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Why It's So Important to Stage a Vacant Home!

By
Home Stager with Home Staging Resource

 

People Don’t Buy Houses, They Buy Homes…

 

The number one reason a buyer purchases a home is because it “felt home”.  It was warm, inviting and the buyer made an emotional connection with the home.  When have you ever heard of an empty room described as warm and inviting?  Sterile, cold and uninviting are the three most popular words to describe an empty room.

 

Without Furniture, There Is No Frame Of Reference…

 

How big is the room?  Without furniture it’s incredibly difficult to tell the scale and size of a room.  When the buyer does not have answers to their questions…they walk away. 

What is this room for?  Many times a buyer can’t even tell if it’s the living room or dining room in an unfurnished home.  Don’t keep them guessing, it only distracts them from considering the home as a purchase.

 

When A Room Is Kept Empty, Buyers Focus On Negative Details…

 

Can you imagine a brand new Mercedes without a paint job?  Do you think people would notice the beautiful car or the missing paint?

It’s so much easier to notice that crack in the wall, or the chip in the tile when there is nothing else to look at.  Home Staging capitalizes on the positive aspects of a home, while de-emphasizing negative aspects in order to position a home that will make an emotional connection with buyers. 

 

Only 10% of Home Buyers Can Actually Visualize the Potential of Home…

 

9 out of every 10 people walking in your home have no imagination of the wonderful possibilities your home has to offer them.  They just can’t picture it.  Don’t let a simple thing like no furniture or limited furniture ruin your sale.  Don’t take those odds; they will hurt you in the price significantly!


Spending $5000 on using a Professional Home Stager (see Directory by state) and staging a vacant home is MUCH less than your first price reduction!

Val Allocco
Staged 2 Sell New York & Long Island - Northport, NY
HSE; ASHSR - Home Stager, for Manhattan, Brooklyn & Long Island

Great blog Audra!

Another point to be made about vacant houses might be that potential buyers wonder WHY it is vacant...has it been on the market for so long that the seller had to move on - and if so, does that mean it can be bought 'for a song'?

It really is awfully hard to make an emotional connection with a vacant house!

Not a good thing I tell ya! 

Oct 25, 2006 12:02 AM
Ray Saenz
Exit Realty Laredo - Laredo, TX
Homes for Sale in Laredo, TX - Texas, Realtor

Audra,

very nice blog, but as agents we need to educate our customers and ask them if they can visualize an empty house or not, if they have imagination or not, etc.  we need to get along with them and create a circle of trust and feedback.

Ray Saenz

Oct 25, 2006 07:01 AM
Phyllis Pafumi
ReStyled to Sell Home Staging New Jersey - Old Bridge, NJ
ReStyled to Sell Staging Homes NJ

Hey Audra

It is so funny that today we stagers make such a fuss about staging a vacant house so it will feel like a home. I remember when my daughter bought her first house it was empty and they were actually walking around the rooms imagining where their furniture would go...today is soooooo different People need to see style!

Happy Thanksgiving Phyllis Pafumi 

Nov 19, 2006 12:03 PM
Bill Exeter
Exeter 1031 Exchange Services, LLC - San Diego, CA
1031 Tax-Deferred Exchange Expert
Well said!  I completely agree.
Nov 16, 2007 01:28 PM
Bret & Meredith Amon
LIV-Sotheby's International Realty - Breckenridge, CO
Breckenridge, Keystone, Silverthorne, Frisco,

Staging makes the difference between sold and NOT sold in my neck of the woods!

Oct 10, 2011 07:01 AM
Mary Ann Benoit
Northern Lights Home Staging and Design LLC - Seward, AK

Nice article that still applies today!

Feb 08, 2015 09:00 AM
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC • Short Sale • Probate

Only 10 %?! Wow. I always have a good idea what would I do with an empty house. I thought everyone does the same:)

Aug 20, 2015 05:10 PM