How Much Does It Cost To Stage A House?

Home Staging Cost

The cost of home staging can start at $500 and go as high as $5,500 with most spending between $1,600 and $2,400 per month. Prices will vary depending on the level of service you require, if your home is vacant, and how many rooms that need staging. Homeowners can expect to pay between $200 and $600 for the initial design consultation, and a per-room cost of $500 to $600 per month for décor rental.

Table Of Contents

1. Home Staging Cost
2. Home Staging Cost Breakdown
• Home Staging Price List
• Fees Per Month
3. What Exactly Is Home Staging?
4. Home Staging Consultation Fees
5. Home Staging Furniture Rental Cost
6. Cost Of Staging A Home To Sell
7. Home Staging Services And Pricing
8. Home Staging Ideas
9. Why Home Staging Works
10. Home Staging Tips
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Home Staging Companies Near Me

Home Staging Cost Breakdown

Hiring a professional to stage your home will sell your house 88% faster and for up to 20% more than homes not staged, because the home’s best features are highlighted with coordinating colors and best-use furniture, and no clutter is present. ^[2]

Home Staging Price List

• Initial Walk-through Consultation – For $200 to $500, a professional home stager will give the homeowner ideas on how they can work with existing interior décor to give the appearance of more space in each room and the entire home.
• Initial Consultation and Organizing – For an average of $800 a professional stager will organize existing décor, give advice on what to put in storage, and leave action plan for additional next steps.
• Initial Consultation, Organizing, and Redesign – In addition to organizing, the home staging company will include a detailed plan documented with written descriptions and images showing furniture arrangement plan with arrangement upon delivery of rented décor (rental prices extra) as well as painting and kitchen cabinet plans for around $1,500.
• Color Design – Consultation services to layout a plan for repainting (if needed) at $300.
• Arrangement of Furniture – Once the furniture is delivered, a professional stager will organize at an average cost of $250 per room.
• Decluttering, Packing, and Organizing – Services cover removing knickknacks, re-organizing what stays, and packing items for storage for around $650 (excludes packing materials).
• Complete Staging – Professional staging for up to 4 rooms (monthly décor rental fees are extra). Includes all services above, as well as project managing contractors for interior wall painting and kitchen cabinet refinishing and more for $5,500 on average.
• Monthly Decor & Furniture Rental – Rental includes furniture, lamps, mirrors, etc., for an average cost of $500 to $600 per month per room.

Home Staging Fees Per Month

If you are paying for the rental of furniture, plants, mirrors, lamps, or other items as part of staging your home, you will have rental fees of $500 to $700 per month until your home sells. Some staging professionals may have a set minimum regarding the number of months you have to sign up for, and if your staging professional has a 3-month contract with a month to month after that, you will still be bound by that contract even if your home sells on the day it is listed.

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What Exactly Is Home Staging?

Professional stagers combine interior design skills with real estate marketing strategies to highlight the homes best features with coordinating colors to increase the homes appeal to more buyers. Staging professionals offer many different levels of engagement depending on the homeowner’s budget, how much work needs to be done, and how much of the work the homeowner wants to do after the initial consultation.

Full-Service Home Staging Includes:

A full-service home staging, costing $5,500 (staging up to four rooms and monthly décor rental fees are extra), usually includes:

• An entire home assessment documented with notes and photographs.
• The detailed vision statement that dictates all design decisions.
• Supporting documents, including photos of suggested furniture rental options and room layout styles.
• Color scheme plan detailing any necessary painting.
• To-do list for the homeowner with guidance on decluttering and organization.
• Decluttering, packing, and organization services.
• Shopping services to buy or rent artwork, mirrors, drapes, statues, vases, books, throws, bedding, lamps or light fixtures, baskets, plants, etc.

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Home Staging Consultation Fees

A home staging company charges a consultation fee of $200 to $500 for an initial 2-hour walk-through. The stager will give the homeowner ideas on how they can work with existing interior décor to give the appearance of more space in each room and the entire home. For décor sourcing, a staging service will find, rent, and arrange delivery for the homeowner to organize according to layout design at an average cost of $200 per hour.

Before you start, you will need to determine when you want your home to go on the market and then allow anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to get on the calendar for your chosen staging professional to come out to do the initial consultation and subsequently implement their designs. The peak season for home sales is between May and July, which is when staging professionals are busiest.

You can decide between many different levels of service.

• Level 1 – $500 - Initial consultation and a plan for changes that you take care of yourself.
• Level 2 – $800 - Initial consultation and works with your existing furniture and décor to better position the home for sale. (If you select either level 1 or 2, then you will more than likely have a laundry list of tasks that will need to be taken care of including decluttering, putting some items in storage, and possibly some painting.)
• Level 3 – $2,000 + rental fees - Initial consultation and rents replacement furniture and décor and manages removal and storage of existing furniture, as well as returning to lay furniture out.
• Level 4 – $4,000 + monthly rental fees – Includes Level 3 plus decluttering, packing, organizing, and project management of painters and contractors to finish out touchups around the home.

If you have a deadline you are trying to reach to avoid paying two mortgages, then a full-service package may be the way to go. According to Realtor.com, professionally staged homes sell 88% faster and for up to 20% more compared to homes where the family doesn’t have the house prepared professionally.

The fees for the staging expense can either be paid upfront or rolled in with the fees for selling the home, which can be paid out at closing.

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Home Staging Furniture Rental Cost

Home staging furniture rental costs $500 to $600 per month for each room on average. To rent furniture for each bedroom will cost around $150 per month and $150 to $350 per month to rent furniture for your living room.

One example of a national furniture rental store is Cort Furniture, and prices below are based on three-month rental agreements. Leases can also be obtained for as short as a month, but a monthly lease renewed for a total of three months will cost a bit more than their three-month contract.

Cort Furniture also has an extensive a la carte menu that allows you to select individual mirrors, lamps, vases, artwork, trees and plants, pillows, and bathroom essentials, as well as including items like

• Sofas from $40 to $260 per month
• Bedroom linens from $70 to $140 per month
• Mattresses from $50 to $80 per month

These are general prices. Furniture rental prices will vary across the country, and delivery and pickup charges are extra. You would still have the cost of the professional stager’s initial consultation on top of these prices.

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Cost Of Staging A Home To Sell

When selling your home, staging prices will depend if your home is vacant, if you need any upgrades such as painting, and how many rooms that need staging. For a 2,400 square foot house, you will typically pay an average of $2,000 to $2,400 per month. ^[1]

Cost To Stage A Vacant Home

Staging a vacant property will cost an average of $2,200 followed by an additional $2,000 to $2,400 per month for the furniture rental fees. ^[3] Staging an empty house gives the staging professional a blank slate and makes the staging job much faster. Also, a staged home will call out specific design details in the house, but with empty rooms, much closer attention is paid to the flooring and the walls, where any potential flaws will become apparent.

Staging Only Main Rooms

One way to bring down the overall cost of the professional staging fees is to only stage a few of the larger main rooms like the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. The main difference in cost is it will save you the $500 to $600 per month on the rooms you don’t stage; however, because of the impact on the final sales price, it is advisable to do as many rooms as you can.

Condo Staging Cost

Typically condos max out at about three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the cost to stage a condo is between $1,200 and $2,000 per month.

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Home Staging Services And Pricing

Painting the Home

Most family homes will benefit from a fresh coat of paint before a home goes on the market. Interior painting costs between $300 and $800 for a 12’ x 12’ room, or $1.50 per sq. ft. to paint the whole home. To only paint the walls in a bedroom, you are looking at about $4.50 per square foot. Your costs will most likely start at around $6 per square foot to include the trim, baseboards, and ceilings. In a best-case scenario, you only need to have touchups done, and there are still old paint tins in the garage with the barcode on the lids so you can order the exact color for the job. For that, you may get away with a flat fee of between $350 and $500 plus material costs.

Lighting the Home

Expect to pay anywhere from $20 to $50 for bulbs for the whole house, or up to $600 for lamps or fixtures. With older homes, it may be necessary to replace lighting fixtures in some of the rooms as well as add some lamps to brighten the home. The chart below is a set of examples in six locations around the house showing the different total wattage required by three different types of bulb technology. Lights are measured in lumens, and different bulbs consume different amounts of watts to produce the lumens needed.

Refinishing or Refacing Cabinets

Your stager might recommend either refinishing the outside of cabinets if they are unpainted wood, having them painted, or replacing all the doors to give them a fresh, new look. Cabinet refacing costs $4,200 to $8,100 and $600 to $1,500 for painting. If you elect for a full-service package, your home stager will interface with the contractors to get the work done.

Professional Cleaning While a Home Is on the Market

Regular professional cleaning will keep a home completely pristine while it’s on sale, at the cost of $50/week for a 1 bed/1 bath to $300/week for a 4 bed/3 bath. Your stager can include the management of this in the service they provide. Start cleaning after any other contractors have been through the house with any enhancements like painting, etc.

Lawn Care

Lawn care costs $45–$80/visit depending on the size of your front and back yard. You can find a lawn maintenance company come every 1 to 2 weeks to make sure everything stays looking manicured. Additional costs could include landscape curbing for $800–$1,500, tree trimming for $250–$500, and tree removal for $12–$13 /foot ($200–$600 /tree).

Additional Cost Considerations

• Swing set removal at around $400.
• Garage decluttering and staging – Paint the walls for about $320–$650. Add cabinets for $800 to $1,500, or 3 or 4 ceiling storage racks for about $160 to $300 each. Paint the floor for $3 to $12 per square foot.
• Moving Company – $25 to $50 per hour per mover
• Self-storage – $20 to $100 per month

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Home Staging Ideas

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Why Home Staging Works

Home staging will sell your home 88% faster and for up to 20% more than homes that are not staged because of the visually appeal created. According to Realtor.org, when staging is done professionally, prospects will stay in a staged home for around 40 minutes versus 5 minutes in a empty house. A perfectly staged room allows prospective buyers to envision their furniture in there when they see the staged furniture in context for each room.

Below is list of pros and cons about staging a home because staging depends on the priorities of the family selling the house. Some sellers want the home sold immediately, and that immediacy trumps the usual tendency to hold out for the best price, and other sellers are in no immediate rush and want to hold out for the best price possible.

Pros and Cons of Home Staging

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Home Staging Tips

• Pare down your furniture – It is almost certain that stagers will have input on specific pieces that will need to go into storage, and other remaining pieces will likely end up in different arrangements to create the desired look. Also, creating microclimates around connection or relaxation where people can sit to talk or escape to read or listen to music.
• Draw attention – Your stager will draw attention to features such as a manicured back yard with a deck or pool, or a unique fireplace on the interior of the home, to draw-in the prospective buyer’s eyes. In the case of your fireplace, simple and elegant vases or unique sculptures can pull the eyes in, and when wanting to make sure buyers are attracted to your backyard haven, leaving a clear line of sight through unobstructed windows in your living room will work.
• Tone down the colors – Tone down walls currently exhibiting bold colors, or invest in some throw covers to minimize distractions from patterned furniture. Neutral colors will appeal to a broader range of buyers than most color combinations.
• Remove the clutter and reorganize – Most homes will need to declutter and leave a few select items carefully organized to contribute to the overall desired atmosphere. Artwork will likely be taken down or replaced unless it contributes to the aesthetic theme. Standard items include accent pillows, sculptures, vases with flowers, new candles, and coffee table books.

How To Stage A Home

• Make sure there are fresh flowers in 2 to 3 locations throughout the home.
• Freshly painted walls
• Hire cleaners to do a deep clean to include baseboards, ceiling fans, blinds, etc.
• Stock up on extra bulbs.
• Clean all windows and mirrors.
• Move any sofas or chairs away from the walls.
• Invest in aroma neutralizers, especially if you have pets or the home is older.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Do You Charge For A Home Staging?

An initial consultation will start at $300 on the low end, and then an average of between $2,000 and $2,400 per month until the home sells.

Is Home Staging Tax Deductible?

As with other costs associated with the sale of a home, staging costs are deductible from the liable capital gains total—as long as it is your primary residence and not a home flip or rental property. Staging costs are in the same bucket as other selling costs like legal fees, escrow fees, advertising costs, and real estate agent commissions. Check with your CPA to see how this applies in your specific situation.

How Do You Stage a House To Sell?

Staging is the craft of designing an experience that is welcoming and attractive to potential buyers without looking like it is overdone, and this is accomplished by either rearranging the existing furniture and décor or by renting replacements.

Do staged home sell for more money?

On average, staged homes sell for between 6 to 20 percent more when compared to homes that weren’t staged.

How do I find a good staging professional?

Finding a stager may be something your Realtor can handle for you, but if they don’t have one, or if you are doing a FSBO (For Sale by Owner) then you can look through the home staging companies we have listed here on the site. There is no certification required or governing body in this industry, so more than ever you should look for professionals with good ratings who can send you examples of the work they have done.

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DIY Vs. Professional Staging Companies

If you are willing and able to spend the money or are willing to have the fees come out of the sale proceeds at closing, then having a professional come and stage your home will get you down the road to the home selling approx. 88% faster and for up to 20% more. If you do the work yourself, the results won’t be as effective, but it could have some positive impact.

If your goal is to sell your home very quickly for the most money possible, then it is worth the investment of between $500 to $6,000, depending on the options you select. The alternative is the house takes longer to sell, which could put you in a spot where you are paying for two, or it sells for less than you wanted.

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