Buying and selling
The Art of Staging
For Arushi Kapoor, every home is a potential gallery space. She draws on her network of gallerists and makers to stage houses, creating distinctive site-specific installations that showcase a home and its potential.
“When we walk through a property, we identify and measure potential art walls and determine the possibilities for each room,” says Kapoor, who considers a property’s distinct architecture, vibe, and materials, with an eye toward balance.
“If it’s a modern white-walled house, we add a bit of character. If the space is cavernous, we add larger pieces to make it feel full. A Midcentury Modern home with deeper tones, wood trim, stone, and tile will have a lot of texture, so we balance that with smaller pieces.”
Unlike an actual gallery show, Kapoor’s efforts are aimed at a much smaller audience: the buyer. Whether bachelor pad or family complex, she identifies the ideal resident and then chooses artwork to inspire and suggest possibilities.
“It’s hard for most people to visualize living in a home without actually seeing it,” Kapoor explains. “Good art staging actually gives buyers a sense of the possibilities of living in a space. It personalizes to a level, but it’s not personalized to a person.”
Kapoor’s elevated approach to staging illustrates how taking a savvy buyer-centric approach to preparing a home for market can advantage sellers.
“Staging has always moved the needle,” explains Max Kuhl, Chief Growth Officer at Notable, a real estate fintech company offering ReFrame, a pay-at-close loan funding staging costs. “However, we are seeing more staging companies and higher staging investments; sellers are investing more in better quality and higher-tier proposals.”
And it goes beyond just staging. Markets are rewarding move-in-ready properties— often with buyer-attuned updates—and skipping “as-is” listings. It’s no wonder: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is running above 6%, according to Freddie Mac, and construction costs rose steadily at 3% in 2025, with a 2.2% jump in July 2026 alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We see more than 80% of buyers wanting a turnkey property, not just ‘good enough,’ but something that is move-in ready on day one,” Kuhl says. “Buyers do not have as much cash, rates are high, and no one wants to invest after they purchase, even if they have the funds.” However, a thoughtfully upgraded, well-presented home is an invitation—one that showcases a home’s distinctive character while still leaving buyers room to imagine themselves living there.
“Good art staging actually gives buyers a sense of the possibilities of living in a space. It personalizes to a level, but it’s not personalized to a person.”
Arushi Kapoor
Founder, The Agency Art HOuse
Gauging Buyers First
“You can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to preparing a home for sale,” says Amorah Sandberg, Chief Revenue Officer at Notable. “The question shouldn’t be ‘What does every buyer want?’ It should be ‘What does the buyer for this home and this market want?’” Sandberg advises taking a balanced approach when preparing a home for sale, preserving a home’s character while still upgrading to meet the competition.
By beginning with their own micro-neighborhood, sellers can prepare a competitive market analysis based on recent nearby sales and gauge what’s most resonant with likely local buyers. “If recent sales had strong curb appeal, updated kitchens, or new flooring, dated versions of those features may garner lower offers,” Sandberg says. “Dated kitchens and bathrooms become more important when they make the home feel significantly behind competing listings.”
Right-Sizing Preparations
Honing in on a specific buyer profile helps sellers prioritize their staging budget and identify which improvements will yield the best return on investment. “One of the biggest mistakes is renovating to our own personal style preference instead of focusing on what buyers actually value,” says Sandberg, who suggests sellers consider “right-sized preparations.” Sellers should shift toward improvements “that help a home compete without overimproving. The goal is to identify what buyers will notice and value, rather than spending money on upgrades they won’t pay more for.”
While those right-sized preparations can sometimes involve larger investments, such as updating kitchens or bathrooms, don’t underestimate simple fixes. “Often light, cosmetic improvements have the biggest impact,” says Kuhl. “Painting is huge; a property needs to look clean and warm. Working with an experienced staging company and commissioning high-quality photography and videography also drive strong returns on investment.”
• 2026 Global Survey
of agents say in their experience, professional staging can lead to higher sales prices.
Understanding the Value of Character and Personalization
While overpersonalization can delay a sale, in some markets, particularly large coastal cities, light personalized touches can pay off. In cities like Berkeley, where 22.14% of city agents have used ReFrame, and Beverly Hills, where almost 14% of local agents have used the product, preserving historic character pays off. “In a market like Berkeley, original architecture details and period character can be a major selling point,” Sandberg says. “Stripping those away could actually hurt a home’s appeal.” With ReFrame adoption rates ranging from 4% to 10%, Seattle, Bay Area enclaves like Alamo and Los Gatos, as well as Pasadena and Studio City, also attract buyers looking for some character. “Buyers in the Bay Area, NYC, South Florida, Los Angeles, and Seattle tend to be looking for something that stands out and catches their eye,” says Kuhl. “In those markets, we see much more personalization and specification paying off.”
In new-housing hotspots, buyers tend to gravitate toward tried-and-true blank-box staging. In Texas and Florida—the top two states for new construction according to US Census data— buyers are drawn to an empty canvas that doesn’t feel totally vacant. “In markets dominated by newer construction, buyers have very different expectations around finishes, layout, and overall condition,” says Sandberg. “They want a home that feels move-in ready. Mostly neutral paint colors, decluttered spaces, matching fixtures, and good staging tend to appeal to the broadest audience because they allow buyers to picture themselves in the home.”
How Savvy Staging Recoups Investment
Skipping the investment in good staging comes at its own cost. “Money is one of the biggest reasons sellers skip prelisting improvements, and it affects the outcome,” Sandberg explains. “A dated home or one that needs obvious repairs gets less interest, sits on the market longer, and creates leverage for buyers to negotiate on price.”
In fact, nearly 80% of The Agency brokers around the globe surveyed for The Red Paper say professional staging leads to higher sales prices.
ReFrame’s adoption numbers suggest that message is landing. With 1,874 agents enrolled, it has approved roughly US$3.2 million in loans for sellers since July 2025, and the loans’ popularity among agents continues to grow. “For every US$1 invested in presale home improvements, we see an average US$4 return for homes that use this program,” Sandberg says.
“Once an agent uses it and sees its impact on the home sale and seller experience, the second and third applications come much faster.” Kuhl estimates ReFrame’s initial US$3.2 million in loans has helped generate US$14.4 million in returns for customers. “On average, they’ve gotten US$45K back for every US$10K they spent,” he says.
Whether blank-box or out-of-the-box, smart buyer-centric staging can have an outsized impact, reaching potential clients in unexpected ways. For Kapoor, bridging the worlds of art and real estate provides exposure that spreads well beyond traditional outreach. “After we stage a home, we provide the photos to artists and galleries, and then they post and repost those photos, creating a whole secondary marketing channel for a property,” explains Kapoor. “We also host open house meets and gallery-style opening nights at the house. This markets the property to art collectors who might be interested in coming.”
Sometimes, that reach comes back around in ways no one could have planned. “Recently, I got a call from a gallery that helped stage a house. The buyers had walked into their gallery because they loved the art that had been on display at the staging,” Kapoor says. “It was a bit like kismet. Our goal is to make the artwork so perfect for the property that if someone wants to buy all the art, they’ll be very happy with it. So this was such a nice full-circle moment.” ■
