Trying to sell a vacant house adds obstacles and depresses the sales price, says Showhomes, a nationally franchised home staging company. Showhomes uses live-in home stagers to lower the cost of staging and produce faster home sales. Take a look at its top five reasons why selling a vacant house is often a mistake in today’s market:

1. People don’t simply buy houses; they buy the next chapter of their lives.

This is an emotional experience and emotion influences what people buy and how much they will pay. Vacant houses are devoid of life, and the chance to make an emotional connection is lost.

2. Vacancy distracts buyers from looking at the house itself.
They wonder: “Is this a divorce? Why did they move out? Are they selling because they have money problems? Is this home hard to sell?” They’ll make a low-ball offer, thinking the owner is desperate.

3. When a house is vacant, buyers focus on flaws.
They look at nail holes, carpet wear and gaps in the molding rather than how the space works. In a vacant house, floors, walls and ceilings are all buyers see. This drives the price down.

4. People can’t visualize how furniture fits.
An empty bedroom might appear awkward or a living room might seem cavernous. Some spaces might confuse buyers because a use is not obvious. Buyers are derailed and move on to the next house.

5. Vacant houses don’t show as well as staged and occupied homes.
Without people, even the best home quickly looks and smells vacant. Dust settles, leaves scatter, and stale smell spreads. These cues often shorten the showing time, leading to fewer sales.

“Home owners don’t realize how much harder a vacant home is to sell. In today’s market, you have to win the beauty contest,” says Thomas Scott, VP of Marketing at Showhomes. “Vacant houses simply underperform staged homes and the increased sales price provides an excellent return on what staging costs. Choosing to stage your home should be an easy decision in today’s market.”

Showhomes, a nationally franchised home staging company with offices in 60 markets, polled 500 Realtors and brokers from all over the country at the National Association of Realtors Expo recently in San Diego. The survey uncovered some startling Realtor feedback about the value of home staging in today’s market:

96% believed buyers react better to fully staged homes than vacant ones.
94% believed vacant homes take longer to sell than fully staged homes
94% believed vacant homes sell for less money than fully staged homes

The majority of Realtors surveyed agreed that vacant homes take twice as long to sell and sell for at least 15% less than a fully staged home.

“Home staging has become a necessity,” said Thomas Scott, VP of operations for Showhomes. “These numbers say it loud and clear. The home staging industry is at a tipping point. If you want sell a home quickly and for top dollar, there’s no other reasonable choice. In today’s market, if a home is not staged, it does not sell.”

Shell Brodnax, president and CEO of Real Estate Staging Association, said she’s not surprised by Showhomes’ findings.

“Home staging provides economic stability to real estate by leveraging a property’s appeal to buyers,” Brodnax said. “Sellers get the most they can for their property and buyers benefit from a move-in ready property.”

“Home stagers are doing a great job at getting the word out about the effectiveness of staging,” Brodnax added. “The home staging industry will continue to add to the recovery of the real estate industry.”

Statistics provided by RESA show staged properties consistently spend 78 percent less time on the market.

“The decade ahead is a new era for home staging,” Scott said. “If your Realtor doesn’t educate you on how much you stand to lose by not staging your house, then they are doing you a disservice.”

In the back of our minds, we all know that a vacant home can become a target to vandals, squatters and the like. What we often overlook are the not so obvious issues that can arise when a home sits vacant for an extended period of time. Besides the obvious dust bunnies, cobwebs and musty “empty house” smell, more serious issues can arise that gone unattended can quickly become a deterrent to prospective buyers.

A recent LA Times article warns of the many pitfalls that an unoccupied home may pose for a would-be buyer.

No matter how large or small or expensive the house, every plumbing fixture and appliance has at least one valve, gasket or hose that can dry out if the item in question is not in use, Kuhn says. That causes gaps that can result in leaks or even floods when a new owner moves in.

The article also warns about mold that can grow in a sealed up home, not just between the walls, but out in the open as well. The article touches on some even more disturbing issues such as squatters and rodents…

Insects, rodents and small animals such as raccoons can cause as much or even more damage. Even when vermin make themselves at home for a relatively short period, they can leave fleas behind and their droppings can cause unsanitary conditions.

As if we needed any more compelling arguments for Managed Staging.

You can read the entire article HERE.