Why Staging Matters When Looking To Fill A Vacancy

By Danielle Wirsansky on November 10, 2021

With the housing market experiencing a crazy boom and the country facing a labor shortage, filling any vacancies in your rental properties is both critical and challenging. With the COVID-19 pandemic still majorly affecting the touring of rental properties, the question of staging becomes very important. Did you stage empty rental properties before the pandemic? Do you need to now? And if so, what makes staging a property significant? Read on to learn more about why staging matters when looking to fill a vacancy!

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

Thoughtful Management

An important reason why staging matters when looking to fill a vacancy is that when prospective renters see a clean and well put together home with staging, it shows that the management team behind the property is more thoughtful. It shows that they are invested in the property itself, in keeping it spotless and presentable. They take care of it. It can also imply that the management team will be more likely to take care of the tenants too. The management team is invested in recruiting new tenants and keeping them, which means they will treat their tenants well too.

The National Association of Realtors surveyed their members & released the findings of their Profile of Home Staging. While this has to do with home buying, much of it is applicable to home renting as well. One of the most relevant statistics the study found showed that among buyers’ agents, having photos (83 percent), videos (74 percent), and virtual tours (73 percent) available for their listings was more important since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the same vein, buyers were more willing to walk through a home they saw online (41 percent) when the home was staged. If keeping the property staged is hard for you to manage, even staging it temporarily for photos and other media to advertise it could go a very long way.

With the pandemic raging on and making in-person tours less likely, having photos, videos, and virtual tours of a property while it is staged is much more likely to entice potential renters, and going the extra mile in this way also shows how thoughtful the property management team can be.

More Likely to Rent Furnished

In addition to showcasing how thoughtful and put together the management team of your property is to prospective tenants, another important reason that staging matters is that it makes renters more likely to rent your property furnished.

Renting a property furnished is a big upsell that can help you make a lot more money out of your property. Especially if you are renting properties out in a college town, renting a furnished apartment is a popular option. Students might not have the upfront budget to purchase everything they need to furnish an entire property, but when the cost of the items is spread out across and included in rent, it makes it much easier for them to select that option.

Being able to see a property, knowing exactly what it will look like furnished and what their living space will feel like can be a huge selling point and could tip an uncertain prospective renter into a slam dunk.

Makes a House a Home

What is likely the most important reason why staging a rental property matters is that doing so makes a house a home. It can be hard to imagine yourself living in a space when the pictures you looked at or the property you just toured is empty of all furniture and devoid of all signs of life. The National Association of Realtors specifically found that eighty-two percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

While your clients might be renters instead of buyers, the same principle applies here. When a tenant can imagine themselves living in the property, that is when you know you have closed the deal. By making the property seem cozy, lived in, and warm, you are inviting them in and showing them a glimpse of what their life could be like should they choose to move to your property. The same study showed that only seven percent of respondents said that home staging had no effect on the buyer’s view of the home. This means that by actively staging in your properties, you will be positively affecting 93% of potential buyers and swaying them more towards renting your property.

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

Making the decision to stage your rental property or not is up to you. If you have been on the fence about it, hopefully, this guide has given you more insight as to how it can help your rental properties succeed and flourish.

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