Survey Participants

• 81% Realtors
• 19 % home builders

1. Have you ever used the services of a home stager:

• 80 % said no
• 20 % said yes

This did not come as a surprise to me. I know home staging is relatively new to the real estate industry. As is true with any new product or service, people need to be educated in its benefits and results. Realtors and home builders are inundated with sales and promotional material from all types of service providers, so it is hard to know who can be trusted and who really is providing a beneficial service.

2. For those who answered "no" they have never used the services of a home stager:

• 56% said they would consider it
• 38% said they were undecided and
• 6% said they would not consider using the services of a home stager - no explanations were given.

I see this as enlightening. The majority of participates indicated they would consider using the services of a home stager with a lesser percentage indicating they were undecided. The smallest percentage of participants indicate they would not consider using the services of a home stager.

3. Home Staging -- an Effective Marketing Tool:

• 83% said yes
• 17% said they are undecided
• None of the respondents said false

I see this as surprising. The large majority of survey participants see home staging as an effective marketing tool, yet only 20% have ever used a home stager. Even though home staging is a relatively new service, I see Realtors, as a group, as very innovative and savvy when it comes to marketing their services and listings.

4. Home Staging as part of a marketing plan:

• 36% Always
• 30% Sometimes
• 24% Never
• 10% Seldom

Even though 83% of participants see home staging as an effective marketing tool, only 36% of participants always use home staging as part of their marketing plan. 30 percent use home staging as part of their marketing plan sometimes; 10% seldom and 24% never.

5. Home staging is only necessary at certain times relative to the market:

• 59% False
• 24% True
• 17% Undecided

This is good news indeed.

6. Home Staging is Unnecessary:

• 82% False
• 15% Undecided
• 3% True

The overwhelming majority of participants agree that home staging is necessary.  This is good news.  It has taken hard work and a stick to it approach to advance the home staging industry with win/win results for all. 

7. With regard to home staging being expensive

• 44% True
• 28% False
• 28% Undecided

It will take further work to get home sellers and Realtors to understand home staging is not about spending money but about making money.  Home Staging is about creative low cost solutions and not about how much money can be spent.

How cool is that? 

My husband and I had been anxiously awaiting the show since it was announced several weeks ago.

I really did enjoy the show and even though the property was huge so the job was huge -- I could certainly relate.  It felt so awesome to be watching someone on prime time t.v. do what I do minus the drama.

So many people watch HGTV -- I think it will definately  help people to understand the staging concept better.  I do have one concern though.  I hope that potential clients watching the show won't think that only multi-million dollar properties need to be staged or that the "typical" staging job will cost $40,000 like  the one on last night's episode did.  Seriously, I once had a potential client tell me she didn't have $2,000 to spend on staging her home.  I asked "why do you think it will cost $2,000?"  She said "well -- that's what it costs on Designed to Sell."  Go figure.

On another note -- I am happy to be blogging again.  I've missed reading posts and comments from all of the people I feel I've come to now on AR.   My schedule has been extremely hectic but there is more to it - I had to get back to blogging -- my husband has been named the President of a newly created Blogging Association. 

25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes, which was also a television program by the same name.

The #1 mistake: Failing to showcase your home and make cosmetic changes. To put it another way, failure to stage the home for sale is the worst mistake a seller can make.

Here's what the article had to say:

When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house and maybe hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture.

Staging is about decorating your house for the buyers' taste, not yours. A great place to start is with the front of the home and the main entryway.

Home staging is designed to increase the potential selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market.

Realtor, don't be guilty of allowing your seller to make what HGTV called the No. 1 mistake. Encourage them to stage the home. The follow article will help you overcome objections to staging homeowners may raise.

What is that - home staging?

It is the Realtor's job to educate their clients on home staging. Home Staging is a new industry that has emerged in residential real estate. It is the art of preparing a home for sale. Home Stagers are invaluable to sellers in providing guidance and needed information during the selling process. Home Stagers know what it will take for their home to meet or exceed a buyer's expectations.

I'm moving, why would I want to expend time and money on this place?

Why offer a home "as is" instead of "the best it can be". Even used cars are detailed before they are brought to the used car lot for sale. It only makes good sense to invest the most care in the house to be sold for the highest possible price. When a homeowner does not stage, they are cheating themselves and may be losing money in the process. Homeowners should not be "penny wise and pound foolish".

I can't afford home staging.

Often times, a home owner can't afford not to stage. Some people feel the cost of home staging is something only "rich" people can afford. The cost of home staging is always going to be proportionate to the property being sold. The other factors to be taken into account are the condition of the home and the amount of work the homeowner is willing to do themselves. Homeowners should not be misled into thinking they will have to spend exorbitant amounts to have their homes staged. Many people equate the cost of Home Staging with the cost of having an interior decorator "decorate" their home. This is not the case at all. Home Staging is the opposite of "decorating". Home Staging is about making money not spending money.

What is wrong with my house anyway that it has to be staged?

The way we live in our homes and the way we sell our homes are two different things. A trained Home Stager will show the home owner what is needed to optimize the home to compete in the neighborhood to sell. Sellers have to understand their homes are now "houses" that are a "commodity" to be sold. That "lived" in look is not what will attract top dollar.

We have been living here for years and it was good enough for us.

Often times a homeowner has lived in their home so long they are unable to see what a potential buyer will see. A Home Stager will provide the objective set of eyes needed to see the home as the commodity that will appeal to potential buyers. The value of the home needs to equal or exceed expectations of today's buyers. The buyers of today are a different breed than buyers in the past. Today's buyers need to have the work done for them. Nobody has time to consider buying a home that needs small updates or painting. A home stager makes this task easy by providing a step by step plan to accomplish the staging process.

Our neighbors didn't stage their home before putting it on the market.

Odds are, their Realtor did not have a Home Stager as part of their team. What a shame. Realtors who work with a Home Stager as part of their team are seen as more credible and professional as well as having more to offer to their clients.

Don't vacant homes show better than furnished homes?

The answer is a resounding no. With today's new open floor plans, the dining room is often defined with a light fixture. It is virtually impossible for sellers to understand the scale and proportion of a room with no frame of reference. Also, a potential buyer will have a tendency to focus on every little "flaw" when the eye has no furnishings or accessories to rest on.

I watch HGTV - I can stage my home myself.

We've all seen it -- a home that has been what I call "faux staged". It just falls flat. Knowing what to do to stage a home and actually doing it are two different things. Home Stagers generally follow several key principals but creativity, skill and training are the keys to a successful home staging job.

HGTV aired a segment on the top 25 real estate mistakes people make.  Are you ready?  Drum roll please!! -- The number 1 real estate mistake made by people is not "showcasing" or staging their home.

We knew it all along didn't we?

Amie

I was curious about the definition of Penny Wise and Pound Foolish because I feel that many homeowners would fit this description where home staging is concerned.  I looked up the definition and here it is as defined by GoEnglish.com Idioms:

"penny-wise, pound-foolish"

A penny is a small amount of money and a pound is a larger amount.  "Penny-wise, pound-foolish" is to be cautious (wise) with small amounts of money but wasteful (foolish) with larger amounts. Example: "We've worked so hard to save money that if we took a vacation now it would be penny-wise, pound-foolish." People sometimes worry about spending small amounts of money; then they carelessly spend much larger amounts. Example: "He spends very little on food during the week, then blows all his money drinking on the weekends. He really is penny-wise, pound-foolish."

I have met homeowners who say they can't afford any amount of money (even a small amount) to stage their home which is their largest asset (large amount).  So, those types of homeowners do fit the "Penny-wise, Pound foolish" definition.  They will be cautious with spending small amounts of money but wasteful/foolish when spending much larger amounts such as when their home languishes on the market. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with some of the Coldwell Banker agents in both the Mandeville and Covington, Louisiana locations this week.

These agents were among the most attentive and receptive of any agents I have had the pleasure to speak with.   I could tell they were truly happy to know there is a new home staging company in their area willing to take on the hard task of making a difference in their market.    Instead of being defeated and exhausted due to the state of  the market they work and live in they are keeping abreast of the latest trends and being creative about selling homes.  I could literally see their wheels turning as I spoke.

I applaud the agents who have been in the trenches, are still there and have no intention of giving up.  These agents are a shining example of the tough who got going when the going got tough.

I am very proud to formally announce my latest home staging venture.  The name of the company is Custom Home Staging.  I have partnered with Brent Cordell of Mandeville, Louisiana.  The Cordell name has been known for great furniture products and service for many years.  Custom Home Staging was founded based on the need, in the New Orleans and Northshore areas, for quality home staging services.  The real estate market in those areas can easily be described as turbulent with many homes being vacant and on the market for long periods of time.

Custom Home Staging is able to provide much more than basic home staging services.  Since each home is unique, we provide a variety of services to fit the homeowner's situation and budget.  In addition to providing customized home staging services, in the way of furnishings and accessories, we also provide a variety of other services including pre-listing home cleaning services, weekly cleaning services, and lawn care and maintenance for those homeowners that are absent and have moved on to their next home.  Financing of these services is also available.

I continue to provide staging services in owner occupied homes in the area as well.

Here is what a Realtor in Mandeville, Louisiana said about Home Staging by Amie:

"I used Amie for my listing in The Reserve Subdivision in Mandeville.  This property had been vacant and on the market with another agent for around 15 months when I took it over.  The sellers were very open minded and took my advice on some updates and to stage the house.  Since the living room did not feature a fireplace;  I needed the buyer to be able to visualize the flow since most of the living area was in the keeping room.  After Amie staged it I got a good reception at the open house.  It took 45 days for the first real buyer to see the property. That buyer bought it!  Thanks Amie" 

Carol Miramon, Realtor
Real Estate Resource Group      
CarolSellsHouses.net

Inevitably, the first question I am asked by Realtors and home owners is "What does staging cost?" I know the answer they are looking for is the dollars and cents amount of my staging services.  But the answer they really need to hear has nothing to do with that amount.  They really need to hear what it will cost not to stage.  Staging is not about spending money, but making money.

If homes are not staged it can cost much more than the actual dollars and cents of staging.  Here's how: 

• A prospective buyer will drive by and not want to go inside because the home lacks curb appeal;
• A prospective buyer will not see more than the first room of the home because it feels dark, cluttered and not large enough;
• A prospective buyer will see the home as dated and brand it a fixer upper to justify making a low offer;
• A prospective buyer will not make an offer at all;
• The homeowner will then make the first price reduction.

This is the true cost to the homeowner when deciding not to stage because they did not want to spend the dollars and cents.