STAGING: YES OR NO?

It’s obvious that you want your home looking as good as possible when you’re trying to sell it. You want to give buyers a great first impression, and there’s a long-held belief that professional home staging will lead to buyers paying more for a house. However, that may not be the case, according to recent research by Michael Seiler, a real estate and finance professor at William and Mary. Seiler studied how 820 different buyers reacted to contrasting stagings of six various homes, and found that there was little effect on what the buyers were willing to pay. Some buyers were shown a home with neutral beige colors and traditional furniture. Others were shown the same home, but with “ugly” purple paint and wacky furniture, or even no furniture at all. The average price the buyers were willing to pay for each property was roughly the same, regardless of which version of home staging was present. "We were able to parse out what you consciously believe and subconsciously believe," Seiler said. "Beforehand, everyone thinks poor staging is going to be a problem. But when we actually did the experiment, we found it doesn't matter." Of course, Seiler’s study only looked at one of the many aspects that affect a home’s value and how fast it will sell. Contact your trusted real estate professional if you’re considering selling your home. For more on Seiler’s study, visit this link: on.wsj.com/KhkSyT