Grand Entrance

A newly released Real Estate Staging Statistics Report from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) once again proves the effectiveness of home staging. The study included 87 vacant homes (not staged) that had been on the market for 277 days unsold. After having their properties staged, those same homes sold in 63 days on average after staging. This is 78% less time on the market!

The study also included 39 occupied homes (not staged) previously on the market an average of 233 days unsold. After having their properties staged, those same homes sold in 53 days on average after staging. This is 78% less time on the market!

Additionally, 284 vacant and occupied homes that were staged before they went on the market sold in 40.5 days on average after staging.

These statistics clearly support the value of staging as well as the need to stage before listing your home for sale. The study showed that homes staged before they went on the market sold in approximately 223 days less time than those that were not staged before being listed for sale. This equates to 7 months. If your home or listing is on the market, take a minute to figure out your or your client’s monthly costs (mortgage plus direct expenses) while you wait for a buyer.

The study shows homeowners had their properties on the market for an average of 9 months. Had a seller with an $1800 mortgage and $300 in direct expenses staged their home first, their time on the market would have been cut by 233 days on average (7 months) and they would have saved $14,700!

Once again, home staging is proven to be an efficient marketing tool for selling your home and the benefits of staging far outweigh the costs.

Your home is your most valuable asset and choosing a home staging professional will be one of the most important decisions you will make in selling your home. Start by finding someone who is actually a home stager. These are people who are professionally trained and aware of all aspects of the business, from design to the state of the market.

An effective home stager must have more than an eye for design. This growing industry relies on a knowledge of marketing strategies to target the demographics of your potential buyers. Just as a real estate agent must know how to market your home, a stager should also have enough expertise to be able to support the agent’s marketing efforts and anticipate the needs and desires of a buyer.

While many home stagers do not have training in staging and redesign, even fewer have marketing expertise. So where do you begin in your search? The following tips will help make your decision easier:

Education and Experience: While you want to look for a stager with experience, education is equally important. Don’t worry so much about the stager with letters after their name; there is currently no licensing for home stagers. However, there are several good staging education programs that align with professional organizations and can recommend a home stager in your area. Check with the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) for suggestions.

Professionalism: The stager you choose should be professional and knowledgeable. Do they listen to your input? Do they appear organized and provide knowledgeable advice? Do they take notes and communicate well? Is their appearance neat and professional? Home Staging is a creative industry and the way a stager presents him/herself is often a good indication of their work. If a stager does not make a good first impression, you’re probably heading in the wrong direction. It’s a fair bet that a stager who is professional, organized and “put together” is also confident and creative.

Inventory: Ask if a stager has his or her own inventory, or if they rent from another source. Furniture can become dated and worn. You want to be sure the furnishings are a style that is appropriate for your home, not what the stager happens to have on hand. Stagers can coordinate furniture rentals and often have pre-arranged relationships with rental companies. Look for stagers who coordinate the furniture rental and delivery, but allow the client to contract directly with the rental company. This takes out the middle-man and saves you money.

References: Ask the stager for references, including phone numbers and email addresses. Contact the references and ask what made that stager unique and whether they’d hire them again.

Portfolio: Ask to see the stager’s portfolio (either on their website or their photos). A strong website that includes a portfolio is a must, and marketing materials are a plus. If they don’t have a portfolio, chances are they have not done much staging work or are not experienced in marketing their services. Make sure they’ve done a variety of styles and they are capable of accentuating the architecture and style of your home.

Liability Insurance: Ask for proof of liability insurance. You may be liable for damages or injury if the stager does not carry insurance.

The Contract: Make sure you get a clearly written contract that you understand. There are many details involved in staging and often contracts can be overwhelming. Make sure the contract reflects the services you’ve agreed to.

You Get What You Pay For: Staging is an investment in marketing your home for sale. The cost of home staging is a minor expense compared to the average price reduction, so do it right and don’t select the cheapest stager. Always be cautious about choosing the cheapest quote. Instead, choose the stager with the education, experience and professionalism to represent the image you want your home to portray.

You will get excellent results if you take the time to choose carefully. Using the right home stager will greatly reduce the stress of selling your home!

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the business of staging is between an agent and/or client when it comes to Homeowner Associations. I recommend ALWAYS checking with the HOA for good measure — you never can be too careful and you don’t want to develop a reputation for being less than thorough. When the property is within a building such as a high rise, staging becomes somewhat more complicated than it is with a detached home.

Many HOAs require advanced notice, a copy of your business insurance (often listing them as additional insured), a deposit, and scheduling and coordinating with a moving coordinator. Moving coordinators assure that someone is available to accompany the stager on walk-thrus before and after a job to note any existing damages to walls, floors, doors and elevators, they assure the move is scheduled and does not interfere with any other activities in the building, and they often cover the floors and pad the elevators to protect against moving scrapes and scratches. If you follow HOA requirements, you are in a better position to develop a good relationship with the association and become a qualified vendor.

Forty percent of new homes have some green features.  This clearly indicates a growing concern for sustainability and our environment. Conserving the environment is a passion to Southern Californians and keeping ahead of that trend makes a home more appealing to house hunters, especially first-time home buyers.  Potential buyers will appreciate the fact that the home they are considering employs active solutions to their environmental concerns.

At Grand Entrance Home Staging & Design, our priority is on the environment. We stage and redesign with an emphasis on “Reduce/Reuse/Recycle”. Whenever possible, we purchase from resale and consignment shops, as well as from furniture rental companies. We reuse plastic and paper bags and we partner with other companies committed to eco-friendly practices and resource-saving products. We use only environmentally friendly cleaning products, specify no-VOC paints when recommending paint colors, and offer eco-friendly alternatives for flooring or any remodeling components that are contracted out for clients.

Grand Entrance Home Staging & Design has recently become certified by the Home Staging Resource. The Home Staging Resource is the first and only truly accredited staging training course having undergone an extensive quality control and accreditation process by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the only third-party governing association for the home staging industry.

RESA® is the member-run trade organization for professional stagers in North America, providing support services and educational resources for professional stagers in addition to providing vital information regarding the benefits of staging to real estate agents and consumers.

Enlisting the services of an HSR Professional Home Stager & Redesigner ensures that your home is presented at its best so that a buyer’s search for a new home ends the moment they reach your front door!