Even though the Main Line is an affluent area, the current economic hard times have caused home sales to decrease. Homes are taking longer to sell and home owners are facing stiff competition for buyers. So, why not use every marketing tool available to get a home sold faster? In real estate as in other industries, time equals money. The longer a home stays on the market the more money it costs the home owner and realtor. In my opinion, home staging is an underused marketing tool. According to the International Association of Home Stagers, staging a home can increase the sale price by an extra seven percent and enables the home to sell quicker than other homes in the area by 100 days. I have personally experienced how staging a home can shorten its days on the market and increase its value. Every home that I have staged as a realtor has sold within 30 days that is why I offer free home staging to all of my clients. I know times are hard but stagers are now offering more packages then ever. For as little as $125.00 a stager will come and give a verbal recommendation of what needs to be done to the house to help it sell quickly. To have those same recommendations put in writing costs around $300.00. Where else can you get such a good return on your sales and marketing dollars? Stagers inform home owners how to increase their home's curb appeal. They will tell them how to arrange the furniture so the house will look larger and have a better flow. They will have them remove the clutter and repaint. They will even go as far as recommending the actual paint colors. Some stagers even have furniture and accessories realtors and their clients are able to use. Want to get a vacant home sold fast? Home staging will do that too. It has been proven that vacant houses take longer to sell because the house appears smaller and buyers are not able to visualize how their furniture will fit into a space and the house appears stark and cold. Home staging is a great way to make a vacant house look larger and to increase the livability of a home. Builders have known about this secret for a long time that is why model homes are decorated and accessorized.
However, one of the things I like most about using a stager is that it reduces the tensions that can occur between a realtor and a client. Realtors no longer have to worry about offending clients because they were the ones that had to tell them that in order for their house to sell they needed to remove all the clutter, repaint, buy new accessories for the bathroom, clean up outside, etc. Not only do we not have to worry about stressing our relationship with our clients over home improvements but we can enjoy the praise that our clients will give us for providing them with a service that enabled their house to sell quickly and for more money.
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