"Penny Wise and Pound Foolish", that's what the realtor said about the Home Sellers. They are about to put an empty home on the market and their realtor told them it would help sell the home if they would have it professionally staged. So the realtor contacted several professional stagers, including myself, and asked for bids. After looking at the bids, the sellers determined the pricing was "just too much". I've yet to understand why home sellers don't trust the professional they hired to sell their home!!
Of course if these home sellers were to look at the statistics they would see that empty homes, on average, are on the market at least 2 to 3 times longer than furnished homes. 90% of all potential buyers cannot see themselves or their furniture in an empty home. Additionally there is a strange perception for most people and that is empty rooms in homes looker smaller than they truly are! Subsequently potential buyers often think their furniture won't fit in the home when in reality there is ample room. (I believe this is because they have no point of reference on which to base the size.)
If these sellers were to look at the statistics they would also see that, on average, home owners receive a return of four dollars ($4) for every one dollar ($1) they spend on staging. Studies over the last 5 years throughout the United States indicate that professionally staged homes sell for anywhere from 2% to 17% higher than unstaged homes.
AND, lastly, the cost of staging is ALWAYS less than the cost of that first (second or third) $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 price reduction!!
So, although these home owners are not going to ensure they have the advantage over their competition, the realtor loved our bid, the way it was presented and the pricing and will "keep our contact information" for the next home seller who does want that advantage. For us that means we did a good job!
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