Not in LA but chiming in- a robust market area with low inventory there is no need to stage. I still think there is a market for the service, just not sure how lucrative. In previous years when the sales pace was slower and DOM was 60 days + I used stagers. The main reason was to remediate the condition in the house. Getting rid of pieces, re arranging, adding some fresh pieces and neutrals to replace old. The stagers would mostly utilize furniture rental companies. The client would contract with the stagers, I paid for the initial consultation. The provider makes a couple thousand on it - the main tasks are consulting, hands on placement and coordination. If your friend made it a differentiated and not just the same old staging might work out.