To stage or not to stage
I thought this post made for interesting reading. It raises some interesting points and comments.
Would anyone care to comment on price adjustments after staging? Has that been your experience or not?
I have to say that for my mind house hunters don't by solely on price. They buy because they see good value for money and that's where staging fits into the picture.
The 2010 RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) reports that houses that are marketed without staging, removed from the market and then reintroduced with staging spend a significantly lower amount of time on the market. However, the study makes no mention of whether the houses were put back on the market at the same price or a lower price. I would think that most houses that get reintroduced to the market have a lower price than earlier listed. Could that be a factor in the shorter market times?
Honestly, I believe under the right market conditions, staging is a
major benefit to selling a home quickly. People are visual and seeing a
cluttered house detracts from visualizing their new home. Maybe it even
reminds them of their old, cluttered home - the one they no longer want
to live in. And as for empty homes, they're lonely and uninviting.
However, when the bubble is getting hot there is more demand than
supply. Staging isn't as important during this period since buyers are
in a feeding frenzy. However, staging still helps drive those multiple
offers and the price. When the market is down, you just want to get feet
on the floor.
Last comment and I'll shut up finally! But this is the most important
piece to all this. If you are selling in 2010, you are marketing on the
Internet where 90% of buyers do their research. That means they are
looking at pictures and videos of all the houses that meet their
requirements. If a house looks shoddy, they simply click to the next
one!
Of course, I have a vested interest in those pictures and videos looking
good...that's my business. But I also have a vested interest in helping
my clients - agents and sellers - to move their homes quickly. To
accomplish that, I prefer a staged home.
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