A Tale of Two Cities: Home Staging Drives Up the List Price on Two Boston Area Properties

Boston, MA, August 26, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Located in the Adams section of Dorchester, the fifty year old Coffey St. condo was showing its age. For years, the owner rented this condo unit and Keller Williams Realtor, Bill Skerry, realized it would need a staging makeover in order to make it competitive in the market. “I have worked with stager, Maureen Reddy from DaVinci Designer Gallery for over 10 years and my clients have seen fantastic results. This condo definitely needed a staging makeover,” says Skerry

The pre staging price for the two bedroom condo was set at $220,000. The owner invested $12,000 in staging which included floor refinishing and painting throughout the unit, small carpentry projects, and each room was uniquely furnished to attract young millennials to the neighborhood. “Before I stage a property, the most likely buyer is identified, then the home is staged to appeal to that buyer. We create environments that not only look good, but more importantly, they feel good,” says Reddy.

After seeing the staging results, the condo was listed at $284,900 and ultimately sold for $282,900, increasing the homes value by $62,000 and garnering an approximate 500% return on the homeowner’s staging investment.

Twelve miles to the north, in Revere, MA, a 2,300 sq. ft., single family home with an income apartment was also staged to sell. The Davinci Designer Gallery team updated and brightened the first and second floor and essentially added 2 bedrooms and a home office to the house by transforming the previously unused attic rooms. Broker/Owner of DiLorenzo Realty, Jodi DiLorenzo explains…. “Boston skyline views as well as ocean views were suddenly exposed in the newly transformed third floor. Staging brought a whole new vibe to this home and broadened the field of potential buyers. The great presentation of this home brought in multiple offers while renewing buyer interest in this area.”

Before the home was staged, DiLorenzo thought it would list for $439,000, after staging, the home sold for $497,500. The increased value of this home was $56,000 and with a staging budget of approximately $8,000 the homeowners’ investment paid off 7 times.

These staging statistics are consistent with the National Association of Realtor’s 2015 findings, where the majority of agents see staged homes increase in value from
1%-20%.

Regardless of location, be it in the heart a city or on the edge of the ocean, staging is a sound investment that is fast becoming a standard in the real estate industry.