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Property Pricing advice can be hard for sellers to swallow

Being a stager can put us in a "funny spot" with sellers.

After working in a seller's homes and transforming them in ways they never consider... sellers REALLY starts to TRUST us.

Stagers need to be very careful. While you may be asked... a stager should NEVER suggest what a property should be listed for or sold for.

Determining pricing is the Realtors job.

So, while it is not our job to advise a client on pricing of their homes... this information is good to know and understand. Basacilly, if asked, I ALWAYS advise a seller to listen to and trust in the professional advise of a Realtor.

Here are some tips I just came across...

TIPS FOR DETERMINING PROPERTY VALUES

A Sellers Property Market Value is NOT based on:

What is invested in the property
What they need to get out of the property
What it is appraised for
What the neighbor's property sold for
What the tax office says its worth
What it is insured for
Personal memories and treasures
The prices of homes the seller is moving to

TRUE Property Market Values ARE based on:

TODAY'S PRICE which is what the buyer is willing to pay.

And... TODAY'S PRICE is based on these 7 points:

Today's real estate market
Today's market competition
Today's financing options
Today's economic conditions
A buyer's perception of the property's condition
Location Location Locaction of the property
Normal marketing time

Sellers CAN control the following:

The price of the property that they ask for
The condition of the property (stage it!)
Access to the property

Sellers CAN NOT Control the following:

Market conditions
The motivation of their competition
The overall value (as described above)

Posted by Craig Schiller on 11/09/2006 12:13 PM

Comments (32)

home staging, staging advice, best practices, professional stagers, staging biz tips, tips, staging industry, good staging, illinois, chicago

Originally posted at: Real Estate Staging / Home Staging Blog: Property Pricing advice can be hard for sellers to swallow

32 Comments on Property Pricing advice can be hard for sellers to swallow

NOV

2006

Some sellers learn this on the third realtor

Sellers always believe that their house is 50% higher in value than what the current market conditions are. Educating the seller is key............

Craig, excellent info. I am especially impressed with your grasp of these tips. In the wise words of that great philosopher, Dirty Harry, "A man's got to know his limitations." When our clients ask us for advice or an opinion regarding something outside our purview, we need to defer them to another professional knowledgeable in that discipline.

I have trouble with the stubborn sellers - the ones who you show ALL the data and comps to, yet they still won't come around.

You're a great advocate for real estate agents - give your clients the basics, but reommend the agent for the $ evaluation. I think your don'ts are a good preparation for reality.

Good stuff but then your posts are always great! :-)

Craig, Do you need a job?? If this staging thing doesn't work out for give me a call:)

I love the simplicity of this post. I am going to incorporate some of these points into my listing presentation. I have some sellers that need to see a very direct approach like this, and I agree with your points about market value.

Craig, Thanks for understanding and trying to help the seller out. I had a seller that had to learn the hard way when his house would not appraise for the asking price and he had to drop almost $5000 or loose the deal. It was very hard for him to swallow but he did.

I love the part about the neighbors. Sure the neighbors house was a dump and yours is made of gold. That's why you want $$$ more!

I agree, Craig, that we should NEVER try to give advice about something that we know absolutely nothing about. We are not trained realtors - well most of us aren't - there are some realtors that are also stagers.... but we've 'been there, done that' conversation too many times! :)

We can only present the client with the best product possible within the constraints of what we are given to work with, and teach them how to maintain it during showings....and that's all!

Staging It Forward!

Val

I knew I smelled a Baby...TLW...ROAR!

Staging can make a huge difference. I remember taking clients to identical homes...the first one unstaged looked OK, but then the staged one...WOW! All of a sudden the client "got it." The potential was there on display.

Hey Craig,

Commonsense wins again. Good information. We should print it out or email it to all our "I ain't gonna budge" sellers.

Eileen... THAT was why I posted it. In the hopes you all could use it.

But I think it is a BETTER pro-active piece... I totally believe in "planting seeds".

Craig, LOVE that picture, and how perfectly it goes with your post!!

Great tips, and I like the way you presented them in such a simple manner - how can anyone not get that the way you laid it out there?!?!

Keep it SIMPLE!!

Ann Cummings

I think it is a hard thing for people to get. If you want $100 for a stock you bought for $120, but is now selling for $80 you are in trouble. You can only get what people are willing to pay.

I spoke to a group of Realtors just this morning about this exact point. At almost every home I have staged the homeowner has asked me for an opinion on pricing. I always say the same thing - I would take the advice of your real estate professionals. They specialize researching home prices and coming up with a market analysis. I tell the homeowner to trust their realtor - they really do know best. I don't give advice about pricing just like Realtors would not come in and re-decorate after I have staged the home.

Craig,

Absolutely true and the way it should be. Yet I can't help wonder how many stagers out there do give advice. I would venture a guess that some would.

BTW, the points you discuss about pricing are part of my pre listing package and I go over it with them when we meet.

I believe our time is very important. I had one seller who called me up to say that she had already talked to other realtors and know that homes in the area was going for $185K however, she stressed that she needed to sell her home for $235K. I inquired if she had done any upgrades to her home, which she said no. With that, I told her if she was not willing to go lower, that I was not able to help her and with that, we pretty much ended the phone conversation.

Hi Craig

This is a great Blog because so many times clients feel once their house has been staged then they have the right to ask for more money. While the home shows much better, the market may not warrant the price. I always tell my clients to listen to their realtor when it comes to pricing. It is not our job to sell their home but it is our job to give the realtor a better product to sell.

Staging It Forward...Phyllis

NOV

2006

A personal pet peeve is professionals I recommend giving real estate advice (albeit with good intentions) to my clients. I so appreciate you putting the onus of pricing back on the agent. They've done the research, know the market, and have hired or recommended you to get their client's home in tip top shape for best pricing. Why undermine their expertise by "playing" REALTOR?

Craig, great words of wisdom! At all my listing appointments prospective sellers receive my marketing plan which includes a staging consultation from a local gal that does a great job in helping sellers to get their homes into showing shape. After the seller completes all the tasks on the consultant's list then the home goes on the market. If the home does not sell we know that it's not do to condition it must be price. Some sellers are still reluctant to do a price reduction after a ton of showings, or no showings they start to wear down, a light goes on inside their head and they will come to realized that a price reduction is the only way to get a sold sign in their yard.

NOV

2006

Craig, I couldn't have said it better (I tried in an earlier post)!

To paraphrase you, "there is no such thing as an original idea." There is, however, a BETTER WAY to phrase it.. and you just DID exactly that. I'd like permission to include this info in my webpage.

The have said, "If you do get a buyer offering the higher price, when the appraisal comes in at what the REP advised you, the buyer is going to look at you to lower your price." What part of "appraisal" don't people GET?

I always tell people to trust their real estate professional. They are paying them to price the home properly. The REP obviously has great marketing sense because they are stepping up for a quality virtual tour, and pricing the home properly is even more important.

As David Spencer said (the very first person to comment on your post), "some people learn that on the third realtor."

Dawn Shaffer

NOV

2006

I've seen this battle before, when a seller thinks their house should be listed at a certain price and the realtor has a much different price in mind.

It all comes down to the seller's personal attachment to their home, a similiar problem we encounter in staging. People have to realize that their home is "a house for sale", not "their home for sale".

Why is it that when someone looks to trade their current car in for a new one, they invest time and energy to clean, polish and give it that new car smell. At the new car lot they often accept the "tarde-in" value with little to no comment. If only homeowners would apply the same priciples to selling their homes and trust the professionals!

NOV

2006

I always tell my clients that there are 3 things that are crucial to an expedient and profitable sale: Price, Condition, and Marketing.....you can't have one without the other two.

NOV

2006

Great blog Craig...the value of a home is only determined by how much someone is willing to pay...though some agents here use the " house appraised at $20,000 over asking price "... but you right it does not have that much to do with property market value.

LLoyd

David..so true! Hopefully we are either the 3rd Realtor or the Sellers wake up.

LLoyd

NOV

2006

Excellent Post! I could hear myself saying those very words to more than one seller. It's nice to hear those words as advice from someone else. It validates that what we've been telling sellers is supported in this valuable group of colleagues! Thanks for this Blog. Well written and well thought out!

Lisa Hammerstein

DEC

2006

Craig,

Happy Birthday! And this is a great article and thanks for submitting it to the Carnival of Active Rain!

It was a very tough category to judge and I had to read all the posts several times before I was able to pick a winner.

Keep up the great work!

Craig, Great post. One comment I make to my new clients while finalizing the listing agreement is "You may not hear what you WANT to hear, but I will always tell you what you NEED to hear"

MAR

2007

Actually the dumpy neighbors' house may bring down the desirability & thus price of your house.

Ouch!

Kathleen Lordbock

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Craig Schiller

Chicago, IL

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REAL ESTAGING, a nationally recognized leader in Staging.

Address: 131 South Lincoln Ave., Park Ridge, IL, 60068

Office Phone: (847) 384-9369

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