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Sellers- Are you playing the Wait and See Game? 3 Reasons why you should Stage your house first!

By
Home Stager

Sellers- Are you playing the Wait and See Game before you Stage your house?  You know what I mean: "I'll put it on the market for a month and see what happens.  If it doesn't sell, then I might consider staging."

person waiting

Here are THREE REASONS why you should STAGE your house BEFORE you place that FOR SALE sign in your front yard!

 

1.  You can't sell a house if no one sees it!  And with more than 85% of Buyers beginning their search on the Internet, your MLS photos.... how you look can mean the difference between a Pass and a Viewing Appointment. Buyers are savvy enough to know that MLS listings with photos of nothing but exterior shots or photos of amenity areas and neighborhood entrances means the house probably wasn't "photo worthy".

group of people   Or, if you allowed photos of an interior that was, let us say, not very appealing, to be placed on the MLS or any other marketing avenues, then ask yourself... Do you really want to sell your house?  

    RESULT: Missed Opportunities for Appointments. 

2.  Once a Realtor (or Buyer)  has seen your house via a showing appointment or preview, that is how they will remember it.    

Yes, you can Stage it.  It's NEVER too late!  And, statistics show that you will have increased your chances for a quicker sale.  However what about the Buyers that have already seen your house, or the Realtors who saw your previously un-Staged home?  Will they return? 

     RESULT: Missed Opportunities with current Buyers and Realtors. 

3.  All things being equal, a Staged Home coupled with the right List Price typically will sell in a shorter amount of time, sometimes in less than 4-6 weeks!    

Ask yourself... Do you really enjoy making sure your house is model-home ready every day?  Isn't it worth the small investment in a Staging Consultation ?   In the time you've been waiting to see if your house would sell, and for less than the amount of your first Price Reduction, you could have staged your house. 

     RESULT: Taking advantage of every showing opportunity to sell your house!

 

Posted by

Kathy Streib
Retired Home Stager
and Interior Redesign

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Comments (38)

Judy Greenberg
Compass - Long Grove, IL
Compass- Long Grove -Buffalo Grove

I believe that you should be prepared the day the home gets on the market.  Great Staging, Great Pictures, and Great Price.  You only have chance to make it all work at the same time. 

Sep 18, 2010 03:16 PM
Lizette Fitzpatrick
Lizette Realty - Richmond KY - Lexington, KY
Lizette Realty, Lexington KY MLS - Kentucky Homes

I really do believe it is a great idea to stage the sellers home. Still I have had homes that looked great that still expire. You just can't afford not to do it though.

Sep 18, 2010 04:00 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Barbara- thank you for the "suggest" and hope the sellers soon get it!

Valerie- I love it "Waste and see" ... wasted money in holding costs!

Sally- I'm always amazed when I see some MLS photos.  You have to wonder what the Realtor or seller was thinking in allowing these to be used for marketing. 

Allegra- Re-blog away.  Good exposure for both of us and gets the word out to STAGE to more people. 

Gabe- you're so right.  Listen to your professional Realtor.  They will know what sells in your area and what a reasonable LP will be. 

Laura- Realtors can use this to help convince their sellers to stage. 

Sharon- there is no "dress rehearsal" for selling your house.  You have to take advantage of every showing. 

Judy- Yes, it needs to be ready to show from day one.  Find a professional Realtor and Stager first.  Both will be able to help you get your home market ready.

Lizette- Most Staging consultations are extremely affordable, so you're right, why not have a consultation from a professional stager and know that your home will be market ready!  

Sep 18, 2010 04:21 PM
Kerry Lucasse
eXp Realty - Urban Nest Real Estate Group - Atlanta, GA
Your Urban Nest Atlanta Real Estate Consultant

So true! I am so suprised how many people try to stage AFTER their home has been on the market for 2 or 3 months.  You need to have your best foot forward the moment you open the door to the public.

Sep 18, 2010 04:32 PM
Jimmy Gilley
Gold Star Realty - Niles, MI
(269) 362-4841 - Search Niles MI Home For Sale

Great post thank you.  The majority of your activity is within the first three weeks, so if you don't stage and go all out then you will miss the majority of your traffic.  

 

Sep 18, 2010 05:10 PM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Congrats on the Feature Kathy!! Your post is so right on. So many people tell me they will wait to see if it sells without the staging. Huh?? All the people that came through the house when it was a new listing will never come back. That is if they made it in the door at all.

Sep 18, 2010 05:36 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Kerry- Stagers need to work closely with Realtors to help educate Sellers.  Why waste the time?

Jimmy- So right!  There's nothing like having a stale listing.  Realtors and buyers forget about them and they get lost in the "pile" of other listings.

Shar- Thanks Shar! Don't know how to convince them but have to keep trying.  I know for myself when I've been a buyer, if I see a listing on the market for too long I wonder what's wrong with it. 

Sep 19, 2010 02:51 AM
Connie Tebyani
Platinum Home Staging, Inc. : RESA-Pro - Calabasas, CA
Platinum Home Staging, Los Angeles and Ventura County

HERE-HERE, Kathy!  So often, Sellers will play the "wait & see" game and THEN decide to do maintenance, upgrades or Staged AFTER Buyers in that prospective market have ALREADY SEEN IT and marked it off of their "list". - sad really

Sep 19, 2010 04:08 AM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

CONGRATS ON THE FEATURE!!! It's good to see you on the feature page again Kathy.

Sep 19, 2010 04:36 AM
Kathy Alexander
GreatStages Home Staging and Redesign - Vancouver, WA
Home Stager Camas WA, Home Staging Southwest WA

Kathy, if I only had a dollar for every time I have heard those words! I will have to remember Valerie's comment for future encounters. Great post and congratulations on your feature!

Sep 19, 2010 04:50 AM
Ginger Foust
Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA
Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Kathy, first congratulations on the feature, well-deserved!  Sometimes it seems that I hear those "we're going to wait and see"  for every consult and now I'd like to use the "waste and see" to get a reaction from sellers/realtors.  I think that will stick in the heads. 

Sep 19, 2010 08:05 AM
Rhonda Wilson
Revealing Assets - Home Staging Services - Edmonton, AB

Congratulations on the feature, Kathy!

Very well written!

It is simply a fact that the most eager, pre-qualified buyers are the ones who are chomping at the bit, and are the ones who see the new listings AS SOON AS they initially hit the market. Many of them have entered their "search criteria" into all of their regular listing sites, meaning that they receive those "alert e-mails" as soon as a new listing that fits their criteria is listed.

So, those "wait and see" sellers, if their product presentation is not up to snuff, have now permanently scared off THE MOST qualified and serious buyers in the market.

Great Post! Keep them coming!

Sep 19, 2010 09:31 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Connie- it really is sad. And no one enjoys having their house on the market, keeping it "show ready" every day. 

Janice- have you to thank I'm sure!!!!!  Just never know when those little "Feature" fairies will show up. 

Kathy- me too, I love it-- Waste and See!!

Ginger- I know most of us hear it all the time.  If only they would just "do it", then it wouldn't be "Waste and See".  PS thank you for your support.

Rhonda- thank you!  Very well put: "most eager, pre-qualified buyers are the ones who are chomping at the bit, and are the ones who see the new listings AS SOON AS they initially hit the market."  

     There's so much on the market, many buyers won't take the time to return to your listing. 

 

Sep 19, 2010 09:59 AM
Anna Dovger
Add Value Home Staging LLC, 281-704-6607 - The Woodlands, TX
Home Staging -The Woodlands, TX

Kathy, they DO IT ALL THE TIME. So well said. Congrats on featuring.

Sep 19, 2010 01:50 PM
Anonymous
AAvans

Kathy, you are sooo right!  Staging is, in my opinion, the MOST important thing a seller can do to sell their home!! 

Sep 19, 2010 05:35 PM
#33
Susan Laxson CRS
Palm Properties - La Quinta, CA
Realtor in San Diego, CA & Naples, FL

Kathy, well said and definitely helpful to our sellers - thank you for allowing us to repost this information!  ~ Susan

Sep 21, 2010 01:36 AM
Charlene Storozuk
Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON
Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Very good advice Kathy.  It really doesn't pay for a consumer to play that game.  It makes so much sense to invest in a home staging consultation and get it right the first time!

Sep 21, 2010 05:31 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Excellent tips Kathy and congratulations on your well deserved featured post!

Sep 21, 2010 11:54 AM
Lin Wetzel
Outstanding Staging - Stroudsburg, PA
People Prefer OUTSTANDING Properties! tm

Wow Kathy you nailed it with this post! Sellers need to put their best foot forward right from the start. Better late than never, if they "waited and saw." But 20-20 hindsight can be costly in both time and money left behind.

~ Lin

Sep 21, 2010 01:06 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Anna- Sellers play the waiting game and Realtors and Stagers have to educate them.

AAvans- Wow, please shout this out to the world. Staging is a great tool which when coupled with a realistic List Price and location will help to get your house sold. 

Susan- thank you.  Hope this post will help with your sellers.

Charlene- you're right it doesn't pay and in fact it "costs" sellers the longer the house sits on the market. 

Karen- Thank you so much.  You are still my "Ambassador" to ActiveRain since you are the first one I called when I was considering joining ActiveRain.

Lin- Thank you!  Yes, it's never too late to Stage but look at the buyers that they've lost, and the time they've wasted. 

Sep 21, 2010 03:35 PM