Most of my staging projects are occupied stagings, which means I am working with the seller’s existing furniture and accessories. There may be a few items from my inventory that enter the stage to refresh the space.

Vacant staging is on the rise in this area. This requires bringing in furniture and accessories to stage an empty house on the market. In most situations, only key rooms are staged, which could be the living/family room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom. Whether occupied or vacant, staging along with professional listing photos are the best ways to market a house for sale.

The model home

A model home is created to capture the attention of the target market for the development. Not every market is the same and it is important to showcase the lifestyle for that market.

If the target market is a young family raising their children, there will be kid-friendly bedrooms and a more transitional style to the décor. Young families are not into to a fussy, formal, traditional style. The preference is for a casual, comfortable lifestyle.

A 55-and-older market may still want a formal dining and living room, a guest bedroom and home office.

Sue Jackowski of R.J. Smith Realty took over the listing for Bonivista, a town home community in Pine Bush. The new units sat vacant for 9-10 months. Jackowski said she felt it was important to stage a model home. She said, “People need vision. When buyers come into a home, most like to see a home set up rather than just walls and floors. A Bonivista townhome was staged in April. The first open house was April 19, 2015. The first sale/offer was a month later on May 20.”

Jackowski added, “Buyers have been middle-aged. Had several lookers from single professional buyers to couples. The model home created a great interest from the community with current owners of the units stopping by as well as locals. It created a buzz.”

Dave Smith, general manager of R.J. Smith Realty said, “It’s well documented that quality staging helps sells homes faster, easier and for the best price. We are very pleased the developer took the advice to stage the model, and now he couldn’t be more pleased also!”

Smith also noticed that the staging helps every prospective purchaser envision him or herself living in the space. He says, “They are comfortable to sit and talk about where their furniture will go and how their families will celebrate holidays.”

The secret to staging and getting homes sold is by appealing to the target market. It is selling a lifestyle by creating a vision of how they want to live, not how they are living now. Once a potential buyer starts emotionally connecting and mentally moving in, consider it sold. The proof: There is only one unit left at Bonivista.