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16 Comments on Talk About Overlooking the Obvious!
Excellent post and you bring up some great points on why home-staging is so important. Thank you!
We have a great stager that does amazing work on our homes. Our sellers all want to buy their homes after she works her magic.
You do bring up some great points, Jill. I actually just sold a home because the house was staged and the buyer could see how they would put their own furniture in this home. However, the seller was not a person who would sweat paying for the staging. And in this economy with people barely getting out by the skin of their teeth or short-saling, it's a tough sell to stage!
With consultations beginning at around $125, is it REALLY out of reach for the homeowner to pay? Or even the agent at that price? I've seen homeowners really take to heart what we tell them during the consultation and their home ends up looking great. Granted-- not everyone can follow direction that easily and some homes need hands-on staging, but ANYTHING they do to improve the look of their home will help. It should have at least been considered!
Mark: Thanks for the support!
Laura: That's terrific--it really does make a difference!
Linda: I'm glad staging worked for your recent sale! While full-service staging can be a hurdle for financially stressed sellers, there are a host of other effective staging options that are affordable. Like Michele says, a consult is usually less than $200, and if the seller follows the advice, it can make a significant difference.
Michele: Thanks for mentioning that staging doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. We stagers are flexible and willing to work with whatever budget we have!
Jill - Yep yep yep. It's pretty sad that a realtor would suggest the iPad giveaway before suggesting a staging consultation. I would say a staging consult would bring more return on the investment towards selling the house than an iPad! But I believe that we will someday - as you so aptly put it - penetrate the consciousness of the average agent. There are so many of us out there doing exactly what you suggest: webinars, office presentations, etc. Great post!!
Jill, welcome to my world, up here in Hicksville. It does often feel like an uphill battle and SO-O obvious but that's clearly not the case. We just have to keep putting it out there as I know you do.
Jill--great post and it doesn't surprise me. It's a conversation I still hear a lot and we still need to educate and inform. One day I do hope staging will be mainstream and just a part of the normal process. Until then we have a lot of work to do.
It is amazing how many REAs still have blinders on! It doesn't have to cost a lot to Stage - and can certainly cost a lot less than a price reduction! Julie
Pamela: Thanks!
Ginger: And I thought it was more of an issue here in southern NJ, where folks are more conservative!
Janet: Hopefully the recent coverage on shows like Today and CBS Sunday Morning will help; but based on the figures they quote, we need to educate them too!
Julie: I think a lot of RE agents still think staging is only for high-end properties and don't realize that it can actually make the most dramatic difference on your average owner-occupied property. One day . . .
it is not reasonable to consider that the real estate agent pay for the consultation unless there is ample potential for them to reimbursed for that cost. With many more homes not selling in today's environment then sellers should be taking on more of that risk for themselves and showing their commitment to the sale.
Jill, that is pretty shocking, I agree! Reba, I have two agents who use me routinely for $150 consults, and I have to say it is a small investment for a) getting the house in shape to sell much more quickly; or b) a great way to get sellers to reduce their price rather than do all the work I sometimes end up having to suggest (like re-doing kitchens or baths)! Although I actually agree that since sellers primarily reap the benefits, they should be the ones to pay.
Reba: Although most real estate agents who pay for the staging consultation do so as part of their overall marketing plan for the home, the sellers pay for any actual staging. However, many real estate agents don't even suggest staging to their clients, even though it can markedly improve a home's appeal to buyers and reduce time on the market.
Amy: Thanks for your input!
Jill, great blog - it goes along with a post that I posted today along the same lines. Real Estate Agents often do not realize that they actually hurt their business more by not recommending a staging consultation. I had several home sellers call me directly saying how frustrated they are with their agent that they had not even been made aware of staging as an additional marketing tool. They only came across this out of desperation and wathing HGTV. I had even a couple of my clients change the agent because of this. Ouch!! I bet they should have suggested a consultation to this one client of mine, who sold the house 2 weeks after staging at over $1 million - missed out on a comission of $30,000 versus a $150 consultation - hmmm, I am just wondering....
We need to continually stageUcate, stageUcate, stageUcate! - A home staging consultation needs to be on the front end of a home sale that a home inspection is on the back end... Good post Jill!
Birgit: Great point about how the reluctance to recommend a staging consultant can actually work against real estate agents. I've spoken to many an agent at open houses where the homes weren't staged, and it wasn't even on their radar. Now that sellers are getting a bit more savvy about staging, I think they'll be asking their agents about it if they don't bring it up.
Karen: I couldn't agree more! Thanks for your comment!