Is it better to market a house furnished or vacant?
Vacant, but it doesn’t make a huge difference. Don’t go through extra trouble of moving out so it can be vacant, but don’t make any effort to furnish a vacant house because somebody told you it will show better that way. If you have tenants, it’s better to get them out, clean it up, and show it vacant (unless it’s being marketed as investment property). Tenants almost always cause showing problems. NEVER let somebody move into your vacant house because they will “help with showings” or any other reason. You don’t need them – you only need a keybox. There are “home staging” companies that make a living furnishing houses to make them “show better”. The house will sell much faster if a seller reduces the price by whatever such a staging company would charge. Nobody buys an over-priced house no matter what furniture is in it. Builders furnish model homes when the home is also their office, but you won’t see them moving furniture in and out of their spec homes or inventory homes.
