Over the course of the past year, I have given several presentations on the subject of staging and pre-listing services. In several of these sessions, we've been asked for statistics (staged vs. non-staged homes) and I have to honestly say I am not always comfortable with providing them. Yes, they can help convince the non-believers, but really, how accurate and objective are these numbers?

 One staging organization, for instance, provides some pretty impressive stats. However, when you read the fine print, you find that the numbers cover a relatively low number of homes....and from studies conducted a year or more ago, when the market was, well, different!

 Other issues that affect stats:

 Price: All the staging in the world won't make much of a difference if the property is overpriced.

 Location: All the staging in the world won't make much of a difference if the property is located next to a refinery or a nuclear plant (yes, I've been called on one of these!).

 Condition: All the staging in the world won't make much of a difference if the property has an abundance of cosmetic and/or structural issues that the seller refuses to remedy.

 OK, I know I'm sounding redundant and I certainly don't want to underestimate the power of staging but the fact remains that we, as stagers, cannot control these factors. For instance, the last few vacancies I staged sold in just weeks, which makes my vacancy stats look great! However, I staged another vacancy that was on the market for several months before a dramatic price decrease finally attracted a buyer...and hurt my stats! I've even had other stagers confide that when asked for stats, they tend to offer only the "hits" and omit the properties that sat on the market for long periods of time due to price or location issues.

 My solution? Well, I don't have a perfect one. I, too, tend to focus on my successes, while explaining that price is a factor over which I have no control. And, I've learned to turn down gigs where I know that staging will not have an impact (see Location and Condition above!) because, ultimately, taking on an "unstageable" property will not only hurt my stats, but my credibility, too!