I was exposed to "HOME STAGING" several years ago when I heard Barb Schwartz, founder of StagedHomes.com and THE inventor of the term "STAGING" speak on the subject. I remember sitting in the audience of about 500 real estate agents thinking to myself - this makes a lot of sense.
Barbara, who has been staging homes since 1972 had single handedly created this brand new industry - STAGING. Barbara uses the following analogy to help us understand what Staging is all about:
Think of going to see a play in a theater. When you walk in, you see the stage, an audience, actors. You also know that there's a producer and the director behind the scenes. For the play to be a success, you need the play to be captivating and for all the seats to be full.
Now... let's say that your house is a ‘set' on a stage of that play. We would need to "Stage" your house for the audience - potential buyers - who will be coming through to see it.
The seller would be a producer because the seller owns the home. The Realtor would be the director since she will set the scene for how each room should look, with the help of a stager, to ensure a "sellout" performance", i.e. buyers coming through to look at the house. And, there would be critics - yes - critics! Who are the critics? The critics are the other Real Estate Agents who will decide whether or not to bring their clients to see the house. They will also spread the word about the house to the rest of the agents that didn't get to see it themselves.
I have staged quite a few homes since the time I met Barbara. Some homes were staged by myself and others with an Accredited Staging Professional.
Let me tell you - Staging works!!! It's that simple.
Of course, Staging works in concert with the Pricing of the home. But, with everything being equal a home that is priced right and staged will sell quicker and for more money than a home that has not been staged!
Stay tuned for my next post where I will show you some statistics and provide you with some specific staging ideas.
In the meantime, if you would like to see some before and after pictures, please visit my Staging Show by clicking Play the Show button below.
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