Imagine walking into a well-lit house. The furniture is arranged in a way that maximizes both space and function. You picture yourself sitting by the bay window in the morning, reading the news while drinking a hot cup of coffee before going to work. Then you picture entertaining friends, who sits where, how the kitchen bar extends into the space in an ideal way to serve a small gathering.
Now, imagine walking into an empty house. It’s clean… sterile. There’s nothing but walls, windows, and other permanent features. Again, you imagine how you would use the space- but the images are not as clear- not as compelling.
If you had never heard about home staging, you might not even notice the difference when you walk into the empty property. But, knowing what you know now about the power of the imagination and how home staging can set it alight, you can appreciate the power of this important sales technique.
Sell Your Listings Faster
Now that we have an intuitive understanding of the merits of home staging, let’s get into the numbers.
According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, 28% of brokers in 2018 used staging to sell properties. Thirteen percent of them said they only used staging when a given home was considered to be hard to sell.
What that tells you right off the bat is staging works, and experienced brokers know it does. The reason they aren’t doing it with every home is they don’t want to commit resources that they are hoping to save later on. They are hoping their agents will work harder somehow and make up the difference. This is a mistake. What they’re missing is that staging raises the sale value of the home- reliably.
You’re selling more, you’re getting positive ROI, and everyone gets a better outcome on the other side of the sale.
So the question is, why isn’t every brokerage staging every time they sell a home as a general policy? They are trying to save money from the outset and they don’t realize staging gives you a reliable competitive edge.
The Time-Investment Barrier
Alright, so maybe we’re being a bit hard on our non-staging brokerages. It does matter that staging takes time and effort. There are logistical barriers. It is a bottleneck in the selling process- it’s more work, more time, and more investment. Okay, that’s understandable. The money doesn’t count because you will get it back. Your people are moving furniture, maybe they’re painting and hauling. It’s like move-in day before anyone moves in- and your team is tied up doing the heavy lifting. That’s why independent sellers and brokers want to skip it.
So what’s the answer? Outsourcing. In today’s business world, you add value to your core proposition by working with a partner-business that specializes in home staging. You tack on free home staging consultation, and now all you’re having to dish out is that initial staging investment.
That’s what we do at Intext Staging.
Any questions? Leave a comment and we’ll get it answered.
