While I am a fairly new member of the home staging industry, I am not new to merchandising things to sell, which, essentially, is what staging a home is. My experience in merchandising is taking, say, a pair of jeans and making it a complete lifestyle. One week those jeans might be paired up with sweats and sneakers, the next week they might be paired up with heels and dressy tops, the following week they might be paired up with sweaters and boots. The jeans didn't change but what did change was how they were merchandised. The sales of those jeans would fluctuate depending upon what the target audience responded best to. If the target audience was a college aged market, the sales would increase the week they were paired with sweats and decrease the week they were paired with heels and dress tops. My job was to create a lifestyle that sold to the targeted audience, which is what I do as a home stager. The homes I stage are the same homes when I leave. All I do is create a lifestyle in the home that is marketable for the targeted audience. Once that home is sold, it is up to the new home owner to create their specific lifestyle in that home.
Almost daily, I scour the homes listed on the market, in all price ranges in my surrounding areas of the North-Western Metro-Atlanta area. Day after day, as I go through the virtual tours, I see so many homes that are in need of home staging services. I actually get excited when I see a home that does not need to be staged...why? Well I'm not so sure because I am a home stager and it does not benefit me if there are homes out there that do not need my services! I think the excitement comes from seeing that someone 'gets it', whether or not they had professional staging done. The home looks good, and I mean GOOD in the sense that it is going to get the attention from more people than other homes because there are three things accomplished: A defined focal point, a defined pattern/flow, and a de-cluttered and de-personalized arrangement.
When I come across homes that are wall papered, I just want to cry! This, believe it or not, is a very personal thing! Think about the process of selecting wall paper for a minute. It's time consuming because you want the right pattern, the right color scheme, it has to work with the furnishings, etc. because once it's up, most likely it's not coming down in the near future due to the cost. Consider this for a minute: Potential home buyers most likely don't have the same furniture you do; they most likely don't have the same color taste you do; they may not like the pattern; when you consider the time and cost to take down the wall paper and paint, the home buyers are going to be turned off because they can find another home out there without that wall paper! There goes your potential sale, all because of the precious wall paper. Bummer! Of course, there's always the option that the home buyer could say they like the house BUT want an allowance because of the wall paper---that means less money in the end. Remove the reasons to negotiate a LOWER price!
When I come across homes with the TV as the focal point in the family/living room, I understand why it's set up that way---it's functional. But really, what is the focal point of the room? The TV? Is that TV part of the room? Will it be there when the new homeowners move in? With the exception of a few listings I've stumbled across, as well as a client I am currently working with, that have flat screen plasma TV's installed above their fireplace and are including it in the sale of the home, the TV should never be the focal point of the room. The goal is to sell the house. The goal of home staging is to highlight the features of the house. When staging an occupied home, the televisions stay and are still functional without being the center of attention.
Kiplinger's is a great publication for information about personal finance. They recently ran an article about home staging, called The Benefits of Home Staging written by Pat Mertz Esswein. They've included some great before and after pictures from homes that were staged across the country as well as some of the statistics about the homes before and after they were staged. By looking at this small example of staged homes, it's easy to see the benefits from big projects to small projects.
On a personal note, I recently was contacted by a home seller that I had sent a post card to, introducing my business and services. She called me immediately after getting her card and wanted to know more. We arranged for a Free Evaluation so I could come and meet her, and to show her what services I have available. The next day she called and cancelled because the agency that listed her sent over a home stager as part of their marketing package for her. Long story short, that home stager told her she didn't need to do anything! Of course, she was excited because she wouldn't have to spend any money on services because she was told it 'looked OK'. Yes, it was OK, but not FABULOUS! I hand pick who I send post cards to based upon their virtual tours and, trust me, she needed 'something'. Not a lot, but something. The flow was off, the focal points were off, it was too personal. Yes, the house looked OK but from a staging standpoint, it wasn't the best it could be. I called her back and thanked her for callling me. I wished her well and told her to give me a call if she changes her mind. I hope that the home sells the way it is and they get what they want for it, and it doesn't take too long.
If you get a post card from ALR Home Staging and Showcasing, your house needs something...maybe a little or maybe a lot, but you need something! Call...check out my website...We will put together a custom package to accommodate your budget and staging needs.
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