Why did it take 6 weeks and a price reduction for my agent to recommend a home stager?
It is not the job of the Realtor to decide if the home should be staged, it is the responsibility of the seller to decide. An agent should bring all of the information to the table to allow them to make an informed decision. Whether or not the seller decides to stage is their decision, but a stager should be brought up at every listing appointment.
“Why did it take 6 weeks and a price reduction for my agent to recommend a home stager?”
This is the question that a seller asked me as I walked through their home with them and talked about the changes that were necessary for their home to actively compete in the Indianapolis market.
The listing agent admits that they knew that the periwinkle plantation shutters probably needed to be painted but said nothing to the seller. He believed that the house was priced in a low enough range and with little inventory to compete against that making changes would be unnecessary. The house would sell without any home staging needed.
It’s not 2005 (and even then home staging was a good idea)
Homes are selling more quickly. Multiple offers are even becoming more commonplace – on homes that are priced well and show great. That last part is key because the fact is that there are still homes that are sitting on the market and not moving.
Buyers have greater expectations than ever before. They don’t want to buy someone else’s decorating choices. They don’t want to spend weeks painting, stripping wallpaper, swapping out light fixtures or other basic updates. Find out more on what’s an upgrade and what’s an update when selling your home.
Today buyers want move-in ready homes. Home staging is appropriate for sellers in all price points. A professional will know what recommendations will be cost effective based on the likely buyer and price point of the home and act accordingly.
Waiting to stage the house is like throwing the seller’s money away
When the seller asked me, ”Why did it take 6 weeks and a price reduction for my agent to recommend a home stager?” my best answer was to recommend that they ask their agent. Unfortunately this puts the agent in the place of having to rationalize how it is that they knew and worked with a home stager, had a feeling that there were changes that really needed to happen, but that the call came would only come after the home sat 6 weeks on the market and a price reduction that was significantly more than the cost of doing the repairs. How does an agent tell the seller that they thought the home wasn’t worth the cost of the home staging consultation? Let me rephrase that. How does an agent tell the seller that the value of equity in their home wasn’t worth the cost of the home staging consultation?
Now the seller has wasted dozens of showings, has taken a price reduction, lived with weeks of stress and work preparing both physically and emotionally for each showing, and in the end, still has to pay for the recommended changes – all because the agent didn’t give the seller the choice from the beginning of whether or not to bring in a home stager.
Now, how much do you suppose this decision will end up costing the listing agent? My guess would be that it will cost a happy customer and all of the potential referral business that has probably now been lost.
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Home Matters is a home staging company that offers services for both occupied and vacant homes. We work with all budgets and have received Angie's list highest rating for the past three years. Visit Home Matters website for more information.
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