Staging Really Works!

Investing in staging your home that will pay off in a higher sales price. The last two homes I listed received offers in the first two weeks they were on the market. These sellers would certainly testify that the investment was worth every penny. I have worked with Carol Smith with Creative Home Stagers for years and offer my listing clients a credit off of my commission for using her staging services when they list their home with me.

Last year I had a vacant listing that had been on the market for five months without any offers. The feedback we received said that the home was dated and was not a top pick for the buyers that had seen it.  My team felt it was hard for buyers to visualize how nice it could look furnished so we suggested that the seller invest in some staging.  We felt that investing in staging would be far more effective than a price reduction.

Here was the sellers response to our staging recommendation:

“Janet, I am so confused. I wish I knew the likelihood of selling the property within 60 days if we did the staging. I know we don’t have the open floor plan, hardwood floors everyone is looking for and the highway noise was a turnoff for some. These things won’t change even with staging. What do you think? Is property still moving in Matthews? What about the inventory compared to ours?”

Fortunately we was able to convince the sellers to take their home off the market for a few days, stage it and then re-list it. They spent $1700 to stage 7 rooms for 3 months and were able to re-list the home for $3000 more than the prior listing price.

This is what the home looked like before staging:

http://fusion.carolinamls.com/DotNet/Pub/EmailView.aspx?r=1528723482&s=CML&t=CML

Here is what the listing looked like after staging:

http://fusion.carolinamls.com/DotNet/Pub/EmailView.aspx?r=1442811331&s=CML&t=CML

The sellers response to the staging was: ”Wow, what a difference, the pictures really show it off.”

They were thrilled to than receive a showing on this home 10 days after the staging that turned into a contract that closed smoothly.

My advice to sellers is give to get a pre-market consultation done 60 days ahead of the time you wish to sell your home. Don’t leave the “Home” work for the last minute. Invest in staging. It is a marketing tool that will give your home an edge over other homes on the market and will help sell your home for more money in less time.