We’re regular contributors to the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Real Estate Section. Our comments on how staging is never really an option.  

A good stager’s art will capture and appeal to the best possible buyers on a visual, visceral, and emotional level. Virtual staging isn’t enough, and you don’t want to be there for the letdown that a buyer would certainly have when discovering the home they’ve seen online is nowhere like what they imagined.

Sure, hiring a gifted designer and stager to transform your vacant property may seem expensive — why can’t I just buy a couch myself you may ask — but it is an essential ingredient in achieving a successful sale. Besides, staging is usually all-compassing because you’ll get the couch, the rug, the bedding, the art, and all that moving.

Staging will show people how they can change their lives by living differently and better than they do now. We cannot underscore how important this really is; forgoing staging runs the risk of costing far more than a staging fee with a reduced sale price.

We work many of San Francisco’s best stagers and designers as we collaborate with each of them on paint colors, art, furniture pieces but will also add our own personal touches like fresh flowers, scented candles, and high-end accessories to make a property that much more appealing.

Source: When do you recommend staging and when is it unnecessary?