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Home Staging - What is It?

By
Home Stager with Showhomes Greenville

Depends on who you ask, right?

Earlier this week I joined a social networking group for local small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The organizer of the group asked me, what is the biggest obstacle I face?

My answer? I said education.  It seems to me that a surprising number of people still don't know what home staging is, and even when they've heard of it, they're still not sure what the term means.  This is complicated by the fact that such a wide variety of services fall under the term 'home staging'.

Home stagers offer everything from walk-through consultations that result in reports including simple suggestions for the homeowner to implement themselves to full service interior design, painting, and repairs, to the suite of services that Showhomes offers that includes not only our home managers who furnish the whole house and keep it in show to sell condition seven days a week, but also marketing assistance to the homeowner and Realtor.

It has been my experience in marketing my services locally that a lot of Realtors and homeowners equate staging with floral arrangements and furniture rental.  Therefore, they don't see it as something they should - in any circumstances - pay someone else for.

I have found that it is my biggest challenge to demonstrate that we add value in a variety of ways and that they are not simply paying for leased furniture and a few fake flowers.  They are also paying for the design talent, the photographs, the freedom from worrying about the hassles of coordinating delivery, set-up, and take-down of said furniture and accessories.

Almost anyone can stick a few plastic plants in empty corners and set a couple of vases on a mantle - and they can call it 'staging,' but can they expect that it will truly enhance the property and result in a quicker sale? 

It might make them feel like they've done something, but it's not gonna sell a house.  In an extremely competitive market, you don't get an 'A' for effort and an incomplete or lackluster staging attempt is not going to attract qualified buyers to houses at any price point.

That's why I think it is extremely important for all of us in the business to make sure that we do raise the bar collectively, so that our potential clients are more informed about what to expect from a stager.  They need to have enough of a basic knowledge of the industry to be able to select what level of services they'll require to sell their home.  

We are the only ones who can provide that knowledge and hold each other to higher standards.  That is the only way we will get clients to consistently hire us and pay us what we're worth.

Comments (1)

Christina Cavins
Irongate Inc. REALTORS - Centerville, OH
www.BuySellOH.com Search Ohio Homes For Sale

Great post! Please contribute to my post on No Cost Home Staging.

Thanks,

Christina

Jul 08, 2008 05:05 PM