Dear Realtor….Help Me Understand!

Hi Donna - the same thing has happened to me.  I believe that while most real estate agents will brave dogs and other pets, fearsome bad weather, the dark of night, unpleasant clients, dank basements and musty attics, and the great unknown, they still are afraid to "insult" their sellers by suggesting they use a Stager.  There, I said it.  A professional Stager can actually put everyone's minds at ease about certain situations by telling them how they can be remedied - so call us in!  Julie

hahaha - my graphic is "grosella"!

It is frustrating, isn't it Donna.  In my market area the agents are full of reasons why they don't discuss staging and I'm full of suggestions to overcome those objections, BUT they still aren't listening and doing.  Someday????

Donna,

Oh so very true. I have had sellers contact me and pretty much the same thing. We just have to continue to educate the value and necessity of staging and build relationships with REALTORS. There are so many listings that the REALTORS do not believe need staging and yet the really, really do.

Stagers know how to approach delicate situations and see where sellers need to invest for their property sale!

Hi Donna- Great job in bringing up this issue!  The bottom line is that many sellers are "penny wise and pound foolish." I think the more an agent puts staging "out there" to all of their clients just as a matter of fact marketing and not implying that they really need some help, the easier it becomes to understand how effective staging is when marketing a home.  Staging is an effective tool for all home sellers.  The seller and the agent may not see what the stager will see when touring the home, and the stager will see what the Buyer will see. It is always a good idea to have a consultation for the purpose of guiding the seller to make the most out of their sale. The increased sale value of the home by 5 to 10 percent and above, far exceeds the cost of staging.   Although this increase (for one home) has only slight benefit to the real estate agent, it is a significant boost in profit to the one seller. Aren't we supposed to be representing the seller's best interest?  The seller loses at both ends, the increased time on market (paying the monthly expenses) as well as a reduced price. 

Imagine the increase in commissions when collectively all agent's listings are staged and sold at a significantly higher price. 

Donna, we often wonder this ourselves. It seems like a no brainer, so maybe.... no, I won't go there! ;)

Obviously when a SELLER contacts you they are already in "spend" mode. They KNOW it will cost money to stage or redesign. And usually when they call you it's to compare your services with anothers. But they WANT to hire someone!

Realtors are the "gate keepers", and if they don't feel comfortable with the staging idea they just don't bring it up. New carpet ??.. Sure !.. That they can talk about. Hire a painter?... ABSOLUTELY!.. But Staging ??.. Hmmmm  .. 

Donna ~ I'm sure that most stagers have run into this agent's attitude.  It's important that we continue to educate them that professional home staging actually benefits everyone involved -- the seller (better presentation in the online listing photos, encouraging more buyers to view the home) AND even the agent.  A quicker sale means less marketing for the agent and a faster commission at closing.  As Connie said, it's a no-brainer since the ROI is huge.

Brokers are people too! Some of them are just don't have the confidence and conviction to advise their clients that they should have a professional staging consultation at the very least. Many are afraid of offending their clients and losing the listing. They just don't know how to put it to a client. I have some brokers I stage for often who are very effective in their conversations with clients in convincing them to get their homes staged. I know that other brokers have asked them in the past how they manage it. Personally, I think brokers take the advice better from other successful brokers on how to broach this subject to a client than they do from us stagers. So -- all you savvy brokers out there -- please, please help out your colleagues and maybe give a short talk at your next team meeting on the most successful ways to get your clients to properly stage their homes. It definitely isn't by sitting around waiting for the seller to ask about it!

Ah -- excellent points Maureen! We must have been typing at the same time! I would just add that it helps the BUYER too! More than once I've staged a home that has already been on the market and had a potential buyer "pass" on the property. After staging and with no other changes made and no price reductions, the same potential buyer was brought back to the property and ended up buying it because they finally could see that it looked beautiful to them. Think how sad that would be to know that you passed on the perfect home because you couldn't visualize how it would look? So staging benefits absolutely everybody!

Keep preaching Donna! Some take seconds and some take years to convert, sadly though many remain unbelievers and to them I say, Lord help you =)

HI Donna, very good question indeed. All good points made already about why an agent will shy away from having the discussion with a listing client.

I work in an area of multi million dollar homes. Many designed by well known designers. The agents I work with have me come in to do a consult and the homeowners are happy to have me there. I rarely bring in any rental stock as they have beautiful things to work with. I simply rearrange for good traffic flow and to highlight the features of the home.

Working with clients like this takes tact as they have already paid good money for a designer to create a look in their home. In fact it has been said to me "what do you think you are going to do there when Brian Gluckstein has designed it already". My answer is that a family of 7 have been living there for 8 years. I will get it back to the look Brian created for it.

For me to come in and get it ready for sale I have the discussion with them about giving buyers what they want to see. Absolutely nothing is wrong with their design decisions, they just need to make sure it is what would be seen in design magazine. Happy agents and home owners ensue as they see the difference immediately when I make simple and effective changes. The home owner will generally comment that they always had a "problem" with the traffic flow in that room or with the colour and are very appreciative that the agent has brought me in.

Hope this helps convincing some agents to use a professional home stager. It takes tact, professionalism and confidence to have a stager in at that price point of home. Same idea works for every price point, you just have to bring in some stock to give it the magazine look sometimes.

Sounds like you and he need to meet for a nice cup of coffee. Once he meets you he will know you are his staging lady!!!

Donna, I actually showed a home that you staged the other day and it really did help the apperance.  I picked up one of your brochures and i will be in touch when I have a vacant home.

Hi Donna ~ I too have this issue.  I have only been called to stage houses that have been on the market for a long time and are the realtors "problem children".  Once I get in and stage them, they have all sold quickly!  Yet, no regular calls!  This is a problem I am currently working deligently on.  This blog has helped a lot. 

Thank you so much!