was late but we took action and politely (but firmly) reminded the stagers that this wasn't the look our properties are known for and that this wasn't up to par. Worse is that this was something that had to be fixed within 24 hours or else we’d miss a critical weekend of open houses (which is when the eventual buyers saw the place).
The sellers, who had overcome a micro-managing streak in the beginning of the process, told us later that they would have panicked as the staging at the end of day 1 was ‘terrible’ but also knew to trust us as they knew we’d handle it.
And that’s what we did as the next morning when we came back there were 4 large trucks and a crew of about 50 people moving moving things to and fro so that by the end of day 2, the property was, well, stunning. Only one piece from day 1 was still there but everything, to the stager’s credit was replaced and sparkling.
After the panic, our photographer came, we put in our touches (flowers, accessories) and Raffi’s property video was shot and we launched right on schedule with a mobbed first weekend of open houses (with one agent saying it was the best he’d seen in 40 years).
But how’d we do sales-wise?
There were seven offers with the winning one being some $300,000 above what the sellers had thought the house was worth, and $200,000 above a pre-emptive offer from a neighbor. Better yet, we also met 4 sets of (eventually successful) buyers from that listing.
A REFORMED SELLER SEES THE LIGHT
“One thing I learned is that there is absolutely no value in using your own furniture to stage a property. I should have listened to you guys sooner.”
— Seller, who eventually sold his property after we advised him to stage in the beginning but didn't. If he had, he would have probably sold for more and done it sooner.
Clients Who Listened To Us, Saw An Over $700,000 gain in the Property in 2 years
“From the beginning stages of brainstorming ideas, to the execution and final sale, Kevin and Jonathan were with us every step of the way. They knew exactly what needed to be done and who to talk to, whether it be design, painting, hiring contractors or staging. They had a wealth of resources, all extremely skilled and competitively priced. I travel all over the country for work and Kevin and Jonathan will actively help you manage your property during the construction process. Kevin himself did work at our place (changing our shower head) and also met me at different stores to pick materials multiple times.”
— Sellers, Lower Haight/Duboce
