When it comes to selling your home, first impressions are everything. Buyers often make judgments within seconds of walking through the front door or even just scrolling past the first photo online. That’s where home staging comes in. But many sellers still ask the same questions: Does staging really work, and is it worth the cost?

Let’s take a closer look at what staging really means, what it costs, and why it might just help your home sell faster and for more money.

At its core, home staging is really a marketing strategy. It’s preparing and presenting a home in a way that appeals to the widest range of potential buyers. This means enhancing a home’s best features, minimizing its flaws, creating inviting spaces, and helping buyers develop an emotional connection to the property.

Staging is both an art and a science. A professional stager considers color psychology, lighting, flow, scale, proportion, and current design trends. More than simply making the interior look nice, the goal is to make it feel like a home that someone else wants to buy.

In many cases, staging includes:

• Decluttering and depersonalizing a home
• Rearranging existing furniture to improve flow and scale
• Bringing in furniture and decor to define spaces (especially in vacant homes)
• Enhancing lighting with lamps and new fixtures
• Using color, textiles, and accessories to add warmth and texture
• Boosting curb appeal to make a strong first impression

As buyers walk through a potential home, they are imagining their day-to-day lives in the space. A well-staged home helps them do that more easily. It presents a story about how each room can be used, how the space functions, and what kind of lifestyle it offers.

In an empty or sparsely furnished home, buyers may focus on flaws or struggle to envision how their furniture will fit. Staging removes those mental roadblocks.

There’s also the online factor to consider. With more than 95% of buyers starting their search online, listing photos need to stand out. Professionally staged homes photograph better, and that can mean more clicks, more showings, and more offers.

Still on the fence about staging? Let’s talk numbers. According to the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) 2025 Profile of Home Staging: 

• 60% of buyer’s agents said staging made a significant impact on how buyers viewed a home. 
• 83% said it helped buyers visualize the property as a future home, which is huge!
• When it comes to which rooms matter most to buyers, the living room tops the list (37%), followed by the primary bedroom (34%) and kitchen (23%).
• Staging can even boost your bottom line — 19% of seller’s agents said staging increased offers by 1% to 5%.
• And if you’re looking to sell faster? 30% of seller’s agents noticed staged homes spent less time on the market.

Staging costs can vary based on your home’s size, condition, whether it’s occupied or vacant, and whether you hire a pro or your agent does it themselves. According to the NAR report, the median dollar value spent when using a staging service was $1,500, compared to $500 when the sellers' agent personally staged the home.

So, yes, staging is an upfront investment, but it’s one with real potential for payoff. For example, if staging helps increase your potential offer by just 2% on a $250,000 home, that’s an extra $5,000. Subtract the NAR-reported $500 to $1,500 average cost of staging, and you're still looking at a net gain of anywhere between $3,500 to $4,500, which is a solid return on your investment.

At the end of the day, remember that staging helps create an emotional connection among potential buyers, which leads to faster offers and higher prices.

Whether you hire a professional or work with your agent, staging can be a game-changer in today’s competitive market. In fact, it just might just be the key to unlocking your home’s full potential.