The Top 6 Questions I Get Asked About Property Staging for Sale

By Louise Wynne, Founder of WildKind Interiors

I’m here to tackle the big 6 questions and I’ve left my favourite one til last. If you can’t feel my passion then I may as well pack up my mood boards and go!! (Well that ain’t ever going to happen…)

1. “Does staging really work?”

First of all, let me give you a scenario, one of my favourites, and then I’ll answer that question truthfully and honestly.

What do the big players in housebuilding do when they want to showcase their homes for sale? They might:

1. Create CGI visuals of how the property will look once completed and dressed for sale.

2. Use photography of previous developments and similar housetypes as marketing material.

3. Build and stage a physical showhome.

They don’t do just one of the above, they do all of them.

The PLCs have all the funds in the world to go fully digital. They could easily rely on the best CGI or even virtual reality showhomes (and believe me, they’ve tested this). Yet what they keep coming back to, time and time again, is a real, physical showhome.

Something potential buyers (who are making one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives) can step into, touch, and experience. Somewhere they can use all their senses to imagine how they might live in the space.

And if you’re thinking, “Well that’s not me. I’m not a PLC! I don’t have millions. I’m only selling a handful of properties (maybe even just one).” - you’re missing the point.

Or maybe I haven’t explained it well enough, so here goes...

Staging works. And there’s plenty of evidence to back that up. Research from the National Association of Realtors (US) and several UK studies show that staged homes sell up to 50% faster and achieve up to 15% higher offers than unstaged ones.

But beyond the stats, what I see every week tells the same story. Staging isn’t “fluffy stuff”. It’s your best marketing tool. Let that sink in. How cool is that? You don’t need to guess how to appeal to people, or spend months testing Facebook ads and burning through a marketing budget.

You already have a powerful, proven marketing tool. You just need to implement it. Or get someone to do it for you.

Mic drop.

That said, staging isn’t a magic wand and it doesn’t work in isolation.

It works alongside a few other key factors and developers need to get these right for staging to have maximum impact:

1. A proactive agent.

2. Great photography.

3. A realistic sale price.

If all three are in place, and your staging is professionally done, you’ll have done everything within your control to give your property the best possible chance of selling and for the highest possible value.For more info. on this read our blog Four Essentials for a Quick Sale.

2. “What does staging cost?”

There are two factors to consider here: money and time.

1. Financial cost 

Professional staging, where you appoint a company to do the work for you, typically starts at around £2,000+ for smaller properties, rising to five figures depending on the size and quality of finish.

As a guide, think of staging as roughly 0.5%–1% of your asking price for a professional, high-quality result.

It’s also worth noting that staging will almost always cost less than your first price reduction. For example, if you try to sell an empty property and it sticks, your first price drop could be around 3–5%, which is £15–25,000 on a £500,000 property.

Now, let’s say you staged that same property from the outset instead of “testing the market” and putting it Rightmove empty. If staging cost you 0.75% (around £3,750), that’s significantly less than  that price reduction we discussed.

Staging should be viewed as marketing spend, not decoration. It typically costs around 0.5 – 1% of the asking price but can protect you from far greater losses if your property won’t sell. 

Couple that with the fact that staged properties sell up to 50% faster, and it becomes clear that the upfront investment is a smart strategic move.

2. Time costs  

We all know that time is the one finite resource, and staging properly takes a fair bit of it.

If you choose to do your own staging, and some people do,  here are the key things to consider:

Time and logistics

Staging takes time: planning, sourcing, deliveries, installation, and rubbish removal. Even if you already own furniture, coordinating it all while managing a development schedule can easily become a full-time job. Is it the best use of your time? Maybe you love the idea of doing it and it’ll bring you joy, in which case, go for it! 

Cost and cash flow

Buying furniture outright might seem cheaper, but when you factor in storage, maintenance, transport, and wear and tear, it quickly adds up. Professional staging companies spread those costs across multiple projects, which is why their pricing can actually be more efficient than it first appears. You’ll also get a far higher-quality product for your money.

Design consistency and target market

A common pitfall of DIY staging is designing for personal taste rather than the target buyer. The goal is to sell the property, not your own style. Keep your design aligned with who you’re marketing to; their aspirations, lifestyle, and price point.

Flexibility and reuse

If you plan to stage multiple developments, think ahead about how your furniture can be reused across different property types and sizes. Storage, transport, and adaptability are key to keeping DIY staging cost-effective.

Emotional distance

Finally, remember that staging is about marketing, not personal expression. It’s easier to stay objective when you’re not emotionally attached to the space - something professional stagers are trained for.

Done thoughtfully, self-staging can absolutely work. But the same principles apply: know your audience, plan your visuals, and treat presentation as part of your overall sales strategy, not an afterthought.

3. “Can buyers really not visualise a space?”

Correct. Around 9 out of 10 buyers can’t visualise how to use an empty room. It’s one of the reasons even well-built, beautifully finished properties sometimes sit on the market.

Empty rooms look smaller and feel lifeless. Staging instantly adds context and proportion, helping buyers understand how the space works in real life.

It might sound a little “woo woo,” but it’s genuinely the difference between “Could this be my home?” and “This is my home.”

4. “How quickly can you install?”

At WildKind Interiors, it’s usually within 7–10 working days, depending on the workload at the time. Every staging project is fully managed from start to finish and from inventory selection and logistics to installation and styling.

Developers sometimes assume staging will delay their launch, but in reality, it speeds up the sales process. So even if staging pushes your launch date back by a week, it’s worth it in the long run.

5. “What happens if the property doesn’t sell quickly?”

It happens, especially in today’s slower market. I’ve had clients whose properties sold within two weeks and completed in two months (at the time of writing that actually just happened).

But I’ve also had clients whose properties took longer because of market conditions or avoidable issues like pricing, photography, or agent engagement.

Sometimes it’s about external factors, too, like oversupply in a particular market segment (for instance, older apartments in Leeds city centre). In these situations, getting the presentation right and working with an agent who’s truly on your side is critical. 

The good news is that staging is flexible. If your property takes longer to sell, you can extend the hire for as long as needed or transfer the furniture to another development once it’s sold. I will never remove furniture from a property if the client needs it. 

And, the goal is always the same: to make sure your investment keeps working for you. Whether it’s a one-off showhome or a rolling pipeline of staged units, the model can adapt to fit your sales strategy.

6. “Why should I spend all this money when I can just stage the property virtually?”

I’ve saved my favourite question till last  and if you’ve read everything above about emotional connection and human experience, I’ve probably already answered it.

For anyone who doesn’t know, virtual staging is the process of adding digital furniture, decor, and finishes to photos of empty rooms using AI, to help buyers visualise a property’s potential without physically furnishing it.

Sounds brilliant, right? And it is… but here’s where I give you a bit of tough love.

STOP hiding your property behind virtual staging images.

Agents sell it to you because it’s an easy win. A few hundred pounds, and suddenly your listing looks slick, stylish, and eye-catching on Rightmove. What’s not to love?

Here’s the problem: what happens when the buyer actually walks into the property? That spark of excitement they felt online vanishes. The rooms feel smaller, colder, and emptier. The emotional connection is gone. And on some level, they feel misled. Even when that was never your intention.

I’m not making this up - this is buyer psychology! The emotional state created online doesn’t match the physical experience, and the brain immediately registers that mismatch.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Virtual staging is a fantastic marketing tool when used in the right context (for a buy to let property for example where physical staging doesn’t make financial sense, or for early pre-launch marketing). But it can’t and won’t replace physical staging.

So when your agent recommends it as the cheaper, easier option, remember: it’s not the same product. You’re not getting the same outcome.

What you really want is the best chance to sell your property (or properties) for the maximum value in the shortest time. And the way you do that is through physical staging.

Creating a showhome buyers can actually step into, feel, and connect with.

For all the reasons I’ve talked about above.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to selling or letting property, presentation isn’t optional, it’s part of the sales process. Staging gives buyers and agents something tangible to connect with. It builds confidence, emotion, and momentum; three things empty properties simply don’t have.

Done well, it shortens sales times, protects your margins, and helps you achieve the prices your build quality deserves.

So, does staging really work? Yes.

Does it work every single time? No. It’s more nuanced than that - but with the right price, photography, agent, and staging, you’ll have stacked the odds firmly in your favour.

Get in touch if you have any more questions or you'd like to work with us.

About the author: Louise Wynne has been working with house builders and property developers since 2006. Combining interior design and styling with her colour psychology expertise, Louise gets to the heart of her clients' requirements.