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If you want to sell your home fast and for the highest possible price, you may find that it helps to thoughtfully stage it with potential buyers in mind.

Even in a hot real estate market, staging can be a useful tool. First impressions can be critical as buyers must decide quickly how much to offer or whether to make an offer at all.

A 2023 report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) found that 81% of buyers’ agents said staging made it easier for their buyers to visualize a property as their future home.

What Is Home Staging?

Staging your home to sell typically involves cleaning, decluttering, and rearranging furniture — or even replacing your current decor with rented or borrowed pieces that can better showcase the home.

It’s all about making your home as appealing as possible to attract buyers, minimize the amount of time it takes to sell, and maximize your return — goals that can be especially important if you’re trying to buy and sell simultaneously.

How Home Staging Can Affect Time and Price

It’s hard to predict exactly how staging will affect any particular home sale, but here are some factors to consider.

Research Shows Benefits for Sellers

Twenty percent of the buyers’ and sellers’ agents who responded to the NAR survey said staging increased the dollar value offered between 1% and 5% compared with similar nonstaged homes on the market. And 27% reported that staging a home for sale slightly decreased the amount of time the home was on the market.

You Have Competition

As soon as you list your home for sale — whether you’re selling traditionally or with owner financing — you start competing with every other house in the neighborhood and the surrounding area. Depending on that competition, as well as your goals for getting the house sold and locking in a new home loan and buying a new home, staging could be a worthwhile strategy for making your home stand out.

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Expectations Can Be High

Decor in TV shows may set high expectations among some buyers for what your house should look like. Ten percent of the NAR 2023 Profile of Home Staging respondents said buyers were disappointed by how homes they looked at compared with homes they saw on TV.

Should You Hire a Professional Stager?

While some parts of the home staging process may be easy to DIY (paring down the number of personal photos and knickknacks, for example), it may help to hire a professional.

An experienced home stager will likely have more insight into what buyers in your area are looking for and what the current home trends are. A professional also may have access to furniture, art, and other décor items that could transform your home for a quick and/or more lucrative sale. And the amount you get for your current home could directly affect how much you can spend on your next one.

Here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to hire a home stager.

Cost

Professional home staging can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on how much work the stager does, how big your house is, whether you decide to rent staging furniture, and how long the house is on the market. There are ways you might be able to cut the expense, however, including:

•  Meeting with the pro to do a walk-through and consultation on how to stage your home to sell, but then doing the work yourself.

•  Asking the stager to work with your furniture instead of using rented items. (This could also save on storage costs.)

•  Focusing on a few important spaces, such as the entryway, the living room, and the master bedroom, instead of reworking your entire home.

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Fresh Eyes and Objectivity

Of course, you love your family photos, the tchotchkes you’ve collected through the years, and the paint colors you’ve chosen for every room. Buyers, however, might not.

An experienced stager can walk through and objectively point to the things that might need to be put away, cleaned, moved around, or refreshed before the house is photographed for the listing or has its first showing. A professional also may have home-staging tips to help you market to the types of buyers most often found in your area, whether that’s growing families who are upsizing or baby boomers who are downsizing their home.

Living With Someone Else’s ‘Look’

Stagers are trained to give the homes they work on the kind of polished, cohesive look buyers are used to seeing on HGTV. But living in a home that’s been styled for others may be a bit nerve-wracking. And if the furniture is not your own, you may have to keep kids, pets, and glasses of red wine away to avoid any damage.

Exposing Bigger Problems

Moving furniture around to create a more open look could also create some problems, if, for example, those changes expose a crack in the wall or a stain on the carpet. Making those fixes may delay getting your home on the market.

Pros and Cons of Hiring a Professional Home Stager

12 Tips for Home Staging Success

Whether you decide to hire a helper or do the work yourself, here’s a list of home staging ideas to keep in mind.

1. Clear the Clutter

Clutter is distracting and it takes up space. As soon as you hire a real estate agent, they’ll likely nudge you to sell, donate, or throw away anything you no longer use. Things you want to keep but won’t need for a while (seasonal clothing and sports equipment, photo albums and keepsakes, or books you hope to read someday), can be boxed up and stored until you move. But remember: Buyers will want to assess your closet space, so you may want to move those boxes to the basement or rent a storage space.

2. Depersonalize

Framed family photos, souvenirs, your kids’ artwork, and other personal items can get in the way when buyers try to envision themselves living in your home. Even the day-to-day stuff can divert attention from the illusion you’re trying to create. That means no shoes by the front door, no wet towels in the hamper, and trying to keep bathroom counters clear of everything but hand soap and guest towels.

3. Deep Clean

Neat and tidy is good, but crisp and gleaming is better. A clean house sends a message to buyers that you take good care of your home and have likely also been on top of house maintenance. If your place isn’t new, you still can try to make it look as new as possible. Shine up all the appliances. Scrub the sinks, tubs, floors, and toilets. Check the corners for cobwebs and the baseboards for dog hair. And don’t forget to dust the ceiling fans and bathroom exhaust fans. If you don’t have the time or energy to do it yourself, you may want to hire a cleaning service — or double up on the service you already have.

4. Repair All Damage

You know all those little dings, stains, and scuff marks you’ve become blind to? They can be a big turnoff for buyers — who will definitely see them. Why not do a thorough walk-through and make a list of required touch-ups and repairs (and repair costs)? Then you can head to the home improvement store, get what you need to make the fixes, and get to work. And if something is beyond your skillset (a running toilet, broken appliance, or finicky fireplace), you can address it before buyers come through. Find all the help you need in a list of homeownership resources.

5. Focus on Essential Rooms

If you have a limited staging budget, you may want to focus on the rooms buyers tend to prioritize. Respondents to the NAR survey said staging the living room was most important to homebuyers, followed by the primary bedroom and kitchen. And home offices may be gaining importance as more people are working from home: 46% of the survey’s respondents said they had staged a home office.

6. Neutralize the Decor

Decorating with neutrals — think 50 shades of gray — can be another big step toward depersonalizing your home. Your favorite colors may be bright and bold, but that might be a bit much for some buyers. (Their agent probably will tell them it’s an “easy fix.” But if they can’t get past the chartreuse kitchen or the green-striped wallpaper in the dining room, buyers may not be able to see their family using those spaces.)

To break up all the beige, gray, or white, touches that evoke a feeling of comfort can be used sparingly. For example, you can give your bathroom that spa vibe simply by adding a basket filled with crisp white towels. A bowl of lemons, potted orchids, or a vase filled with fresh flowers can add a pop of cheer and color in the foyer or kitchen.

7. Let There Be Light

Put your home in the best light by letting in as much sunshine as possible during the day and turning on all the lights for night showings. (No need to make buyers fumble for switches.) Open the curtains and blinds (unless the view is a drawback). Keep pathways and porches well lit when the sun goes down. Replace burned-out bulbs. And think about bouncing a little light around rooms with well-placed mirrors, which can make a room appear larger.

8. Curb Appeal Matters

Why do all that work to fix up your home’s interior if there is a chance buyers won’t even get out of the car? First impressions are lasting, so put out the welcome mat (literally, make sure a clean doormat is outside the door) and use other ideas for amping up your home’s curb appeal.

Consider power-washing the walkway, and updating (or at least clean) outdoor light fixtures. In the winter, clear the snow. If you need a pop of color, you can do it with plants. And if the front door is dated or just dingy, think about fixing it up. If buyers have to wait a minute for you or an agent to let them in, they’re likely to notice if the door looks great … or doesn’t.

9. Look Beyond the Porch

Depending on the weather, buyers may spend time outside checking the exterior of the house — front and back. If weather permits, you may want to sweep the leaves off the roof, try to get rid of any mold or mildew on the house or fences, clean the patio or pool deck, and wash the windows inside and out. The goal here is to make your home more appealing but also to help buyers focus on the fabulous features of your home instead of potential maintenance.

10. Create Space

To get a more open look, consider removing any oversized or extra pieces of furniture. A small bedroom may look bigger, for example, with just a dresser instead of a dresser and chest, or if you remove a bed’s oversized headboard or footboard. In the living room, smaller pieces may be preferable to an overstuffed sectional that seats 10. Remember, the living room is a key room for buyers, so it may be worth renting furniture that shows off its size and other details, such as built-in bookshelves or a fireplace.

11. Clear the Air

If you have pets, or if there’s a smoker in your home, it may require some extra steps to keep buyers from sniffing them out. You may want to have the rugs cleaned, and if you haven’t done it in a while, it may help to have the ductwork cleaned as well. Mildew may be another odor issue. If odors linger, open the windows if possible, but be sparing with sprays and plug-in air fresheners — some buyers may be sensitive to certain smells. If a quick cover-up is necessary, consider baking some cookies.

12. Define Rooms

Give each room a purpose, even if you don’t use the space that way yourself. Could a spare bedroom be turned into a craft room or office? Would your attic be a great space for a teen hangout room? Could your basement be transformed into a home theater by moving a TV downstairs and adding a popcorn machine? Get buyers excited about the possibilities.

The Takeaway

Any competitive edge a home seller can find is worth considering. Home staging could boost the timeline and bottom line of the deal. And at the very least you’ll want to tidy up and spruce up your home so you can get the deal done and move on to your next home as swiftly as possible.

Looking for an affordable option for a home mortgage loan? SoFi can help: We offer low down payments (as little as 3% - 5%*) with our competitive and flexible home mortgage loans. Plus, applying is extra convenient: It's online, with access to one-on-one help.

FAQ

What is the 3 and 5 rule in home staging?

The 3 or 5 rule states that a well-staged room should look good both from a slight distance (5 feet away) and up close (the one-foot rule). This means keeping areas free of clutter and also sparkling clean, and including some decor items that are larger and look good from a distance and others that are smaller details seen only up close.

What is the 1/5 rule in home staging?

The ⅕ rule in home staging is a decluttering strategy that states that rooms, cabinets, and storage areas should be only one-fifth full when a home is being staged for sale.

Photo credit: iStock/FollowTheFlow

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SOHL-Q424-119

Real assets are tangible, physical assets that can be exchanged for cash, owing to their use in manufacturing and consumer goods, and other purposes. Real assets, as a category, may include precious metals, commodities, real estate, infrastructure, and more.

Typically, real assets are considered a type of alternative investment, owing to their low correlation with traditional asset classes such as stocks and bonds. As such, real assets may provide some portfolio diversification. But real assets are also susceptible to specific risks pertaining to each sector.

Defining Real Assets

What is an asset? On the whole, assets can be considered tangible (e.g., land), intangible (e.g. a brand or trademark), or financial (e.g. shares of stock). While real assets have a cash value and can be exchanged for cash, they are not considered a type of financial asset because they are not securities.

Also, real assets are considered a type of alternative investment. Alts tend not to move in sync with, i.e., they’re not typically correlated with conventional assets like stocks and bonds. But like all types of alternative investments, real assets come with specific risks, including lack of liquidity, transparency, and less regulation in some cases.

Characteristics of Real Assets

The primary characteristic of real assets is that they are physical. They can be objects, goods, resources, or structures that have a specific cash value and can be traded for cash in certain markets.

However, real assets are considered non-securities, because they do not derive their value from a contractual ownership arrangement like stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and more.

Real Assets vs. Financial Assets

Financial assets fall into the category of securities; generally speaking there are debt securities (like bonds) and equity securities (stocks), as well as derivatives (options and futures). Real assets are non-securities.

•   Securities are financial instruments that can be traded on an exchange, with an expectation of making a profit. More important, securities are fungible, meaning the value of one unit is interchangeable with another of the same type of unit: e.g., a share of stock in Company A is the same as another share of that stock.

•   Real assets are physical goods, and in many cases they are not fungible: one type of property or infrastructure is not interchangeable with another. That said, commodities are a type of real asset, and are generally fungible: one barrel of crude oil is the same as the next.

Types of Real Assets

As noted, real assets consist of physical, tangible goods and resources. But while one stock generally behaves the same as another stock, each type of real asset has to be considered individually to understand its benefits and risks.

Real Estate

Real estate includes a wide range of property types and investment choices: e.g., commercial real estate, industrial real estate, healthcare facilities, rental properties, and more. While it’s possible to invest directly in real estate, it’s also possible to buy into a type of pooled investment like real estate investment trusts, or REITs.

Real estate may offer passive income (i.e., from rent), or gains from the sale of properties, but real estate investments come with potential risks: local laws and regulations can change; property can be damaged by extreme weather; interest rate risk can impact property values.

Commodities

Commodities include numerous raw materials, including agricultural products like corn and coffee; precious metals such as copper or nickel; energy sources (including renewables), and more. Commodity trading typically involves futures contracts, but it’s possible to invest in commodities via index funds and mutual funds, or ETFs.

These assets, owing to steady demand, may offer the potential for profits. They may help hedge against inflation. That said, the value of commodities can be impacted by weather, supply chain breakdowns, market fluctuations, and other factors, which makes them risky. Commodities can lose value for a number of reasons, and direct investments in commodities lack certain investor protections offered to other securities.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure assets are durable structures that provide public services, utilities, and the like to enable the smooth functioning of society. Infrastructure includes durable structures like bridges, roads, tunnels, and schools, as well as energy infrastructure like power plants. Infrastructure is typically stationary, has a long period of use, and generates predictable cash flow (via utility payments, tolls, and so on).

While it can be difficult for individual investors to invest directly in infrastructure, it’s possible to invest in municipal bonds, or funds that offer exposure to companies involved in infrastructure.

Investing in infrastructure comes with specific risks investors should consider, including interest-rate risk (which can affect access to loans, and interest on bonds), regulatory issues, climate and weather challenges, and more.

Precious Metals

Generally speaking, precious metals consist of a group of natural assets, including gold, silver, platinum, iridium, and others. Investing in precious metals may be appealing as many metals tend to retain value owing to their scarcity, their critical role in manufacturing and technology, and because some (like gold and silver) are themselves used as a store of value.

For many individual investors, it may not be obvious how to invest in gold, silver, or other metals. Though it’s possible to buy bullion or bars directly, it’s also possible to invest in ETFs that are invested in gold or precious metals, or in stocks of mining companies, and the like.

The risks of investing in precious metals include potential changes in demand, technological innovations that may require more or less of a given metal, supply chain issues, worker safety, and more.

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Benefits and Risks of Investing in Real Assets

In addition to the advantages and disadvantages of different types of real assets noted above, there are a few other factors investors should consider.

Inflation Hedge

Inflation essentially decreases a dollar’s purchasing power, and a hedge against inflation can offer a potential upside.

In some cases real assets can provide a hedge against inflation. For example, assets that benefit from steady demand, like commodities, may help offset inflation’s bite. Also, land or real estate may rise in value even when the purchasing power of the dollar is declining, which may offer a potential inflation hedge.

That said, it’s impossible to predict for certain which asset classes will help to mitigate inflation, and there are no guarantees.

Portfolio Diversification

Another factor investors should consider is the potential benefit from diversification, which is the practice of investing in different asset classes to help mitigate risk. Diversifying your assets may help offset some investment risk.

Diversification is complex, however, and involves more than just including alternative investments along with equities and fixed income. Investors need to consider how certain investments, like tangible assets, might provide some sense of equilibrium in their portfolio if conventional strategies are down.

Potential for Steady Income

As discussed, some types of real assets, like infrastructure investments, can become a source of steady income. For example, roads and bridges and public transportation require a high initial investment, but then they may provide a predictable revenue stream from tolls and fares and so forth.

The same is true for some types of municipal power plants and other energy sources that supply utilities, and derive steady payments over time.

Liquidity Concerns

Taken as a whole, however, real assets are quite similar to other types of alternative investments in that they lack the liquidity and easy access to cash that most conventional investments provide.

Liquidity risk is something all investors must take into account when choosing investments, as the inability to enter and exit positions with ease, and as needed, can impact one’s goals.

Market Volatility

All markets fluctuate to some degree, but some markets are more volatile than others. When it comes to deciding whether to invest in real assets, investors must do their due diligence because the market for each type of tangible asset is vastly different from another.

Just as understanding volatility in the stock market is key to making smart choices about equities, it’s essential for investors to consider the real estate market for a property they might invest in, or the futures market for investing in commodities, and so forth.

Incorporating Real Assets into Your Investment Strategy

Would investing in real assets make sense in your portfolio? There are a few factors to consider.

Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is basically the mix of stocks, bonds, and other investments in your portfolio. While a standard allocation usually includes these conventional asset classes, some investors also include other choices such as commodities, real estate, private equity, and more.

Deciding on the right allocation for your portfolio means thinking about your goals, time horizon, and how much risk you’re willing to take on. Given that real assets are often higher-risk investments, but aren’t correlated with traditional assets, investors may want to consider the advantages and disadvantages before deciding on an asset allocation that makes sense.

Direct vs. Indirect Investment Methods

Owing to the physical nature of real assets, it’s possible to invest in many real assets directly (e.g., owning rental property or gold bullion) as well as investing indirectly in real assets.

For example, commodities are typically traded via futures contracts. A commodity futures contract is an agreement to either buy or sell a specified quantity of that commodity for a specific price at some point in the future. While it’s possible to end up with actual physical commodities this way (e.g., bushels of corn or barrels of oil), for the most part futures are an indirect way to gain access to the commodities markets.

REITs and ETFs

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and ETFs are two other common instruments for investing indirectly in real assets.

•   A REIT is a trust that owns income-generating properties, so that investors are spared the hassle of direct ownership. A REIT may own warehouses, retail stores, storage units, hotels, and more. REITs can focus on a geographic area or specific market (like healthcare). A REIT is required to distribute 90% of its income to shareholders, so owning shares of a REIT may provide passive income, as well.

•   ETFs are another way to invest indirectly in certain types of real assets, because these funds invest in companies that either produce, process, or in some way support a given type of real assets.

For example, there are ETFs that invest in mining, equipment, or technology companies in the precious metals and commodities sectors. Likewise, there are ETFs that invest in companies that support infrastructure projects.

Investors who are interested in exploring real assets are not limited to direct investment strategies; there are other options to consider.

The Takeaway

Real assets are tangible assets like real estate, infrastructure, or commodities, and are considered a type of alternative investment. Alts are not typically correlated with traditional assets like stocks and bonds, and thus may provide portfolio diversification that can help mitigate some risk factors. But like all types of alts, real assets come with specific risks, including lack of liquidity and lack of transparency.

Ready to expand your portfolio's growth potential? Alternative investments, traditionally available to high-net-worth individuals, are accessible to everyday investors on SoFi's easy-to-use platform. Investments in commodities, real estate, venture capital, and more are now within reach. Alternative investments can be high risk, so it's important to consider your portfolio goals and risk tolerance to determine if they're right for you.

FAQ

How do real assets perform during economic downturns?

Although some alternative investments may not be affected by a downturn, the markets for specific assets can react differently, depending on the economic conditions. For example, if stocks are down, real estate may not be impacted at all. When interest rates fluctuate, the cost of loans can impact real estate values and infrastructure projects, but not necessarily commodities. It’s incumbent on each investor to consider the pros and cons of any investment before putting money into it.

What percentage of a portfolio should be in real assets?

Deciding on the percentage any asset class should have in your portfolio is a personal calculation, taking into account your goals, time horizon, and stomach for risk. It’s especially important to consider that real assets are illiquid, a risk consideration that can impact whether you want to invest in real assets at all.

Are real assets suitable for all types of investors?

No. Real assets are better suited to experienced investors, who may have the skills to navigate the complexities of real asset markets, pricing, risks, and so forth.

Photo credit: iStock/Edwin Tan