New Homes & Lifestyles

Staging Moves Buyers

You never get a second chance to make a first impression - and neither does your home. Most buyers make their decision to purchase a home within minutes of entering it. If you haven't captured their attention immediately, you've lost a sale. A professionally Staged® home will help you appeal to the broadest possible market by making your home warm and inviting.

When a home is placed on the market, it becomes a product. Like any other product for sale, there has to be a basis for someone to want to buy it. When a home is competing in the marketplace, it must be priced right, and it must look more desirable than the competition. This is where staging gives the seller the edge.

Staging is the process of preparing any home to sell for the highest possible price and in the shortest amount of time. Staging can be applied to any home regardless of size, condition, or location. This can be a simple process, from removing clutter and rearranging furniture to completely redecorating and re-furnishing all the rooms in the home.

Benefits of Staging

• Staged homes sell 2 to 3 times faster
• Staged homes net 3 to 10% more money in most markets
• Photos of staged homes look better in print and Internet advertising
• Buyers view staged homes as well maintained
• REALTORS® recognize that staged homes are properties that are ready to sell and are more likely to show your home to their buyers
• Appraisers are more likely to appraise staged homes at full value
• Building inspectors view staged homes as homes that have been well maintained

Staging is a growing necessity as more sellers and realtors face a competitive market and increasing home inventory. When potential buyers can see themselves living in the home, it will sell more quickly and for a higher price.

According to an April 30, 2004 article in the Wall Street Journal, "Staging speeds up sales in a sluggish market, and can bump up prices 2% to 10% in a moderate market. The biggest advantage occurs with luxury homes or in a market with bidding wars over properties, where effective staging can boost prices by 30% to 50%."

Best Interior Impression
Every house can benefit from being profession- ally staged. From small, modest homes to luxury custom homes, the way you live in a home and the way you sell it are two different things.

For example, a family room may have a fireplace on one wall and a television on another. You live with your furniture facing your television. When you're selling a home, however, you need to show off the architecture of the home. A staging professional will help you rearrange your furniture to showcase the fireplace, while still allowing you use of the room for television viewing.

Stagers use "buyers' eyes" when they look at a property. They look for features to enhance in the home like a fireplace, a lovely view window or a great architectural detail. A professional stager's goal is to refocus the room to play up those areas. They also work to minimize distractions, or detractions such as an oddly shaped room in the home.

Stagers employ a variety of techniques, including rearranging, refreshing the interior with color, and reducing the number of objects to enhance the home's appeal. A buyer needs to be able to mentally move into a home. If a space is cluttered and full of items, a buyer may think that there is not enough storage space in the home and form a negative impression of the property.

Generally a stager will make sure the house is clutter-free. You are selling space and not stuff. For example, a homeowner may love their collection, but they need to remember that the reason they displayed it in a place of honor in the first place was to create a discussion point. If a potential buyer's attention is focused on the collection, they're not noticing the home. You want to minimize distractions.

Staging can be equally beneficial for occupied or vacant homes. When staging an occupied home, the stager will evaluate the exterior and interior and recommend everything he or she thinks should be accomplished to set the home up for sale. This could include eliminating cluttering, moving furniture, pre-packing, painting, or changing fixtures to name a few possibilities. The homeowner can implement all of the recommendations, or have the stager come and do a portion of the tasks. Generally a stager can do as little or as much as the seller needs.

When staging a vacant home, furniture is brought in on a rental basis to show off the home. Adding furniture to an empty home gives the buyer a sense of proportion within the rooms and adds color and depth. The intended use of an unfurnished room can be ambiguous and confusing. Consider an empty great room for example. Buyers can't visualize where furniture goes in a floating space without walls. You need to help them see the potential, help them imagine how the room can look.

You can stage a vacant home with a complete package of furniture or choose to "vignette stage." Vignette staging is used to create "Impressionable Moments" with buyers. By putting a few items in a room, a buyer is more likely to take a mental picture of the size, number, and style of all of the rooms in a home. Buyers may be looking at several homes in one day. This will help your property stand out.

Exterior Curb Appeal
Buyers have to be able to see what they are purchasing. If a home has overgrown landscaping that is blocking the home, or that appears neglected, the curb appeal is greatly diminished. In some cases, the potential buyers will keep right on driving. They assume that since the exterior of the home isn't well kept, the interior has also been neglected.

You know that your house won't get a second chance to make a first impression, and that most buyers make their purchase decision shortly after entering a home. The first impression however isn't when a buyer steps into the home, it's when they see it for the first time from the street. If you lose them before they even set foot in the front door, they're lost forever.

Showcase Home Staging, LLC
602.388.8122
stagedhomesarizona.com

Amy Rozines, ASP is the owner of Showcase Home Staging, LLC. With an MBA and BSBA from The Ohio State University and a background in finance, design, and real estate, she has a unique perspective on getting the highest possible home price in the shortest amount of time.