The Rooms That Matter Most When You Sell

If you’re planning to sell your house, you’ll want it to stand out from the competition. Now that buyers have more options, you need to be intentional about making sure your home makes a great first impression. One of the best ways to do that is through home staging.

What Is Home Staging?

Home staging isn’t about making your house look like it belongs in a design magazine. It’s about creating a warm, welcoming space that helps buyers picture themselves living there.

This can be as simple as rearranging furniture, decluttering, or adding a few plants. Or it can be more detailed, like bringing in professional stagers with rented furniture. The key is to highlight your home’s best features and make it feel move-in ready.

And it works—according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), staged homes typically sell faster and for more money than homes that aren’t staged at all.

Which Rooms Should You Focus On?

Good news: you don’t need to stage your entire house. NAR reports that the rooms buyers care about most are:

• Living room – where families gather and spend the most time

• Primary bedroom – where buyers want to imagine themselves relaxing

• Kitchen – the heart of the home, and often a major selling point

These spaces make the biggest impact, so focusing here will give you the most value for your effort.

How an Agent Can Help

The level of staging you need depends on your home, your budget, and what buyers in your area are looking for. That’s where an experienced real estate agent comes in.

A local agent knows exactly what buyers are saying during showings and walkthroughs. They can give tailored advice—whether that’s just removing personal photos and rearranging furniture, or bringing in a pro stager if your home needs a bigger transformation.

Here’s what staging might involve:

• Decluttering and depersonalizing spaces

• Improving the flow of furniture

• Adding simple décor touches (plants, art, lighting)

• Bringing in rental furniture for empty rooms (if needed)

Keep in mind: hiring a professional stager usually costs more (around $1,500 on average, per NAR), while simple DIY staging or agent-guided tweaks might only be a few hundred dollars.

Bottom Line

Staging doesn’t have to be expensive or over-the-top—it just needs to help buyers feel at home. With the right agent guiding you, you can strike the perfect balance between cost, effort, and impact.

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