Selling an Empty Home versus a Staged Home?

Jon Stroud
Jon Stroud
Published on July 14, 2021

Sell A Home Empty Or Staged?

For property owners no longer living in their homes and wishing to sell, they debate whether they should sell their home empty or staged?  Let’s go over the pros and cons…

What is Home Staging?

You can tell if a home is staged when the home is furnished and decorated to appeal to a wide number of potential buyers.  The furniture, decorations, paintings, rugs, wall paint color are chosen and placed in a way to make the home appealing to many prospective home buyers. 

Pros of Selling an Empty Home

  1. Cost savings of not having to pay for home staging or furnish with decorations if you already moved out of your home.
  2. It shows you have moved on and the home is immediately available. This is appealing to buyers who need to move in a short amount of time.

Cons of Selling an Empty Home

  1. If potential buyers are looking at the listing photos of a bunch of empty rooms, it hard for them to tell which room is which and get a sense of space.   They may pass on checking out your home and move on to listings with photos of homes furnished and well-staged.
  2. When selling a home that is empty, it’s possible that buyers will think they can buy the home for less than market value because the seller is desperate to get rid of the home.  This can lead to lower offer amounts.
  3. A home with listing photos of empty rooms, shows the home is unoccupied.  Unfortunately, this possibly can lead to break-ins and the property being vandalized.  Make sure your home is secured and follow tips for selling a vacant home to improve chances of your home being safe.
  4. Defects stand out more in an empty home than an occupied or staged home.  For example, little scratches on a floor or wall will stand out more in an empty home than they would in a staged home.
  5. It does not give the same warm feeling that a staged home invokes.  

As you can see, Empty or Staged homes both have their benefits and drawbacks. 

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever sold an empty or vacant house and what you learned from the experience.    

Further Reading

How to Sell Your Home Quickly and Get Top Dollar

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