You Do Not Have To Stage Your Listings

To stage or not to stage - that is the question . . .

You do NOT have to stage all your listings - only the listings you want to sell in half the time or less!

I would gladly pay as a Realtor (if I were not already a certified home stager) for a home staging consultation for an owner-occupied home, and get paid a commission at the closing table in half the time or less.  What about you?  Sounds like a "good investment" to me.

Several Realtors I work with repeatedly call after their listing has already been on the market 60-90-120 days or more.  I go to the seller's home, do my home staging consultation, which includes an interior redesign (most of the time), plus a full report listing a minimum of 40 items or more that we (the seller & I) did when I was there, and things to be completed ASAP.  Soon afterwards, the listing goes under contract.

Please tell me why Realtors wait months before calling a home stager for a consultation?  It makes no sense to me.  The "days on market" eat at the asking price.  The more days on the market - the more motivated the seller looks.  The longer the home is on the market, the seller become less motivated about keeping their house in "show home" condition.  And, in that length of time, there could be at least one or more price reductions.  Plus, the Realtor commission is based on the "selling price" not the "asking price," right?

Be proactive - make a home staging consultation part of your marketing plan vs. using a home stager as an "added value" after the home has racked up months on the market.

Staged homes sell 50% faster than non-staged homes (NAR, 2004).  What part of 50% faster don't we understand?