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The secret truth about Home Staging Statistics - 0.4% - the truth is in the numbers.

This is a very different post about home staging statistics. These home staging statistics are irrefutable, and highlight the secret little truth about home staging and the real estate industry that no one seems ready to talk frankly about on the record.

The June 2008 edition of the Realtor Association Magazine is received by all Realtors in the United States, and contains a featured article "10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable".

Surprisingly, this article, read by Realtors nationwide fails to make a single mention of home staging, preferring to focus on the obvious selling preparation tasks ranging from small repairs to better wattage bulbs.

If this is the opinion of the real estate industry magazine, is it any wonder that home staging remains in the real estate shadows?

How could this happen? If we leave real estate industry magazines aside, how could the majority of Real Estate Agents still not know about home staging given the numerous HGTV shows on the home staging, the exhaustive marketing by the home staging community, and weekly home staging presentations at real estate brokerages nationwide?

Though home staging has been an established practice within the real estate industry, we are surprised to find that less than 10% of South Florida Real Estate Agents that we meet have ever mentioned the need to stage a home for a faster and/or more profitable sale, to their home sellers.

To investigate this statistic, we did a little "home staging statistics" research. (Hardly scientific, but enlightening nonetheless.)

SHOW ME THE NUMBERS. How are Real Estate Agents communicating the home staging message to their sellers? Do they simply cut and paste or are they trusted advisors?

A Google internet search for the term "10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable" produced more than 550,000 results.
- Most were real estate agent websites aimed at home sellers nationwide.
We extended search to include the terms "10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable" *and* "home staging",
- There are 22,000 web page results on real estate agents websites aimed at home sellers.
- Yet when you search for "home staging", there are 2.3 Million web pages returned.

SO WHAT? WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

Sadly, interpreting the results;

Less than 0.4% of real estate agents believe in updating their website to communicate the importance of home staging to their sellers as one of their top tips for selling a home.
Most simply cut and paste web content they find elsewhere, without improving it to include their value added comments.
Yet, many more claim to talk about home staging to their clients - hardly convincing.

WHAT DOES THAT NUMBER MEAN TO ME, the real estate agent / the seller?

It means that there will be a lot of unhappy sellers. These sellers are getting less than the level of service they should be getting, and their homes are sitting on the market. There is no commission for an expired listing and unhappy sellers find new agents and are not a good referral source.
Conversely, it means there are a small percentage of real estate agents that are leveraging home staging, selling their listings, and consiquently, they have happy sellers.
It means that sellers have had to educate themselves on the home selling process and are seeking out home staging aware real estate agents. Real estate agents need to mention home staging during their listing presentation or sellers will find an agent that does.

From the numbers above, it is clear that home staging has a long way to go before it is adopted by the real estate community at large.

Perhaps this explains why over 75% of our inbound home staging inquiries come from educated home sellers. These sellers have taken the preparation of their home and it's market presentation upon themselves.

This is an increasing trend, and we are happy to refer these sellers to ‘home staging aware' real estate agents when they request a referral.

Contact us to join our ‘home staging aware' real estate agent group.

READERS - WHAT ARE YOUR HOME STAGING STATISTICS? Let us know below.

South Florida's Premier Home Staging Professional Services Company.

http://www.opendoorstaging.com

Have us present at your brokerage or organization.

http://www.opendoorstaging.com

Have us present at your brokerage or organization.

Posted by OpenDoorStaging.com - South Floridas Premier Home Staging Co 866-6STAGE1 on 06/09/2008 08:34 PM

Comments (34)

home staging aware, home staging statistics, home staging stats, south florida home stager, home staging fort lauderdale

Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...

34 Comments on The secret truth about Home Staging Statistics - 0.4% - the truth is in the numbers.

JUN

2008

That's just plain scary.

~michelle

Many of the realtors I run into are either doing it themselves (some actually can do it!), or say they are slow converts. Fortunately I have two that are believers - but they have had to pay for the jobs because the sellers aren't on board.

I still get far more jobs from sellers that seek out my services that from Realtors recommmending them.

I work with quite a few agents but I agree with Kathleen, the majority of clients are sellers. So education is still our biggest job, eh?

Ditto - more calls and jobs from sellers versus Realtors. Maybe with the market Realtors are afraid of scaring their clients away by mentioning the added expense of staging. Of course, the sellers are missing an opportunity to make more from their investment.

LOTS more Home Owners v.s. Realtors are contacting us for Staging. However, around here anyway, MANY Realtors tout that they themselves will "stage" as part of their listing package. What we have found though, is that many Homw Owners DON'T LIKE having just one opinion, they actually like having more than 1 professional opinion.

JUN

2008

THIS is a great post, the research and irrefutable results speak for themselves. Realtors don't want to do things if they think that they'll have to pay for it. That is fear #1, second, if they don't have to, they don't want to do something new until the competition does it then they ALL will follow suit. SO keep one by one getting those Realtors on board and the tipping point will come.

Nope, not for me. 95% of my business comes from realtors who bring me in as their marketing partner. The is the preferential position for me: a professional who is part of the team. I'm constantly fighting consumers' cynicism that stagers are simply (as Craig Schiller puts it so wryly) "Dolly Decorator coming in to fluff a pillow"!

I should mention that I market exclusively to realtors. If consumers find me via my web marketing, that's fine, and we'll do what we can to help. But I find that is a hard way to build a business - no repeat business, no penetration.. all you're building is distribution. Plus, giving out referrals makes realtors squirrely, I find. They want to know who else you're referring to, and if it's in the same office... oy!

But take me in context. I run a small, niche business - I've only done 33 houses so far this season. Talk to the volume traders like Linda Barnett and Melissa Marro who are up in the 70s for 2008 so far. They're the people who can tell you a whole 'nother story!

PS - Ditto on Terrylynn's comment. Thanks for doing the research. I'd love to talk to you more about your metric methodology, other things you track, how you keep track, etc.

Thank you to all for your comments - it mirrors what we see here in South Florida with respect to home staging.

Marketing to real estate agents is a large part of our marketing strategy, and it has been successful, yet the number of home sellers calling us for home staging services far outweighs the number of real estate agents calling by 4 to 1.

Referrals are at the core of the real estate business and works both ways for everyone. It is time that real estate agents stop being hesitant and embrace home staging referrals before some one else in their office does. There are plenty of referrals to go around given the numbers of callers that we get. ;-)

Every market is different I am sure, I guess home staging has a firmer foot hold in other parts of the nation.

Good luck to you living in those areas, and for those of us that have to try a little harder - good luck to you also.

Akanke.

PS. Catch us on the RealEstateRadioUSA show on Friday.

Akanke: Those are scary stats, which means we have to cast our nets very far and keep following up! Happy Staging - Julie

Thanks for the statistics, excellent post!

I have been lucky to find a few realtors who are on board with staging and offer a consultation as part of their listing package. They pay me directly and in turn they are assured the home will show better than it would without the consult. It is still a tough sell to most homeowners and realtors here in upstate NY though.

Lisa

These stats demonstrate how easily a real estate agent can stand out from the crowd. Be part of the growing 0.4% and sell your listings faster.

-Akanke.

VERY informative! Thank you for sharing your research here. It amazes me after I have spent 3+ years educating my local real estate market about Staging how many agents are still not doing it, or doing it themselves and not doing it well.

I can understand that Realtors might want to stage it themselves to show their clients that they can give them a value-added service. The clients may feel, or be told, that they will save lots of money this way by not having to pay a stager. The problem I see is that the Realtor may not always have the best skills in this area, though I know that many are very talented. So maybe they have or maybe they haven't saved money. Penny wise? I doubt that many Realtors would do their own home inspections, though they probably could. Eventually Home staging will be recognized as not only a desired service but a necessary one, just as home inspections are necessary. I know that there is a difference, of course, but remember that it wasn't that long ago that homes were bought and sold without inspections.

Great post, well researched and well written. Thanks!

Agreed, there are talented real estate agents that can stage a property.

We know several here in south Florida. We know them because they callus when they need to define the boundaries on their higher end listings. They want the client to know that they are the real estate professional, and have access to professional home stagers that can complete the larger engagements on-time and within budget. This definition of boundaries avoids client confusion in the market properation process.

That aside, the point of the post was the fact that real estate agents are not communicating the need for staging on their websites or during their listing presentations. Why is this? Your thoughts?

I think many people are resistant to accept that it is necessary to invest money prior to sell their homes after the market has been so good for so long. The same people would think nothing of detailing their cars before selling them. With the current market trends, I believe if we keep putting out professional best people will realize Home Staging is the future and it's here to stay.

Akanke, it is puzzling because we can make their work easier.

Maybe they aren't promoting staging because:

They haven't personally experienced the benefits of staging

They recognize that the staging makes a home look better but don't think it affects the sale that much.

They have had a bad experience with a stager and aren't willing to try again.

They think it's all hype and don't want to complicate their listing.

They are afraid that they will insult their clients.

They don't think the expense is necessary.

They don't have the time or inclination to change their website to "promote someone else's business".

I think those might be some of the mindsets. I wrote more on this in "What's With the Attitude?"

About a year ago there was a pretty harsh national TV news show report that "investigated" staging and whether it was worth it. It interviewed both stagers and Realtors. The surprising thing was that stagers came off pretty well but Realtors were sort of slammed for not pulling out all the stops in order to sell. The line went something like, a $10,000 price difference doesn't impact the Realtor's commission by much so why should they bother. It's easier just to reduce the price. Wow, that was a slap! It made the Realtors look bad and that they weren't looking out for their client's best interests. I know that some of the Realtors I know were pretty upset by it. Unfortunately, it may be true for a few.

Not surprising results considering my experience. All my clients are homeowners and my experience so far with agents is disinterest in staging.

Thanks for the hard work. Hopefully someday the results will be better!

Great Post and very interesting stats...sad but true!

Doesn't the Realtor have a fiduciary responsibility to get the most money possible for their client? If so and the stats prove that it works...are Realtors shirking their responsibility?

Gail,

You may have something there. What does everyone else think?

-Akanke.

Hello Akanke--GREAT POST!! I agree with your stats! This afternoon I received a call from a $875k listing...the homeowner wants staging done and is frustrated with the fact that Home Staging had not been part of the initial recommendation from the listing agent. How many of you hear that on a regular basis? A lot of you I bet!

For stagers who live in more metropolitan areas, you are fortunate that the homeowners and some Realtors are with the home staging program. You would think a state like Florida, with all of it's glamorous high-end beach properties, would be more progressive...however, it isn't.

Even calling a few larger city newspapers to market the Stager Idol news has been met with: "What is Home Staging?" (in a confused and baffled tone) and these remarks come from our largest populated cities here in FL! We have A LOT of work to do. When you have the opportunity to work with a few Realtors who understand your professional value, how fantastic! Like others have mentioned, many Realtors feel that they can 'stage' the listings just fine without a professional. And some REAs absolutely do a fine job...while many, just seem to believe that cleaning and de-cluttering constitutes the boundaries of 'home staging'.

I am still mystified....and wonder how many times the prices must be dropped on a home for the lightbulb to go off. Not-staging costs the seller major in the long run...AND the REA (commission)! Regards-Kathleen

Good post & great comments. I have spoken at Realtor office meetings, and they nod their heads in agreement about the benefits of staging, but I get the phone calls and jobs from home owners. The Realtors don't understand that these homeowners are getting staging BEFORE LISTING & that we stagers get asked alot to recommend Realtors! I give the sellers some questions to ask when interviewing Realtors, but I could send a Realtor some good business if only they would allow me on their team!

Kathy

JUN

2008

Thanks your all your comments - seems like sellers are the most interested in home staging.

I just noticed another statistic - and this only goes to confirm the statistical point of my inital post.

To date - there have been 249 click-to-views of this post, that is, ~250 people have purposely viewed this post,

22 people have commented - that's a ~10% of all viewers, with ONE realtor making a comment. (I assume it was a real estate agent given the real estate knowledge demonstrated.)

That re-enforces the -0.4% argument.

That is, ~0.4% of poeple that commented on this post were Realtors, even though this post was posted to Realtors also, the largetst group in ActiveRain.

Amazing - huh?

One last Statistic on this one, 85% of ActiveRainers that saw this post in their list, clicked on it to read it.

Does this mean that home staging statistics are of interest to the community. Is this the missing link?

Or is it much simpler than that? Was it the words in the post title - 'secret truth' that was just a curiosity?

Akanke.

Akanke, it may be all of the above to a certain extent. Some people are "lurkers" who read or skim the info but don't take the time to comment, either because they don't have a strong opinion or because someone already has said what they would have written, they are too busy, or they just don't know how to get started. Only a few Realtors consistently read staging posts and comment. I think that so many are focusd on marketing their business that they may not want to take time away from what they see is their main objective.

There have been some great posts by Realtors who talk about why they don't or won't hire stagers. I say great because they are eye openers. Some are just dead set against the practice. I'll see if I can find one or two and come back and post links.

I found one blog, Since When Do Home Stagers Have A Right to Discuss or Negotiate a Reltors Fee?

If I had an experience like this one, which is very strange, I might not be to fond of stagers either!

JUN

2008

Honestly I'm not surprised by this number HOWEVER, I am seeing a trend with some of the younger agents (and that's not necessarily age - new agents of all ages) who need a marketing edge and understand the value of home staging, especially where consultations are concerned. In this past year alone I have had 4 agents contact me and use me exclusively for all their listings for consults, 2 of the 4 pay for their client's consultations as part of their listing package. I think that's a very positive trend.

Thanks for such a well written and researched post. I'll be in your neck of the woods these next two weeks for my sister's wedding in Hollywood, FL.

JUN

2008

Interesting look at searches! Staging sure changes the feel of a home. It's not the right thing to do in every situation, but can help in many cases.

Honestly? I'm not surprised at the percentage - I have talked to *a lot* of realtors who simply feel home staging is a fluff service and not something they would ordinarily recommend. Most don't want to spend the money to make a home staging consultation part of their listing services, which is unfortunate - especially since most of the same realtors when asked, have no real idea what to recommend to clients to help their homes present better. That's not all realtors by any stretch - but enough of them for me to notice a trend. The other ones I'm amazed by, are the realtors who are afraid to say anything to their clients about the property and just list it *as is*.

Everyone wins when a home is staged properly - the realtor with a fast sale, great price and referrals - the home owners with a fast sale and money in their pocket - and the home stager with a great referral, job well done and fee paid, and another success story. Even if all the home stager does is a consultation so the home owners can complete the recommendations themselves - we provide an integral service by helping get a property ready for sale. We have all seen how quickly a well presented property sells versus one which wasn't - it's fact and anyone can look up the stats.

All we can do is keep working hard to ensure the services we offer become a known and recognized part of listing a home for sale.

Hey, I searched google and my site at about.com comes in 7th -- I've written a lot about home staging, plus I made a video about it on my homebuying home page. In good and bad markets, home staging helps to sell a home faster and for more money. It's indisputable evidence. Perhaps certain parts of the country catch on faster than others?

Elizabeth,

Nice video - congrats.

I went to your realtor website and could not find the video mentioned.

Eventually searched for it on About.com and found it.

The video would be a great addition to your FOR SELLERS section on your real estate website. Very informative and compelling.

-Akanke

JAN

I found your post through a google search on "home staging statistics". I definately think there is a lack of reliable statistics, especially for stagers that are new to the business. I am doing a presentation for a group of realtors next week. When I asked what they would most like to discuss, I heard "statistics". Aside from selling the idea of staging, I need some statistics! Why aren't there more available? I hear the same in numerous staging communities. Some type of quarterly report would be so helpful. I may have to implement this through my local RESA chapter! Thanks for the research you put into your article!! Great post!

Sincerely,

Holly

I think statistics are a little hard to develop because you can't make a control group very easily. There are so many factors in purchasing a house - we can gather general stats only.

MAY

I am a real estate agent with a separate incorporated staging business. I've been staging for about a year and it's been my observation that staging is low on the list of realtor priorities. I'm having some success with new agents if I can get them early on. My goal is to have staging become a matter of course process in home selling just as an inspection is routine in home buying. It is frustrating and time consuming to try to keep re-selling your benefits. I know this may sound a bit sexist and I apologize to all the men out there who have used stagers, but we seem to be missing the audience of men realtors. I'm not sure why..maybe because woman are perceived to be the "nesters" and decorators. Whatever the case, I would love to reach the men realtors.

I agree that we need verifiable hard data about staging. Our information is just too fuzzy. As a realtor, we get reliable stats from our MLS on all kinds of info to help our home sellers and buyers make good decisions,. We need the same credibility in the staging industry. If anyone has any good factual national data, I'd sure love to know national staging stats. I'm starting to keep my own stats, but until we have the equivilent of the NAR we're shooting in the dark.

Barb Mihalik. ASP/REALTOR

Home Stagers of Wilmington, Inc.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty

SEP

I don't know how I missed this post, but the stats don't surprise me. The bulk of my business is from home sellers, sometimes before they've hired a Realtor, and sometimes after it has sat on the market for 6 months. Either way they usually need a new Realtor and always ask me for recommendations.

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