CSP Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to NAR's Profile of Home Staging, what percentage of buyers' agents reported that staging made it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home?
- 47%
- 61%
- 77% (Correct answer)
- 82%
Correct answer: 77%
NAR research consistently reports approximately 77% of buyers' agents say staging helps buyers visualize the home as their own.
Question 2: A stager wants to determine which paint colors most increase perceived room size. Which research design best isolates the effect of color alone?
- A retrospective survey of past clients
- A controlled experiment varying only wall color across identical rooms (Correct answer)
- A cross-sectional study of multiple staged homes
- A case study of one successful staging project
Correct answer: A controlled experiment varying only wall color across identical rooms
A controlled experiment that changes only the independent variable (wall color) while keeping all other factors constant provides the strongest causal evidence.
Question 3: Days on Market (DOM) data is best used in staging research to measure:
- The cost-effectiveness of furniture rentals
- The relationship between staging investment and sale speed (Correct answer)
- Buyer demographic preferences
- Neighborhood walkability scores
Correct answer: The relationship between staging investment and sale speed
DOM data quantifies how long a property sits on the market, making it the standard metric for evaluating whether staging accelerates sales.
Question 4: What is the primary limitation of relying solely on anecdotal evidence when advising clients on staging ROI?
- Anecdotes are always fabricated by agents
- Individual cases may not represent typical outcomes across diverse markets (Correct answer)
- Anecdotal evidence is prohibited by real estate licensing boards
- It is too expensive to collect anecdotal data
Correct answer: Individual cases may not represent typical outcomes across diverse markets
Anecdotal evidence reflects individual experiences that may not generalize, so staging outcomes can vary significantly by market, price point, and property type.
Question 5: A stager reviews MLS data showing staged homes sell for 5% more than unstaged ones. Which factor most threatens the internal validity of this finding?
- The MLS uses too many data fields
- Sellers who stage may also make other improvements that raise value (Correct answer)
- The data was collected over 12 months
- Buyers prefer staged homes aesthetically
Correct answer: Sellers who stage may also make other improvements that raise value
Confounding variables — such as concurrent repairs or upgrades — may explain the price difference, not staging alone, undermining causal claims.
Question 6: Which statistical measure is most useful for understanding the typical staging investment-to-sale-price ratio across a large dataset?
- Mode
- Range
- Median (Correct answer)
- Standard deviation
Correct answer: Median
The median is preferred over the mean for skewed financial data because it is not distorted by extreme high or low outliers.
Question 7: When a staging report cites a study with a sample size of 12 homes, a well-trained stager should:
- Accept the findings as definitive since real estate data is scarce
- Treat the findings as exploratory and seek corroborating evidence from larger studies (Correct answer)
- Discard the study entirely because small samples are useless
- Apply the findings only to luxury properties
Correct answer: Treat the findings as exploratory and seek corroborating evidence from larger studies
Small samples can provide directional insights but lack statistical power, so findings should be treated as preliminary until confirmed by larger research.
CSP Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2
According to NAR's Profile of Home Staging, what percentage of buyers' agents reported that staging made it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home?