Don't budget staging as a percentage of list price; the two are not related. A $2 million home does not need ten times the staging of a $200,000 one. Staging cost tracks the size of the home and how much furniture and styling it takes to show well. As an illustrative range, professional staging in many markets runs in the low thousands of dollars for a typical single-family home, scaling with square footage, and a stager can quote the real number once they walk the space. The better question is whether to stage at all, and usually the answer is yes. Staging helps buyers picture themselves living there and makes awkward or empty rooms read as usable space, which tends to speed up the sale and support the price. We have seen staged listings draw multiple offers and sell over asking, and we think staging often earns its keep even on move-in-ready homes, because vacant rooms or dated furnishings can drag a strong house below what it should bring. Treat staging as a marketing cost that can pay for itself, and ask your agent what comparable staged listings in your area cost and how they performed before you decide.