Home > Blogs > Teresa Meyer > Cincinnati Home Staging Stage a Star's Blog Home Staging in Cincinnati

Real Estate Professionals: HGTV Sellers...Give them what they want!

By Teresa Meyer

Home Stager with Cincinnati Home Stager

April 01, 2007 04:45 AM

hgtv

Thanks to HGTV....Sellers are becoming more educated about the importance of staging their home for sale. We all love these shows because we love watching the transformations that occur.....from outdated and just plain boring to WOW! "Model Home" fabulous in just a half hours time!

As a Stager, I am finding that more and more Sellers know about Staging because of these shows and want and expect it from their real estate professional when they get ready to put their house on the market. Teaming up with a Stager and offering a Staging consultation as part of your listing package is a simple way to give these sellers what they want! And what benefits are in it for YOU by offering this service?....Well, I think Kimberly Wester's blog "The Most Effective Use of your Marketing Budget" sums it up best.

The Staging consultation is very effective in giving sellers a "plan of action" and sometimes it's all that is needed to get a house looking its very best! If more is needed...the Stager will give sellers a bid on this and sellers pay for that portion of Staging.

Still need convincing this is the way to go? One of my partner Realtors put me on board as part of her team about a year ago....because she offers Staging to her clients and has information on her website about home staging and what she offers, she has gotten many listings this way. These were sellers specifically looking for a realtor that stood out and offered these services. She has also gotten many referrals from happy clients that were thrilled with the staging service that sold their homes faster. She tells me that offering staging is "ESSENTIAL" to her business.

If you haven't already contacted a local stager....put that on your "TO DO" list for this week.....Start here with Active Rain....there are 600 Home Stagers in the Rain now! I'll bet there's one in your area too!

Comments(8)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Wow, Teresa, thanks for the link! Who knew that little rant would create so much buzz?

Seriously, you are right on target. Some of my agents get listings because I am part of the package. Sellers see those agents as committed, involved, and truly willing to do whatever it takes to sell their house. No lip service, real service! Pretty soon, agents won't get listings without us!

Apr 01, 2007 05:17 AM

Patricia Aulson

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME SERVICES Verani Realty NH Real Estate - Exeter, NH

Realtor - Portsmouth NH Homes-Hampton NH Homes

I agree with you wholeheartedly about staging a home if need be. I do suggest it to those sellers who have moved out. Prospective buyers are looking at homes and trying to get an idea of where to place the furniture and being a visual person myself, I can see where it really helps sell the house.

Patricia Aulson/SEABROOK REALTOR/NH & ME

Apr 01, 2007 05:56 AM

Gary Smith

Agent Marketing Today - Commerce Township, MI

Teresa,

Yes, every serious homeowner should team with a stager to sell their home. Some are offended when I even mention that living in their home is not the same as marketing their home. HGTV has lots of great ideas, most are free.

Apr 01, 2007 06:06 AM

Michelle Minch

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA

Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Teresa: Thanks for your posting. I am an experienced Stager, but new to Active Rain. I think HGTV has been a boon (educating the public about the importance of Staging) and a curse (because of the sometimes unrealistic -and sometimes extremely low - costs they lead viewers to expect. What they don't tell you is that many HGTV shows pay for all the labor (often the most expensive part of any home improvement or Staging project) and that the cost of the labor is not calculated as part of the cost of the staging they quote. But, despite this, I am still an avid HGTV viewer....

Apr 01, 2007 06:30 AM

Teresa Meyer

Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH

Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

Gary: All the more reason to find a local stager to discuss preparing the home for sale and WHY they should market it differently to your clients. Believe it or not, sellers are alot more open to a 3rd party and "expert" at staging a home to sell. This benefits YOU because you do not offend your client trying to tell them to update or paint.

Michelle: I agree with you about the HGTV shows not giving you the acurate picture of cost involved, however, because the client is saying to me "Yes, I LOVE HGTV and know I need to do all this staging....etc...that it opens the door to discuss the shows they watch and then that is when I can educate them a little bit about not showing the true cost....etc. :)

Apr 01, 2007 07:07 AM

Karen Otto

Home Star Staging - Plano, TX

Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Teresa, I'm looking forward to the day when a staging consultation is a standard part of a listing package. I believe we are as valuable as inspectors in the aesthetic department and we create value and wealth for our clients - do inspectors do the same? I love the exposure the TV shows are giving to staging however, I think it's unfair to represent the cost as being "under $1,000 or 2,000" (you know what I mean) and they're doing major renovations like replacing counter tops and flooring and also NOT accounting for the labor and what the homeowner themselves pays for - it's making it harder for us to price ourselves when what they do is well beyond the scope of most staging jobs generally speaking. Thanks for the post.

Apr 01, 2007 02:54 PM

Veronica Harbert

Select Home Staging - Denver, CO

Select Home Staging

Thanks for the post, Teresa!

Actually I credit HGTV for inspiring me to get into this business. After spending years on the road doing software consulting, when I decided I needed a change of pace, it was "Designed to Sell" that inspired me to found Select Home Staging in Denver, Colorado. I've never looked back!

Karen, I too am eager for the day that staging is a standard part of a listing package. I'm convinced it will happen...it's just a matter of when, not if.

Cheers,

Veronica

Denver, Colorado

www.selecthomestaging.com

Apr 02, 2007 12:00 AM

Veronica...That's cool that you were inspired by HGTV! :) I keep checking the websites of some of these shows to see if they're coming here anytime soon to do a show....We do have a new show called Property Virgins coming to Cinci....they've put out the casting call in our local paper but are looking for first time home buyers...not stagers.

Apr 02, 2007 12:16 AM

Real Estate Professionals: HGTV Sellers...Give them what they want!

Comments(8)

Teresa Meyer

Real Estate Resources

Recent Posts

Additional Information