Statistics
Home staging statistics: South Africa (2026)
Every figure on this page is traced to the organisation that published it, with a link to the original source and the year it was reported. South African figures come first; overseas research is labelled. We re-check the sources once a year.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-04.
The South African market
The average South African home takes 12 weeks and one day to sell, up from 11 weeks at the end of 2024.
Source: FNB Property Barometer, 2025
South African house prices grew 4.5% year on year in August 2025, the fastest annual growth in more than three years.
Source: FNB House Price Index, 2025
The average South African first-time buyer is 36 years old, with buyers aged 18 to 30 spending about R1.2 million and those aged 30 to 45 about R1.4 million.
Source: ooba Home Loans, 2026
The average South African home purchase price reached a record R1.6 million in the third quarter of 2025.
Source: BetterBond Property Brief, 2025
South African home-loan applications rose 14.6% year on year in the third quarter of 2025, their highest level since early 2022.
Source: BetterBond Property Brief, 2025
South Africa's residential property stock is worth just over R6.8 trillion, with freehold homes making up 80.5% of properties at an average value of R807,000, against R2.7 million for homes in estates.
Source: Lightstone Property, 2024
Sectional-title home values grew 3.8% year on year in mid-2025, marginally outpacing freestanding homes at 3.7% for the first time since the pandemic.
Source: FNB Property Barometer, 2025
Does staging sell homes?
Homes shown furnished in their listing photos sold for about 10% more than comparable empty homes, across more than 17,000 sales.
Source: US research: Bhattacharya et al., 2026
A pre-registered experiment with about 1,400 participants found that showing the same home fully staged raised buyers' willingness to pay by 6%, with the home's objective quality held constant.
19% of sellers' agents reported that staging increased the value buyers offered by between 1% and 5%, compared with similar homes that were not staged.
17% of buyers' agents said staging increased the value buyers offered by between 1% and 5%, while 41% said staging made no difference to the amount offered.
About half of sellers' agents said staging reduced a home's time on the market, with 30% reporting a slight decrease and 19% a great decrease.
Only 21% of sellers' agents staged all of their listings before sale; roughly half did not stage, instead advising sellers to declutter or fix property faults.
83% of buyers' agents say staging helps buyers picture a property as their own home.
Source: US research: NAR, 2025
Buyers' agents rated the living room the most important room to stage, at 37%, followed by the primary bedroom at 34% and the kitchen at 23%.
Photos and online search
52% of buyers found the home they bought online, against 27% through an agent.
Source: US research: NAR, 2025
83% of buyers who used the internet in their home search rated photographs a very useful website feature, more than any other feature, while 41% said the same of virtual tours.
78% of sellers say they are more likely to hire an agent who offers high-resolution photography.
Source: US research: Zillow, 2025
31% of buyers' agents said staging made buyers more willing to walk through a home they had first seen online.
Redfin found that homes around the US$400,000 mark with professional photographs sold about three weeks faster, and for more than US$10,000 relative to their list price, than comparable homes with amateur photos, in a 2013 study.
Source: US research: Redfin, 2013
In the same Redfin analysis, listings with the sharpest 10% of photos sold at or above list price 44% of the time, against 13% for listings with average photo sharpness.
Source: US research: Redfin, 2013
A study in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics found that sale prices rise with the number of listing photographs, though at a decreasing rate.
What staging costs
A professional physical staging service costs a median of about US$1,500 per home.
Source: US research: NAR, 2025
How to cite these statistics
Name the original source shown beside each figure, for example FNB Property Barometer, 2025. If this page helped you find a figure, a link back to it is welcome but never required.
Statistics we checked and chose not to use
The figures below circulate widely in staging marketing. We tried to trace each one to a primary source and could not, so we hold them out of every page on this site. If you are writing about staging, we suggest checking them before repeating them.
"Staged homes sell 75% faster."
No primary study exists; the figure circulates only in vendor marketing citing other vendors, in variants of 73%, 75%, 88% and "3x faster".
"Staged homes sell 73% faster." (attributed to RESA)
No RESA survey or methodology document produces the figure; the circulating backstory has no source document, and RESA's own published data reports different metrics.
"Only 10% of buyers can visualise an empty home."
No underlying study; variously attributed to unnamed experts with no traceable survey.
"A Century 21 study found staging raises offers."
No such study can be located; Century 21's published research covers buyer attitudes, not staging outcomes.
"A Sotheby's study proved staging works."
Phantom citation; no such Sotheby's study is traceable.
"A Coldwell Banker study found staged homes sell 6% above asking."
No original report, methodology, sample or date is locatable; only secondary blogs citing each other.
"Listings with more photos get X% more views on Rightmove."
No published Rightmove study produces such a figure; Rightmove's actual published research concerns price positioning, not photo counts.
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