Seller’s Desk · By Address District · · 7 min read
Should I Sell My Westport House Furnished or Empty? Following the Staging Survey, the Three Rooms and the 33-Day Clock
NAR’s 2025 staging survey found 83 percent of buyers’ agents saying staging helps buyers picture a home, at a median $1,500 for a staging service. Westport homes sold at 104.6 percent of list after a median 33 days in the three months through August 2026.
- Staging
- Furnished or vacant
- Listing photos
- Westport market
- Showings
Table of contents
- Key findings
- What do agents say staging does?
- Which rooms carry the weight?
- What can’t the survey tell a Westport owner?
- What does staging cost against a Westport price?
- How fast is Westport moving?
- What does a private sale change about staging?
- Methodology and limitations
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
A Westport owner getting ready to list often meets a moving question before a pricing one. The sofa and dining table can stay for the photographs and showings, or go ahead to the next house and leave bare rooms behind. The evidence does not settle it, but it narrows the choice to three rooms and to how each one looks in a picture.
This brief follows the National Association of Realtors’ 2025 staging survey through what agents say staging does, which rooms they rank, what it costs and who pays, sets those figures beside Redfin’s Westport numbers, then asks what a sale without showings changes.
The limits are plain, and they begin with the kind of evidence. The survey records agents’ opinions rather than measured prices, drew a 2.5 percent response rate and never compares a furnished house with the same house empty. The brief puts no figure on what furniture, staging or bare rooms would do to a Westport price.
Key findings
- In NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 83 percent of buyers’ agents said staging made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property, and 26 percent said it affected most buyers’ view of the home (NAR, May 2025).
- Twenty-nine percent of agents said staging raised the dollar value offered by 1 to 10 percent, and 49 percent of sellers’ agents said it cut time on market (NAR via GlobeNewswire, May 2025).
- Buyers’ agents ranked the living room at 37 percent, the primary bedroom at 34 and the kitchen at 23 as the most important rooms to stage, with the median staging service at $1,500 (NAR via GlobeNewswire, May 2025).
- Only 21 percent of sellers’ agents staged every listing, and 10 percent staged only homes that were difficult to sell (NAR, May 2025).
- In the three months through August 2026, Westport homes sold at 104.6 percent of list after a median 33 days, and 52.9 percent sold above list (Redfin, 2026).
What do agents say staging does?
It helps buyers see the house, though not every buyer. Beyond the 83 percent who said staging helps buyers visualize the property, buyers’ agents split on how far it reaches.
How staging affected buyers’ view of the home, per buyers’ agents
Asked how staging lifts value, 32 percent of buyers’ agents pointed to decor that matched buyers’ tastes and 31 percent to buyers being readier to tour a home they had seen online. On the selling side, 29 percent of agents reported a 1 to 10 percent rise in the dollar value offered, and 49 percent of sellers’ agents saw shorter time on market, 30 percent slightly and 19 percent significantly.
These are impressions, not prices. If 29 percent reported offers higher by 1 to 10 percent, 71 percent gave some other answer, and the survey never measures a sale. Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist, framed the case as habit, noting that the typical seller “resides in their home for 10 years before selling” and may overlook what a buyer will notice. NAR’s November 2025 profile has since put the typical tenure at a record 11 years.
Source National Association of Realtors, May 6, 2025, report page and release. Agent survey results, not measured sale prices.
Which rooms carry the weight?
The living room, the primary bedroom and the kitchen, in that order for buyers’ agents.
| Room | Buyers’ agents ranking it most important | Sellers’ agents who stage it |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | 37% | 91% |
| Primary bedroom | 34% | 83% |
| Kitchen | 23% | 68% |
| Dining room | not reported | 69% |
| Guest bedroom | 7% | 22% |
Table 1. Room rankings from buyers’ agents and staging rates from sellers’ agents. Source, National Association of Realtors via GlobeNewswire, May 6, 2025.
For an owner moving out before the sale, the table is a short list. Three rooms lead with buyers’ agents, the guest bedroom trails at 7 percent, and if furniture has to leave in stages, the rooms at the bottom can empty first.
Source National Association of Realtors via GlobeNewswire, May 6, 2025. Rankings are agents’ views.
What can’t the survey tell a Westport owner?
The answer to the question owners actually ask. The survey compares staged homes with unstaged ones, and staged usually means edited, with pieces chosen so rooms read clearly. It never sets a house shown with the owner’s own furniture against the same house shown empty.
It does suggest a test. Buyers’ agents called photos highly important at 73 percent, ahead of physical staging at 57, videos at 48 and virtual tours at 43, and photos also led on the sellers’ side at 88. Most sellers’ agents, 51 percent, did not stage at all but told owners to declutter or fix faults, and the most common advice was decluttering at 91 percent, cleaning at 88 and curb appeal at 77. An owner’s furniture passes if each room reads cleanly in a listing photograph.
Source National Association of Realtors via GlobeNewswire, May 6, 2025. The survey does not compare furnished and empty homes.
What does staging cost against a Westport price?
Very little in proportion. The median staging service cost $1,500 nationally, and $500 when the seller’s agent did it.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Westport median sale price, three months through August 2026 | $2,448,380 |
| Median national cost of a staging service | $1,500 |
| Staging cost as a share of that price | 0.06% |
| 1% of that price, the low end agents reported | $24,484 |
Table 2. Hypothetical arithmetic on Redfin’s Westport median and NAR’s national staging cost. Not a prediction of any offer.
If staging produced only the low end of what agents reported, the gain would be about 16 times the bill. That is arithmetic on impressions, not evidence of a return, and no Westport staging quotes were available. Payment varies too. Twenty-six percent of sellers’ agents said it depends, 23 percent offered to stage themselves and 17 percent said the seller pays.
Source National Association of Realtors via GlobeNewswire, May 6, 2025, and Redfin, accessed Oct. 2026. Arithmetic on stated figures.
How fast is Westport moving?
Quickly. Redfin’s figures for the three months through August show 128 homes sold, up 8.7 percent, at a median of $2,448,380, up 18.1 percent. The median home spent 33 days on market, three fewer than a year earlier, and sold at 104.6 percent of list, with 52.9 percent selling above list. Only 13.9 percent had a price drop, down 6.5 points, and Redfin’s summary says Westport homes receive five offers on average.
A house that sells in about a month has a short window to make its case, and the photographs and first showings fall inside it. That window is where furnished or empty gets decided.
Source Redfin Westport housing market page, accessed Oct. 2026. Redfin’s own measures, which differ from brokerage reports.
What does a private sale change about staging?
It removes the question. Address District purchases from owners without asking for staging, deep cleaning or repairs, and it holds no showings or open houses. A member of the team reviews the house as it stands, perhaps asking for a visit. The written offer that follows carries no obligation and no commission, the buyer is identified to the seller in writing, and the closing waits for a date the owner picks, weeks or months out, so the furniture can stay until moving day.
The trade-off is the one the Westport numbers show. A well-presented listing in a market where more than half of homes sold above list can draw competing offers, and a private sale produces one. The owner weighs that against the work and exposure of preparing and showing the house.
Source How Address District buys homes directly, with Westport figures from Redfin as cited above.
Methodology and limitations
Staging figures come from NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Staging, sent to 49,806 Realtors in February 2025, with 1,266 usable responses, a 2.5 percent rate. They are national agents’ reports, not sale records. Westport figures come from Redfin’s rolling three-month data, which was not independently verified.
Table 2 is arithmetic on a national cost and a local median. The brief forecasts nothing and puts no value on what staging, furniture or bare rooms would do to any Westport price.
Conclusion
The record supports a few points. Agents widely believe staging helps buyers picture a home, a minority report higher offers, the median bill is small beside a Westport price, and three rooms carry most of the weight. Westport homes have been selling in about a month, above list.
It does not settle furnished against empty or price the effect of staging. Preparing the house for a listing or selling it as it stands in a private sale is the owner’s decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does staging raise the sale price?
The survey reports agents’ views. Twenty-nine percent said staging raised offers by 1 to 10 percent, and no sale prices were measured.
Which rooms should I stage if I move out first?
Buyers’ agents ranked the living room, primary bedroom and kitchen highest, at 37, 34 and 23 percent.
Is my own furniture as good as staging?
The survey does not compare the two. A practical test is whether each room reads clearly in a listing photograph.
Who pays for staging?
Arrangements vary. Among sellers’ agents, 26 percent said it depends, 23 percent stage the home themselves and 17 percent said the seller pays.
Do I need to stage for a private sale?
No. Address District buys homes without staging, deep cleaning or showings.
Sources
- National Association of Realtors, May 6, 2025. 2025 Profile of Home Staging. https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/profile-of-home-staging
- GlobeNewswire, National Association of Realtors, May 6, 2025. NAR report reveals home staging boosts sale prices and reduces time on market. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/06/3075133/0/en/NAR-Report-Reveals-Home-Staging-Boosts-Sale-Prices-and-Reduces-Time-on-Market.html
- National Association of Realtors, Nov. 4, 2025. 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. https://www.nar.realtor/news/real-estate-news/nar-2025-profile-of-home-buyers-sellers-reveals-market-extremes
- Redfin, accessed Oct. 2026. Westport housing market. https://www.redfin.com/city/26700/CT/Westport/housing-market
Figures retrieved October 5, 2026. This brief is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Photographs are illustrative.
